A Word from Laura: Familiar
Western’s worship ministry team met last night. On the agenda was a letter from a group concerned about low in-person participation, with a request to return to familiar patterns of Sunday morning church.
The worship team made a proposal for the session this Tuesday, including worship times, publicity, and opportunities for dialogue. Everyone on the team loved Western church, the community we share, the Spirit that comes alive in our worship. I suspect each of us on the team longs for something about the way church used to be.
We all long for what was familiar. At the same time, as I pay attention both to larger church trends and to many of your comments, no matter what we do, Sunday mornings of the future will look different from Sunday mornings of the past. Fewer people in our larger community join in-person groups – whether for church or work or shopping or meet-ups. As Westerners, some of us have moved out of the area, some of us no longer drive, three of us have found churches closer to home, while four of us have returned to in-person church after being gone for years. Newcomers continue to find us when in Foggy Bottom or surrounding neighborhoods. Conversations around our intercultural and antiracist vision have led to new approaches for our Personnel and Finance Ministry Teams; I anticipate that these kinds of shifts will continue.
A Word from Irene: FREE, BUT …
This weekend we celebrate our freedom as Americans, but ...
When the Athenians developed the idea of a democratic form of government – every person is free to have a voice and a vote – they immediately added its Achilles heel, “but not women, children, or slaves.” In other words, the people were free to rule themselves, but not everyone was free to participate equally. American democracy today still deviates from that original ideal.
A Word from Irene: The State of Christian Faith
I was a young adult when conservatives plotted a course for taking over the Southern Baptist Convention. The church I belonged to needed a new pastor. Concerned that the church not be led into the political fray, I said to a friend in state government, “We need to make sure the right people are on this pastoral search committee.”
Aghast, my friend replied, “You mean the church is as political as state government?”
Session Notes: June 2022
Your Session sat, by Zoom, for its regular monthly meeting this week. The agenda was full and one common theme was the management of change.
As we begin our third summer living with COVID, we note that about half of our congregation regularly worships in person and the half online. These numbers don’t vary much week to week. If there’s growth potential, it’s probably attracting more live in-church attendance. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve invested time and talent improving the online service. We’re focusing now on making the in-person service more energizing and life-giving.
Capital Pride Alliance 2022 Parade
Western Presbyterian Church has teamed up with other Presbyterian Churches in the DC area to participate in the Capital Alliance Pride Parade this Saturday, June 11th. We would like to invite members and friends of the Western community to join us in marching in the parade and celebrating Pride!
A Word from Laura: Wearing Red
I will be wearing red the Sundays in June, and I invite you to join me.
In these days when we mourn lives lost – loved ones, victims of violence – we continue to seek God’s Spirit making things right again. Sunday is Pentecost, fifty days after Easter not counting Sundays, when we celebrate the promised gift of the Holy Spirit to Jesus’ followers who had gathered in Jerusalem. Arriving like a giant whoosh, the Spirit gave them the gift of language, so they could speak with those who had come from across the Mediterranean to worship on the festival day. The Spirit was creating community among diverse people; it was a sign that God was at work.