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Community Lutheran Church by Lynne Borneman |
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On Sunday October 20th, 2002 I attended the 8:15am service at the Community Lutheran Church. This was the first non-Catholic service I attended and I was a little anxious. The church building was large and brick. It had a tall white steeple with a cross on top. Upon entering the church I was struck by several things. First the people were extremely friendly. This was delightfully unforeseen. Everyone greeted me warmly, with a heart-felt 'Good-Morning'. I immediately felt at ease. I was alone and yet I felt comfortable and accepted. Another thing I was not expecting was the size of the interior of the church. It was small, only about ten rows of pews. Almost every Catholic Church where I had attended Mass was much larger and usually attended by hundreds of people. There were maybe fifty people attending this service. It was also very plain, just pews, windows, and an altar with an empty cross alongside. I am used to seeing a church filled with stained glass windows and statues, with a crucifix near the altar, and with the Stations of the Cross adorning the walls. This church had no statues and only one stain glass window of a dove behind the altar. However, with its simplicity it felt homey. I sat quietly for awhile watching the people as they entered the church. This is when I noticed a couple of things that were different from my normal Sunday worship service. No one made the sign of the cross. No one, even the pastor at the altar, kneeled or genuflected. When the service began, a choir entered singing a hymn. Following the choir was my biggest surprise. The pastor was female, Tiffany Towberman. She was young and she was pretty. Having a woman preside over a religious service was totally foreign to me, but turned out to be very pleasant. She was warm, outgoing and a wonderful speaker. As the service progressed I learned something I had not expected. The structure of the service was the same as my familiar Mass. The liturgical and Gospel readings were the same as those being said in my church that morning. The prayers, the Creed and the Lord Prayer, were the same. The members of Community Lutheran Church celebrated by receiving communion. A difference I noted was that at the end of the service where I am used to the Priest giving a blessing, the pastor did not. The service ended with the choir singing a closing hymn and folks gathered in the lobby chatting. After the service was over, I reflected on my morning and I felt very ignorant. I had not realized just how similar this service would be to the Catholic Mass. I was very glad I decided to attend this celebration with Community Lutheran Church. I had an overall feeling, and I know I said this earlier, of being welcomed and of belonging. |
| Created by Laura Ellen Shulman |
Last updated: December 2002
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