Week 2 - Peace Lutheran Church

www.peacelutheranvancouverwa.com/

This week was a bit of a throw-back for the two of us. In our childhoods each of our families attended churches that practiced more formal service styles. In a time when tradition is often treated as something to be spurned it was nice to participate in a service that is steeped in centuries of Christian heritage. 

One thing that stood out in particular was the congregation's involvement, common with a liturgical practice. Throughout the service the congregation participated in either responsive readings or songs. If you are unfamiliar with this, it is when the pastor (in this case) reads a passage and the audience responds by reading the next passage or singing a short stanza. The parts to be read or sung are provided in a book available at the seats. For the uninitiated, like us, it took a bit to catch the flow and rhythm so at times felt awkward. But this is true with any new experience. Even with a more formal approach we both were surprised at how quickly the time flew. We covered a lot of ground in a short time.

This week was to begin Epiphany but due to snow last week's service was canceled so we did catch up and finished the Christmas season. Leading up to the teaching portion of the service the Pastor lead us through several scripture readings from Genesis, Psalm, Galatians and Luke. Each passage laying the foundation for his message about the gift of God's son, with a great tie in to the tradition of gift giving at Christmas time. The message was to the point with an easily relatable application focusing on Zechariah's (father of John the Baptist) joyful response at the birth of his son [Luke 1:68-75]. Not your typical Christmas message but offered a new way of understanding an event often glossed over in the story of Jesus arrival. The pastor's thoughtful insights, sprinkled with humor, added to his message's application.

Peace Lutheran has a comfortable meeting room, seating probably less than 200. As last week there was no use of technology in performing the service. Songs and scripture passages are provided either in the weekly program or books at the seats. The organ is located in a balcony behind the seating below, its music filling the room without need for amplification. Well lit with both natural and artificial light the environment is warm and welcoming. 

We were warmly greeted by a few people and were not made to feel like our visit was an unusual occurrence. To be fair we didn't stay around after the service so we didn't provide opportunity for people to reach out to us further as visitors. We did notice that among the membership there is public recognition of both the joys and trials of life. After the service two women, ages 80 & 85, were celebrated with a cake for each. Granted one celebration was delayed due to snow the week before. Prayer was offered specifically for those who had recently been touched by death or sickness in the family. A small community, Peace Lutheran has members representing young children to elderly, giving the sense that people might be more aware of what each is experiencing.

It has been many years (decades?) since we experienced this form of meeting with God and yet there was something refreshing and authentic about our time at Peace Lutheran Church.