Sunday Morning in England

Psalm 96 - Sing a new song to the Lord. Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord and bless his name; day by day proclaim his victory.

How does that fit into 2009 society and beliefs? I am finding in England the term spirituality has taken on a whole new context. Considering in North America we can choose any church on the block; be it Presbyterian, United or Roman Catholic we can choose a style and belief system that fits us. Here in England, from my limited exposure, I see this is very different here. It is either Church of England or little else. However, upon walking around Bath, UK on Thursday I found many beautiful buildings of history, oozing of culture and inviting one into the past. As I visited one church in particular, upon entering I was surprised to find no pews and a coffee cafe at the rear. It had contemporary wooden moveable chairs and upbeat sacred music piped in from the tiny speakers in the tremendously high ceiling. There was an air of the sacred in this modern day setting all steeped in the history of Bath, UK. The announcement board showed it is what we would call an inner city church which caters to helping all people. There is a worship service on Sundays that had the smell of something new. I sang a song to the Lord and my heart skipped a beat as I blessed my opportunity to be there in that moment.

Life is ephemeral. Like live theatre we are on a stage and the outcome is moment by moment. Taking pictures offers us a snapshot in time but as soon as the picture is developed and can be held in the hand we are transformed into the next moment. The mixtures of past, present and what is to be our future are always only tangible for seconds. If we remember the past is behind us and the future is always changing we can grow by allowing ourselves to be steeped in this moment. God is around us sharing every moment and is within our reach at all times. God is the only constant.

As we sing a new song we can look to see how we fit into this earthly world today. Mixed up societies and pressure to perform place blinders on this existence. God offers a place to release ourselves from this pressure cooker and focussing on Sunday morning worship time is a way to anchor ourselves weekly and bring us around full circle. The act of taking an hour each Sunday to remind our hearts about love, peace and hope is not only the closure of one chunk of time but the launch of the next.

The answer to the declining numbers in the pews is to feed the soul with food for thought. Answer the questions that are longing to be asked and reach out to each other for a sweet hour of prayer each week. Church is not what it once was it is what you make it. Satisfying or controlling it is up to you.

Psalm 96 - Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise...

But it is you that will feel great when God is allowed to share in your life and your ephemeral existence.

Have a wonderful day and may be it filled with blessings of hope, peace and love.