Our month, in our small town church, to be "in charge". Time for me to set communion and for my husband to usher...
There are 20 of us on a "good" Sunday....if we have visitors, we may get close to 25....
We each have our own place - waiting for us like an old friend. Welcoming us each week and excited to see us if we've missed a Sunday or two.... Okay, so there is some moving around between my in-laws and our family every once in a while....it depends on who is "in charge" that month. :)
But this last Sunday, we had the last pew....the clock above our heads ticking quietly and the most perfect view of the alter, as we are at the end of the aisle.
And then it struck me.... HARD.
With my children not in attendance (and mind you, they are the ONLY children in our church) because of sickness and such, I was the youngest member....
ME...who just celebrated turning 41 last week....
I thought to myself, "This is crazy.....how much longer can this church, this house of God, continue?"
I sat in the back pew and took inventory of all my brothers and sisters in Christ...about their stories that are untold....about their lives and what they've seen. I sat in awe of what I was seeing...
From our Pastor....who 41 years ago was ordained, started his ministry in the town 20 miles NW of us (in my hometown) and never left. He is our interim Pastor.....he joined this little church back in the 1980's....pretty long interim. :) He drives the blacktop road through the hills, avoiding deer, and sees the seasons change every Sunday. And we are grateful.....
To our organist, who unless she is visiting children and grandchildren, sits at her helm just in front of and below the Pulpit. Behind her are our oldest members who sit side by side after all these years. They have seen this church evolve almost from the beginning. I sit and watch them....finding comfort in the sound of the oxygen tank helping him breathe and I wonder if they hold hands during the service.
Then there is the mother and daughter who also have the roles of janitor and bookkeeper. They share the same pew sitting just a couple spaces apart - we have the room, so why not? :) I think about all they have done together over the years.
Last but not least on the Pulpit side are my in-laws. The Elder of the church and his wife. Married 17 years this last week. Married in this very church that we call home. This is the pew that changes occupants depending on the month.
On the Lectern side is a vast openness in the front....we are Missouri Synod Lutherans and don't like to be TOO close to the front..... :)
But then we have another newly married couple. I had the good fortune to sing at their wedding....also in this very church.....both lost spouses but found that God wasn't done with Love for them. They will be here on and off through the winter...
Behind them sits another "founding family", usher/treasurer. Sometimes this pew varies a bit if kids are home from college....it's nice to see them as they grow up.
And in the very back pew, the very same we are sitting in this Sunday, sit two women. One who has battled cancer and one who comes in and sits quietly for a few moments of reflection before the service starts.....and the two whose voices I hear besides my own during hymns.
This is us.....a body of Christ.....small, but mighty.
I worry about us. This group that works together to keep our doors open... who all take turns at various tasks. But then I remember....
For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20
I worry less.....and listen more. Listen to Pastor talk about how we are God's children...heirs to the kingdom of Heaven. Sinners stuck in the mire of the everyday earthly life but filled with hope of Eternal Salvation.
And then comes my favorite part (well, besides the singing)......communion. The part where we split into two groups - Pulpit and Lectern and stand at the alter with heads bowed and hands out....
waiting.....
waiting for the wafer.... the snap it makes when I bite it.....and I see His body broken by the nails
waiting for the wine....the taste of it as it hits my tongue....and I picture Him on the cross, bloodied
The tear falls....just one....and not every time I take communion, but today it can no longer be held in.
I receive the blessing....
And I know I am saved.....
I bow before the alter, turn and place my small goblet on the tray and look at the faces of my brothers and sisters in their pews.
We will survive.
We have stories yet to tell...
And for that, I am thankful.
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