A Message From The Lay Leader
by Paul Semendinger
On Sunday mornings, we come to church to worship. We enter the building with open hearts ready to receive the Word of God. Church is a place that is safe from the distractions of home and work (and almost every other thing). The entire building, in a sense, is a sanctuary from all of the concerns that take up our daily thoughts and can distract from our connection to God. The church building, and the sanctuary itself, are where we do connect. Inside, we receive God's message, we hear stories from the Bible, we sing spiritual songs, we share the peace with one another, and we pray as we come together as a community and as we connect with God.
But, the church, and even the sanctuary, aren't always places of peace and reflection for everyone. It is not a place where all can go and are able to break away from the travails of work and life. Sometimes, church is anything but a sanctuary for some.
We all lead busy lives. This is part of living in Bergen, Passaic and other counties in our area in this day and age. We talk fast, we move fast, there is always somewhere to go and something to do. Our list of things to do are long and seemingly never ending. As such, when we have the opportunity to rid ourselves of a task, a concern, or a burden, we do. But when we do this, we often forget that while the weight is off our minds (or our backs), at the same time we may also be adding to the burdens of someone else.
Sunday mornings at church should not be the time to approach a committee member or a church employee with a concern. When those people are at church, they are also there to worship, not take on additional tasks or relieve others of their concerns and burdens. In fact, when others share these things with others on a Sunday morning, they often prevent those others from the sanctuary that church, and the sanctuary itself, are supposed to provide. It's difficult to focus on God's message when a brand new task is added to one's list of things to do.
We all need church to be a sanctuary. In order for that to be accomplished, we all need to respect that when we're at church to worship, connect, create positive fellowships, and the like, that the business of running a church and all that entails be saved for another day, another time, and maybe even another place.
Let's let the church be a sanctuary for all.
God Bless!
A Note from Pastor Brian Neville
I very much agree with Paul that the church is a sanctuary and that it is paramount that the Sunday morning experience is a sacred space for worship. We want that for everyone in our congregation and for our staff! I might even go so far as to say that I want that all the time, everywhere, for everyone! When we walk day in and day out with God’s Spirit at work in us, we treat people differently. We offer respect and grace no matter where we are or what might be going on in our lives.
Now, you might be thinking Paul wrote all this because there must have been some kind of incident at the church. That’s not the case. In fact, its better and more effective when we remind people of this standard when there is NOT a problem going on. We truly want our church to be a space for God’s Spirit to be at work in the worship experience and that happens when all of us put a pause on our work so that we can worship together. We just want to remind folks so we can continue this rich tradition.
There is one exception, though, to working on a Sunday. As the Pastor, I am specifically working on Sunday morning. I am not a member at Grace United Methodist Church; instead, my membership is held at the Annual Conference. I worship when I am gathered with my clergy colleagues, and in other environments. That means you should feel free to share a concern with me, or a pastoral care issue after church. Sometimes that’s when I find out the most information about what is happening in your lives, and that shouldn’t stop. Please share your concerns with me when you are at church. I do have one request, though. If you’re mad, or angry, please wait until after church and in private. It’s never happened while I’ve been at Grace, but an angry church person yelling 10 minutes before worship starts could really wreck a worship service. In respect to the whole church community, difficult conversations should wait until after church is over. Thank you for your love for this church and keeping it a sacred space for all. God bless!