A Great Sunday, part 1
Yesterday, the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville held “Levi Sunday”.
The name is a reference to the Levites, and also a sign that we were encouraged to wear jeans (brand not important). The keyword for the day was service.
We started in the sanctuary for worship. It started normally, and this week had the choir out of the loft and in front of us along with the children’s choir. The readings were from Numbers 8 (we left out the bit about the bull) and James on good works. The sermon was a quick tag-team conversation by both pastors.
When we reached the offering, the service relocated. All of us were asked to put our paper offerings in the plate as we exited the sanctuary to head for multiple parts of the church to do service projects. When we came in before the worship service we were each given a name tag with a color on it. The colors separated us into our tasks. One group assembled hygiene kits for Crisis Ministry of Trenton and Princeton. Another group made Baby Kits for Church World Service and yet another group made School Kits for them – these are to be used in disaster areas. Yet another group (mine) assembled bag lunches for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. We were given worksheets to complete if we had time after the tasks.
When all were done, the congregation reassembled in the Fellowship Hall and concluded the service with a hymn, the Benediction, and a Choral Amen. Then everybody had lunch – 6 foot hoagies and chips and dessert.
Chaos and order were clearly in tension as the tasks were completed. In the lunch assembly room we had more people than we could possibly use, and ended up with each person building a lunch piece by piece or making sandwiches while another group formed an assembly line. In about 20 minutes we assembled over 100 lunches using something like 30-40 people.
I also think everybody got the messages. We are saved through faith but good works are also important. Good works are the offering that we make in thanks for grace.
Our congregation is really good at mission. We send lots of money out into the world to do good things. We send lots of people out to do good things – disaster relief, service in the community and beyond. This day linked that service to our beliefs. I believe that I said something about our youth in a meeting recently – they know (and do) the right thing to do, but they’re a little fuzzy on the reason why. I think the whole congregation is sometimes a little fuzzy too. This helped.
End of Week roundup
Here’s what’s going on.
- I managed to decompress from the congregational meeting last weekend. There are still some hard feelings among the young adults who work with youth, but we’ll get over it. I did express my feelings to my pastor.
- Last night my committee co-chair and the pastor and I had a conference call. We’d had to cancel the committee meeting because so many members were unavailable for the meeting (including a disturbing number who chose to drop out and prioritize something else higher – after they’d agreed to be there). We have a strategy for moving forward (but I can’t discuss it here until we’ve announced it to the team). How do you staff church committees when the really involved people are also really busy?
- I passed my ham radio Emergency Communications course, with 100% on the test and 100% of my assignments accepted on the first try. Next month or in a few months I’ll take the Level II course.
- Tonight Carolyn and I are headed to the Trenton Devils game. We’re skipping Saturday because 3 games a weekend is too much.
- Sunday the church is doing a service project in lieu of (or technically during) the worship service. We’ll start in the sanctuary, but then break early to spread out around the building making School and Baby kits for Church World Service, and hygiene kits for the Crisis Ministry of Trenton and Princeton, and sandwiches and wrapped utensils for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. Then we’ll gather for lunch and close worship. It’s Levi Sunday (named for the Levites – get it? We’re supposed to wear jeans).
- Sunday afternoon the Sr. High (and some Jr. High) youth group will go to see the Trenton Devils hockey team (ECHL). My season ticket plan includes one free luxury suite a year, and I’m treating the youth. It should be fun!
I have been tagged in the book meme, but I don’t know if I’ll get to it today. Maybe later.
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