Bob’s thoughts:
We have worshiped at Union a few times and it is always interesting to me to see how much I remember when we go back to a church. It is a pleasant Sanctuary with what I call a Methodist variation: so many of the Methodist churches I have known all had the rounded extension from one side. Union has a skylight with stained glass in the extension. It is worth a visit to Union just for the view from the hill on which the church sits, but perhaps on a warmer day.
The lack of signage seemed to confirm an inward-focused church. There was little indication of mission, though the website shows a number they support.
I appreciated the time for Silent Confession, and the Children’s Message was long for the few who came forward. The choir was a real joy, their enthusiasm shone forth and there were some smiles. They also sounded great, but that was secondary to their obvious worship.
I was impressed that there was an Order of Worship for the contemporary service…that would be a real plus for visitors.
The sermon from I Corinthians 5:1-13 dealt with immorality in the church, and was well developed and presented. I very much agree that churches can get caught up in the mistaken idea of boasting of their tolerance.
A highlight for me was a story at the end of the message of a dad who ended all his texts to his children with “I love you, Dad.” Since our son was killed, we all say a lot more I love yous, and from now on my texts will be ending the same.
Usually during the sermon I spend time in prayer for the church and the pastor(s), but today I had to change that because I didn’t want to miss any of this message.
Jan’s thoughts:
It has been more than two years since we last visited this church. Some things seem to have changed (i.e., the pastor), and many things are the same. I saw little, if any, directional signage, so we had to ask about restroom locations.
There was some information about a campaign for funds to refurbish the stained glass (I think), but it was immediately inside the door and there was not much opportunity to glean details. I’m sure the members all knew about it, though.
The building is on the older side, but is still handicapped accessible.
The people we spoke with were friendly enough; however, as is common in churches with more than one service, no one especially went out of their way to greet us.
I can’t speak to the attendance at the 8:30 a.m. contemporary service, but the 11 a.m. traditional service was well-attended.
The stained glass in the Sanctuary is striking, including some in unexpected places such as the ceiling – looking like a skylight – and all three sides of a door. The predominant color in the Sanctuary was blue (an excellent choice), and on that score I could see the reason for the blue paraments; however I was curious as I’ve never seen blue paraments included on the liturgical calendar.
The bulletin is a single 11x17” sheet folded into thirds, and is easy to follow: the headings do their job of separating the text without confusing the eye.
In most churches the silent confession time lasts only a moment, but here I appreciated that it is actually long enough to confess.
I wish the title of the Anthem had been included in the bulletin, but I’m guessing it was something like “Saved by Grace” and is possibly a Gaither tune. Most of the choir was animated as they sang and looked like they were enjoying themselves, which is always contagious.
The Message, “Dealing with Immorality in the Father’s House,” was based on I Corinthians 5:1-13 and was one of the best sermons I’ve heard in a long time. Dr. Younger started out by referring to this as a “family meeting,” and made it clear to any non-believers present that this was not about or to them. After clarifying this, he turned to the stated Scripture involving an issue of sexual immorality within the Corinthian church and Paul’s letter which indicated that the problems were the lack of action and that the people were not appalled by this sin. Instead they were boasting about their tolerance.
I agree with his statements: “Tolerance is selfish and unloving…it says ‘do anything you want as long as it doesn’t affect me.’ Tolerance does not equal love.”
He declared that the purpose of our actions is not punitive, but to reclaim the errant one. After one person speaks to an errant brother or sister, and after more speak to the errant one, if repentance is not forthcoming we are told to remove the person. This is WITHIN the church…we are not to judge those outside the church. He said “Salt must have contact with what it hopes to affect.”
These are just a few points from this sermon, and I’m hoping they make as much sense as they did to me in hearing the rest of the sermon. I thought it was a bold, challenging topic and current in its necessity. I was glad to be present to hear it preached.
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