Bob’s thoughts:
We found a nice, paved, well-marked parking area but were a little confused as to which of the five entrances we should use. We found the Sanctuary by trial and error and nearby restrooms had signs on the doors. They were the only signs I saw on a rather confusing campus.
The Sanctuary was pleasant with some particularly interesting stained glass. The rear windows of the Chancel were conventional-looking stained glass, the side were modern colored rectangles, and the high windows were splatter glass. I never would have thought they would work so well together and of course the sun beaming through enhanced the effect.
The pews are in four arc-shaped sections with wide aisles. The physical feature I enjoyed most was the cross on the Chancel wall. The rear wall is muted sandstone and the large narrow cross is painted to match. My first thought is that I would lose that focus point, but from my vantage point the cross aligned perfectly with one of the lit candles and was an extension of it.
It was a cool day and the area was comfortable; I was told the Sanctuary is air conditioned.
We were greeted very warmly, some of the current history of the church was offered, and we were introduced to others by name. We were asked to visit the visitor’s desk and were given name tags, and many of the people we met were wearing theirs.
There were many things that pleased me, like the cross, and offering taken in response to the Word, but also a real blessing – the servers spoke when offering the elements of Communion.
The sermon was in regard to God’s name and a good explanation of what it means to take His name in vain. The congregation was attentive and seemed to get the message. The pastor made a very smooth recovery when chimes rang inadvertently during the sermon.
I agree, in our pursuit to be God-like we judge God and His creation…a position we don’t want to be in.
Jan’s thoughts:
In my mind Aliquippa was not the greatest area, so I was surprised to arrive at a pretty, well-kept church on the corner of a busy intersection. The paved parking lot was well marked (always helpful for visitors). Once out of the truck, however, we had to choose between door #1, door #2, and door #3, with indication of which one led to what area. And to top it off, people were entering through each door! So we chose one and began our exploration from there.
Part of the reason we explored was to locate a rest room. Literally the only signs I saw were a small one on the door to the secretary’s office and on each of the doors to the rest rooms. Hopefully the Session is in the process of identifying necessary signage and locations because from all indications this church is much more outwardly-focused than the lack of signage would indicate.
We were quickly identified as visitors and some very friendly people introduced themselves and told us about the pastor (who has been there about a year) and the remodeling of the Sanctuary which was one of many positive consequences of the church’s three-year pastoral search.
We were briefly greeted by the pastor, but the elders with whom we were speaking were taking good care of us so the pastor went to attend to his duties while we enjoyed the friendly conversation. We were asked to wear a name tag, which turned out to be part of this church’s system of keeping attendance. It appears that each member has a nametag which they’re to pick up as they enter and drop into a basket as they exit the Sanctuary. Handwriting a nametag for visitors allows that person to also greet the visitor, which worked well in our instance at least.
We sat in the very back and several other folks greeted us as they walked past to their seats. The padded pews were comfortable and widely spaced, as were the aisles. The pew ends were plain, dark wood and perfectly matched the woodwork on the ceiling. The stained glass on the rear wall of the Chancel was bold and intricate, the glass in the windows on the sides were a plain pattern of the same three colors in each window, and up high on the back wall were decorative windows. Each set was different, but they worked well together.
The rear wall of the Chancel was all stone, with a large matching stone cross. It was a gorgeous way to fulfill the need in a very different way.
The music for this blended service was mostly contemporary, which most (but not all) the congregation seemed to enjoy, and the words were projected onto the blank walls on each side of the stone wall, eliminating the need for a screen. The praise team consisted of a drummer, a keyboardist, and three female vocalists, one of whom accompanied on an acoustic guitar. They sounded great together but could have used the support of a male voice.
Toward the beginning of the service the pastor walked halfway down each aisle as he spoke…some pastors do that but I don’t see much of it and it was refreshing.
Communion was celebrated by intinction, and was efficiently executed. Attendance seemed high for a holiday weekend, and we were told there had been many baptisms this year.
The sermon was titled “What’s In a Name?” and was based on Exodus 20:7. All the prayers, the welcome, all were pointing toward the Third Commandment as the topic for the day. He preached with passion about how often this Commandment is broken and how misuse of God’s name is more than an insult, it makes a god of the person doing so.
Toward the end he told a story about being in a crowd and hearing a man seated nearby loudly misusing God’s name, and his 7-year-old daughter stood up and shouted, “Don’t take my God’s name in vain!” Her command stunned everyone within earshot, and this pastor bravely admitted his own shame in his lack of action even as his pride in his daughter’s courage was obvious. It was a memorable story made more so by his heartfelt telling and his valiant admission, and I admired his courage.
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