Two More Church Visits

As I continue with my EPDL, I continue to go to other churches on Sunday's. Two weeks ago my youngest daughter got sick, so I ended up staying home with her so the rest of the family could go to church. It dawned on me that I could do what many many other people have done in the past (but that I haven't really ever done) and that is to go to church at home. I know that when one is unable to attend church, there is always a service on TV that can be watched. So, I first did some Sunday School stuff with my daughter, and then we both sat down and turned on the TV. There were two options on for that day. The Crystal Cathedral's "Hour of Power," and People's Church in Toronto. I settled on People's Church, but flipped to the other from time to time. Both were nice to experience. People's pastor, Charles Price, is someone I've heard speak at outreach conferences before, and his message this day was very inspiring. The Crystal Cathedral had Tony Campolo as the guest preacher, and at times I felt that he felt a bit out of place there. He too had some very good things to say. After it was over, we simply turned off the TV and my daughter and I stared at each other. No one else to talk to, share the week with, or grow from. It's nice to know that there are TV programs to watch (there are much more on the Internet for sure) when I'm sick and unable to go to church, but I still think I'd prefer the face to face contact of a church community that I'm actively involved in. Some may prefer the quiet place of one's home, but as I've stated in other blog entries, we miss out when we don't commune with fellow faith travellers. I would hope people wouldn't make this sort of "home" church standard fare in their lives.

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A week ago I took my son to a church downtown. An older United Church that I've wanted to attend for some time. We were greeted inside the door and handed a pretty thick bulletin. The church was pretty large, but the attendance was very poor. The average age seemed to be about 55 +. The service was good, with a bell choir, church choir and organ for music. We sang hymns, but it was hard to know which of the two books we were supposed to sing from when the time came. Chris liked the sermon, and I must say that it was informative, but not overly challenging for me. This church invited guests to stay afterwards for a time of fellowship, which I appreciated, but we had to leave right away for another engagement. All in all, it looked like this was another slowly dying church filled with many older folk, and not many families or younger folk. I am gaining continued appreciation for what we try to do in our own church (and no, we are far from perfect) when it comes to meeting and engrafting people into our faith community.