Coming to church tomorrow?

Dear Friends in Christ -

For some folks, going to church isn't a choice. The Sunday morning space is permanently marked out in the calendar. This meeting with God is a regular and important appointment. When I was a kid, this is the way my parent chose to operate, so I got used to tagging along. There weren't fights about going to church; sometimes foot-dragging, but no fights. We were going, and that's all there was to it.

For other folks, the decision to go to church on Sunday is on a play-by-play basis. They get up in the morning and look out the window at the weather. They decide to come to church if it won't put too big a squeeze on other activities in the day. As a teenager and young adult, I experimented with this way of going to church. I have to tell you, I found this way of living a lot harder, a lot more angst ridden. I often felt that I couldn't win for losing. If I went and the sermon wasn't good or there were no donuts left by the time I got to coffee hour, I felt like I had wasted part of "my" day off. If I didn't go, I felt like I was missing a spiritual energy boost, a blessing.

All in all, I think the "block it out on the calendar" method has the greatest pay-off. The most important thing that way of living does is hold open a space to show up in regularly, expecting that God will show up there, too. Do it enough times and - no matter how thick-headed or hard-hearted you've become bouncing around in this old world - you're bound to experience God in a way you never have before.

I look forward to seeing you in church tomorrow.
Faithfully,
Janet+

PS - Tomorrow is going to be a GREAT day in church. The annual meeting will follow the service, and there are some good surprises in store for us!