Vacationing in the Episcopal Church

For the past few months I have been attending a community worship service at a local Episcopal Church. I had been sensing the need to have a place to worship where I am not responsible for anything. As a minister it is difficult to worship in a worship service where I am praying, reading scripture, teaching the children’s moment, or doing the announcements. To sit in a pew is a privilege and one that I take advantage of on Sunday nights.

My first visit at this service was an eye opening experience. I don’t mind getting out of my comfort zone and I knew that this service would be totally different than what I grew up with. I am Baptist through and through and I felt like a foreigner on the first visit. A good friend of mine wisely said that one should visit a church twice, just to be sure. On the second visit, I felt like I could take more of it in because I knew what to expect. The newness of it all had worn off somewhat and I could really immerse myself in the whole experience. Soon I found myself in a Baptist worship service on Sunday mornings and vacationing in an Episcopal Church on Sunday nights. Sometimes I would even attend this community worship service on Sunday nights and then race off to my Baptist church for a meeting. It has become that important to me.

I have really enjoyed this little worship service for many reasons. It is considered to be a community worship service and lots of different people attend it. Folks from many different denominations attend it and it is a beautiful thing to see everyone praying together, taking communion together, and singing together. The worship style is very Celtic and there are lots of moments for reflection. They purposely leave space in the worship service so we can reflect on the scripture and pray.

I love this little worship service for many reasons, but I think the biggest reason I love it is the fact that this hour on Sunday night is for me. It is my little way of breaking out of the little Baptist world that I have found here in Richmond and engaging another part of the community. In my world full of papers, tests, missions and church work it is nice to be able to worship with these folks. They have truly made me, a Baptist, feel at home in their sanctuary and I am truly grateful. It is so wonderful to see a church like this purposely opening their doors to everyone, even if the priest was floored to find out that they have a young, Baptist, minister/seminarian in their midst every Sunday night.