I'm scared to ask, but I'm dying to know . . .

Dear Friends in Christ -

Summer is the time when priests plan the worship services for the coming year. It's a time when I reflect on our successes and failures, tune things up, gather ideas, and pray for inspiration. It's a time when the voice of God comes to me - guiding, directing, shaping.

For us Episcopalians, some things in worship are tradition, things we "always" or "never" do, things we love and can't live without. Of course, there must be Scripture and prayer, or it's not a Christian worship service. Of course, we must regularly share the sustaining, invigorating Body and Blood of Christ. MOST things do NOT fall in that category, however. We have more flexibility in our worship together than you and/or I have probably imagined.

Because we have the preferences and needs and expectations of so many people to take into consideration, planning for our weekly times of worship together is a daunting task. It's also daunting because no matter what we do or don't do, we can't meet the preferences/needs/expectations of everyone. Fundamentally, worship is about our connection with God, and therefore NOT to be primarily driven by whims and fads, NOT to be changed up constantly just for the sake of enteretainment.

All that said, I WONDER . . . why is it that more people don't make (and keep!) the commitment to worshipping together EVERY WEEK?? I know, I know . . . . busy lives, family demands, sports, etc. . . . but all of us MAKE time for the things that are most important to us. I was looking at photos from the 1960s recently, and I was remembering that Sunday School as so big in those days (in most churches across the country) that MOST kids in the whole country were in church on Sunday mornings. What happened to change that? Can we - should we - change back to that?

Soooo . . . I'm scared to ask, but I'm dying to know, WHAT WOULD GET YOU TO CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY MORNING? What would make two hours each week with God and your Christian brothers and sisters (on Sunday or Wednesday) an absolute priority on your calendar? These are NOT rhetorical questions; I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW! If you want to share your answers with me, please do! I'm all ears at revjanet@stpaulsct.org.

Thanks, in advance, for sharing your thoughts with me.
Blessings,
Janet+