Dear Saints in Santa Fe, and other far off places—
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ!
Worship two ways.
Last Sunday morning we attended worship at a Uniting Church in downtown Perth.
The Uniting Church began in 1977 when Methodists, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians came together to form a new denomination based on social justice and inclusion. It has 2,000 churches. It is one of Australia’s largest non-government providers of community and health services. (Note it is Uniting, not United, as it believes coming together is a process that is never finished.) It has 20,000 congregations. In 2011, membership was over one million. Today it is less than 700,000.
As we entered the church there was a big sign above the chancel which proclaimed WELCOME (no one personally welcomed us during or after the service). There was much singing in the service with justice and welcome themes, with words on a screen and no hymnals in sight. Eight young women and men made up a very professional sounding choir called Choral Scholars. We imagine they were paid. There was no sermon but we learned later it was mission month and the presentation by the director of a local agency served that role.
After the service we went up to greet three new members welcomed that day—the new pastor’s wife and their two adult daughters—to say hello. We made our way to the exit and greeted the pastor, an African American man from Los Angeles who was very friendly and happy to see us. We left by walking through coffee hour without stopping, and no one stopped us. There were probably 40-50 people who attended that day, 30-something adults to seniors.
The night before we went to Optus Stadium to watch a footy game—Australian Rules Football—which is a game unlike any other (soccer meets rugby meets football). It is an Australian obsession. Everyone seems to barrack (root) for a team in this country with a majority of the teams scattered throughout the neighborhoods of Melbourne where the game originated.
We were greeted by a friendly, smiling usher as we came through a tunnel on the way to our seats. We exchanged pleasantries each time I passed by, usually with food in my hands. We all squeezed into the seats and politely stood up to let others by with food. The man seated next to Jenny was very friendly and even took our trash for us when the game ended.
We were two of the 45,931 children to seniors who attended the game. I am pretty sure very few people were looking at their watches or annoyed the game lasted more than an hour (it lasted about three!). Many arrived when the gates opened at 4:00pm for a 5:40pm bounce (yes, that’s what they call it!).
Both places had some kind of worship going on, either of a loving God or of amazing athletes. Both places had music and food. Both brought people together.
Oh I know the reason for attending either place was very different, along with vastly different missions, but by Sunday afternoon I was asking myself which place would most Australians (or Americans for that matter) look forward to attending? Which place offers excitement and joy and fellowship?
That is one of the challenges of the church—to communicate the radical love and justice of Jesus Christ—which is exciting, joyful, and brings people together in fellowship.
Grace and peace from down-under,
Harry