One of the churches I wanted to visit on my sabbatical was All Saints Episcopal in Pasadena. It fits my criteria: progressive and vibrant. I have never been to worship at All Saints but it seems to be the marker by which we judge ourselves as a church. (Never mind that they have 18-20 program staff members and a much larger church budget.) I went to their 11:15 service today, excited about all that I would learn.
Immediately upon walking on to the All Saints campus you find outdoor tables under canopies that tell you all you need to know about them. There are booths for small groups you can join; sign ups for upcoming activities; information on issues in the Middle East; a welcome table for first time visitors; a scale model on their building campaign; and an action table (complete with ways to donate to help flood victims in Pakistan and petitions to sign on pending legislation). There is a festive and welcoming feel before you ever walk through the open door to their sanctuary. Their tag line is: "Wherever you are and wherever you find yourself on your journey of faith, there is a place for you here."
The sanctuary is filled with symbols, carved wood, beautiful stained glass windows and organ pipes. The service begins with pageantry, as the cross and candles are brought down the center aisle. People turn to follow the procession of the cross and some even bow as it passes. There was a summer choir, which processed along with many clergy and liturgists. The bulletin was lengthy and included the words and to all songs and the scriptures of the day.
Worship at All Saints is well done and you can clearly see that people are glad to be there and feel very welcome. The preacher for today had just returned from a four month sabbatical. As she shared the announcements she spoke of visiting in many other churches during her time away. She said that worshiping with other churches had shown her how special All Saints' worship is and what a beacon it provides.
Her comment made me smile. I enjoyed being at All Saints and there were several things that I thought would be nice for us to incorporate into our worship and church life. But it made me miss the congregation I love. I missed the way we do things at La Verne CoB. I missed having the children in worship; people sharing their own joys and concerns; less formality; and the World music of our services. It is good to visit other churches and be reminded of how much you love your own faith community.
Reading about your experiences at the church juxtaposed to the strength of our Church at the time of the loss of Chuck Boyer, I feel sadness yet pride to be a member of such a loving church family. And now to have our children as members demonstrates the work that Chuck did years ago lives on. He had a profound impact on me during a time of crisis, and will always be loved and remembered. "Hold close these moments for we will always live by remembering."
ReplyDeleteYou are missed. Hurry home to your church family.
Love, Peggy Castellano
I tried to post a comment last Friday after reading your whole blog. We were in the East/Midwest when you started your sabbatical, so I did not know of your blog. I will try to post something again.
ReplyDeleteI identified with you so very much as Willard and I met with both his and my brothers and sisters. At mine, 43 realatives (brothers, sisters, nieces, nephew, great-neices & nephews and great-great nieces)attended Quaker Haven Camp some time over the weekend. There was a whole lot of love there. Then the week we spent visiting the 37 lighthouses we had not seen before in the UP, MI with all the beauty of Lake Superior, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, the sunsets, the trees, the clouds. I loved your expression "saturated with beauty". God has given you a great gift with words. I'm looking forward to following your blog the rest of your sabbatical. Thank you.