Reflecting on September 23 and September 30: We Are the Church

The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place,

the church is a people.

-Richard K. Avery and Donald S. Marsh

     Over the past weeks and months, we talked a lot about "the church" and "this church" and "our church" in worship and meetings as the 175th anniversary of First Presbyterian Church's founding approached. Pictures were shared, movies were made, and memories were recalled as members young and old talked about the church- not just FPC, but what I'd call the capital-C "Church." To reinforce this idea, we sang Richard Avery and Donald Marsh's song "We Are the Church" at Wednesday night gatherings and during our September 30 activities. The refrain reads:

I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together!

All who follow Jesus, all around the world! Yes, we're the church together!

    As we sang "We Are the Church" Sunday during worship, I loved the juxtaposition of two very different groups joining in song: the six Children's Choir members who had volunteered to help lead the singing, and the congregation, varied in age and experience. It reinforced the second verse of the song so well: 

We're many kinds of people, with many kinds of faces,

all colors and all ages, too, from all times and places.

    Before the service on Sunday, we got to hear about those people and see those faces and hear about those times and places in the wonderful "Our Church" video. Each chapter focused on different facet of the life of our church, and our Church: "We Worship." "We Love." "We Laugh." In all of these things, we learned the stories of members whose lives were undeniably changed as they grew up in and with the church. As we entered worship, we encountered some of the 175 ways that FPC Anderson is making history today. We heard of the respite we provide for families dealing with the horrible effects of Alzheimer's; we laughed at a picture of staff members wearing capes for the Wednesday night kickoff; we saw the hands and feet of adults, youth, and children acting as Christ's hands and feet on a muggy Saturday in September, unloading and distributing food from the Manna Truck. What stories will we be telling 25 years from now? Will we be laughing about the time the girls on the Youth Choir trip forgot that you lose an hour when Daylight Savings Time begins? Will we smile when we recall Annie West's wonderful letter explaining what she would do to help homeless children with her $175? I certainly hope so. Let's pray that our church and our Church continue to work and worship in our community and our world. Yes, we're the church together!