Week 16 - Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

beautifulsaviorlutheran.com

This week found us back in the Lutheran tradition again. Loren has visited Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church a couple of times, many years ago, for Scout Sunday with a Cub Scout Pack our boys were in. It was nice to enjoy a service not having to keep an eye on a group of squirmy 1st-5th grade boys. Loren's parents were in town and, being the adventurous souls they are, joined us in our little project.

BSLC is a modest sized congregation that holds two Sunday morning services. The auditorium seats about 200 and this week, at the later service, there was a sizable group with all ages in attendance. Plenty of natural lighting made for a well-lit, comfortable, setting with lots of natural wood tones. No visual aids were used during the service but a printed order of service was provided to each congregant to follow along with. 

Just prior to the service beginning the Cantor came out and prepped us for some new songs that we would be singing during the service. Throughout the service music was lead by the Cantor accompanied by an organ. As we have come to expect the congregation is actively involved in nearly all aspects of the service; through responsive readings, responsive prayers, and song. As we have experienced elsewhere, BSLC practices an open communion so we of course took advantage of the whole experience. This time Laurie was prepared for real wine.

This week's service was focused on "Jesus as the Good Shepherd." In keeping with what we have come to expect there was  a short children's sermon first and about 20 children came to the front to sit with the pastor. One member brought in an Australian Shepherd dog as an object lesson of how the shepherd takes care of the sheep. 

The pastor's messages was taken primarily from Psalm 23, the classic passage often referred to as "the Shepherd's Psalm," and known by many whether they attend church regularly or not. The pastor lead us in a thoughtful look at why sheep need a shepherd and how this relates to Christ's role as the Good Shepherd. One thing that becomes apparent is that sheep are not terribly bright and without the watchful care of the shepherd they are prone to trouble. Not exactly a complementary image for us as the sheep if you think about it. We were admonished to be wary of those the pastor called "wolves in shepherd's clothing," or "false shepherds."

We did experience a first for us this week however. We both come from fairly conservative Baptist traditions and so the idea of women leading the service is not part of our experience. BSLC's pastor is a woman and this week Pastor Christie Manisto was assisted primarily by women throughout the service. One thing was abundantly clear, BSLC is all about serving each other and the community. From numerous community service activities, to the very warm welcomes we received from many, to Pastor Chris greeting, and hugging, each congregant on their way out. As guests we received what Pastor Chris calls "a hug and a mug" for visiting.

All and all an uplifting and encouraging time.

New addition to Loren's ever growing mug collection.

Week 15 - Peoples Church

www.peopleschurchvancouver.org

Some of our church visits we have been able to slip in relatively unnoticed, others not so much. This week at Peoples Church was a "not so much" visit. There was no slipping in unnoticed. We were warmly greeted by several people as we came in, including a hearty hug from one lady, and then again in the extended meet-n-greet during the service. Not the creepy "we haven't seen a new face in years" greeting, but a genuine "glad to have you and hope you enjoy your time with us" sort of greeting.

PCs auditorium seats approximately 200 (not including the balcony) and this week there were about 100 in attendance, of all ages. As we are discovering with modest sized churches, like PC, this auditorium size allows even a back row seat to be within a comfortable distance from the stage or podium. PC has a fairly large stage that they made good use of with six instruments and five vocalists to lead the music, including an accordion and bongo drums. The lighting was comfortable with plenty of filtered natural light on both sides. Visual technology was used minimally, primarily during the singing time.

After a lengthy opening (about 40 minutes) of very energetic music, during which several people came forward and shared a word of thanksgiving, we were lead in an offertory prayer which everyone read aloud together. This was followed by a time of announcements where the husband and wife pastor team traded playful banter between themselves and with members of the congregation. Definitely a level of comfortable familiarity not commonly found in many churches. Just prior to the beginning of the message children were invited to leave and join a class specifically for them.

Interspersed with plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor, and a few inside jokes, the pastor's topical message explored what it means to "Have faith in God" as stated in Mark 11:22. This was the beginning of a multi-week study and this week focused on the personal aspect of faith in God manifested in healing, forgiveness, and salvation. Using a visual aid of money (faith) and bread (salvation) he demonstrated how faith = a noun and belief = a verb. Faith (money) is the currency by which salvation (bread) is purchased and belief is the transaction (action) when salvation is purchased. In the visual aid he showed how you can have all the money you need, and really want the bread, but until you hand the money over you can't enjoy the bread. Or as James chapter 2 states: "Faith without works is dead."

One thing we have enjoyed in many of the more liturgical services is how the congregation actively participates in the service. PCs service format is much too informal and free-flowing to be considered liturgical but there was plenty of participation through corporate reading of bible passages and prayers, individuals standing and giving words of thanks, and the occasional unprompted "amen" from a congregant. There is something to be said about seeing active engagement of congregants throughout a service.

Week 14 - Salvation Army Church

www.vancouver.salvationarmynw.org/usw_vancouver/church-ministries-main

We have all seen their Red Kettle Bellringers at Christmas time, that harbinger of the coming winter holidays. We may have even shopped at their Family Store, looking for a good deal on some vintage bric-a-brac. Most of us have probably lost sight of the evangelistic, evangelical, roots of The Salvation Army. 

For many years we have lived just down the road from The Salvation Army church and have often wondered if they really "do church" there. Well this week we decided the time for wondering was over and ventured out to join them for their Sunday service. While the SA has a global reach, and they serve people in need throughout our community, their Sunday gathering was a modest 40-50 people. What they lacked in numbers they made up for in heart. We were warmly welcomed by several congregants and many of the leadership. And, yes, the leaders do wear their formal SA uniforms and address each other by their rank, the husband and wife pastor team are both Majors and the assistant pastor is a Lieutenant.

The auditorium seats about 100, is well lit with natural light and inviting. As you might expect music was a big part of the service, a mix of contemporary and traditional music was led by two instrumentalist and four vocalist. Coming from a church where music is provided by highly polished professionals (or near-professional), the servant's heart was evident in those who led us in music, coming with the gifts they had to offer. Some visual aids were used during the contemporary songs, along with hymnals for the traditional ones.

The congregation was a mix of young through old, with several special needs people. Just prior to the pastor's message children were invited forward for a short lesson provided by the assistant pastor and then were excused to the children's class. The pastor gave a spirited message, starting out with a twist by beginning at the back of the auditorium, giving the introduction as he walked down the aisle to the podium. Building on a theme of "Holiness," and drawing from Philippians 2:1-11, he asked the question "What if Jesus lived my life with his heart?" Walking us through the passage he showed us three aspects of Christ's heart: An empty heart - emptied of his glory; An obedient heart - obedient even to death; An exalted heart - raised above all things. His message and delivery was on par with any evangelistic Baptist preacher we have heard, including an altar call accompanied by the song "Just As I am."

The Salvation Army was begun over 150 years ago and has a 125 year history in Clark County. Often times it is easy to think we know an organization by their most public face, like feeding the hungry or housing the homeless. This week was a good reminder that, in addition to these good and scriptural works, The Salvation Army continues to hold true to its foundation of proclaiming the good news of Christ.