We were invited to visit Shoresh David, and it was an interesting worship experience. It is a rather small building and, even in the business area of Monroeville, has the feel of a little country church.
One of the greeters gave us an oral synopsis of the service so we would be more comfortable. I didn’t get a bulletin, but I don’t think there was an order of worship. A few of those who greeted us were sure we had visited before. We were warmly welcomed by most of the people there, I think, and then they invited us to break bread with them after the service.
We found the restrooms and I guessed the nursery would be in the same area but I didn’t see any signage.
There was some interpretive dance with both the praise and traditional music at the end of the service. The cross is understandably de-emphasized, but I wonder if this might be re-thought, since Christ forgave from the cross.
The music was easy to hear and understand, and enjoyable. Most of those who spoke were hard to hear from the back, sounded like perhaps a lack of amplification.
There was a lot of Scripture quoted and a heartfelt devotional/testimony from one woman. The praise was spoken in Hebrew and then again in English. We were able to follow along, but I think if I was a little prepared I could have intoned the Jewish words. It made me think of speaking in tongues.
There was a point where the service seemed to come to an end and another man got up and delivered a sermon. There were a number of people who had a part in the service besides the Rabbi.
We were able to talk to numerous people after the service and got answers to some long-standing questions.
I still do not know the author of the email inviting us to attend worship at this Messianic Jewish Congregation, but it was a worship experience unlike any other we have had. We went with open minds and no idea of what to expect except that Christ would be the center of worship, which He was.
The congregation is extremely open and friendly…we were greeted by another visitor even before we walked in the door, and then after we did enter, we were greeted by two more people and immediately handed information. Many people welcomed us warmly and I sensed much joy among this group.
I noticed almost no directional signage, but it would have been difficult to get lost.
Some things were neither better nor worse, just different: no order of worship was distributed and there was no collection of tithes and offerings – instead it’s the honor system where those who wish to support the congregational ministries place their offering in a box on the back wall. An offering was accepted for the benevolence fund, however.
The pew racks held booklets containing the words of the liturgy. The pages were numbered from back to front and contained the Hebrew characters along with the phonetic pronunciation and the English words, and each part of the liturgy was spoken in both languages.
The Torah was brought out, taken around for everyone to see and touch, and then read aloud. This and so many other portions of this service were incredibly moving.
I had wondered what type of music we would find here but did not expect to find the equivalent of a praise band, albeit with a definite Jewish flavor, which I have always appreciated. The music was beautiful, touching, and well done, and one of the songs was very familiar, but for the life of me I can’t recall the name. Members of the congregation of all ages went forward to the chancel area (I don’t know if that’s what it’s called…) and danced in a circle during two of the songs.
The personal and congregational greeting was lovely…in lieu of “Good morning” it was “Shabbat Shalom” (i.e., Sabbath Peace).
A member-couple who are moving out of state said their goodbyes to the congregation this morning, for which I felt privileged to be present.
This was my first time participating in any Jewish worship service, and I must confess my ignorance of Jewish history or tradition outside of the Bible. The message was wound around the end times and the Book of the Revelation, and it was significant to me that it was full of references to both Old and New Testament Scriptures. However I do not feel qualified to comment on the message.
I do feel qualified to say that today I worshiped Jesus Christ in the presence of other believers, and that is the important thing.
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