The Well is an intimate congregation that doesn't own it's own building. In the past, it positioned itself in a well-known intersection at Ospika and 15th, right next to the Lakewood Timmy's, which is where I first noticed the sign. The name and signage appealled to me at a very deep level and I was very curious as to what type of congregation was connected to this church.
Awhile ago, I had a brief conversation with a long-time Prince George friend about the Well. He had attended my previous congregation and we were in the same small group almost 20 years ago. He stated that the Well was the congregation he was connected to.
Then recently I had a female friend invite me to attend the Well with her, so this past Sunday I hopped in my truck, picked my friend up, and went to the Evangelical Free Church (the Well moved to this new location where it meets in the basement of the building). We had tried to find out when the group meeting started -- a quick internet search was futile so we planned to get there for 16:00 hrs. We were pleasantly surprised when we showed up 5 minutes late and found that the service didn't actually start until 16:30 hrs, and later we realized that the start time was only a general suggestion. With our gift of 20 minutes, we went to grab a coffee. There were only a few cars in the parking lot and, being new-comers, we didn't want to have to try to fill 1/2 hour of small talk prior to the service starting. I rarely have been in the position of being new to a congregation and the challenge of walking through the doors was a signfiicant hurdle that needed to be overcome to attend the service.
There were refreshments being served in the back and a blue-collared member of the congregation came to meet me almost immediately. I later realized that he was the leader, dressed in New Balance running shoes, black jeans, and a T-shirt with an Orthodox cross in the middle layered with an unbuttoned, collared shirt. The feel of the group was relaxed informality. Many people were eating and drinking their coffee in their chairs, a totally forbidden sin in some gatherings. I made myself to my seat and started to people watch. A part of the worship group was already at the front of the group playing quietly. The guitar player looked like a biker and sounded like Larry Norman. There was a full electronic drum set as well and I was curious to pick out the drummer. My assumption was a younger male character with a flair for harder rock, so I was surprised when a middle-aged lady who looked more like Mrs. Claus got up and positioned herself behind the set-up. Instead of directing the worship, this group just started to play and facilitated an atmosphere that encouraged people to join in. The songs were unfamiliar to me but simple to follow along as there was much repitition.
We happened to participate on a communion sunday. The leader encouraged everyone to come to the front of the room. (|Apparently it is difficult to remain anonymous here) There was an assumption that everyone was familiar with this tradition and without explaining the process the leader encouraged people to make a commitment statement to the body of Christ. What was facinating to me is that during the discussion it was emphasized many times that this group is a part of the larger body of the Church in Prince George. I felt confirmation that my current journey was very much supported within this body. At no point did this group try to create distance between itself and other gathering of believers; in fact, it was suggested that many attenders also participated in other groups.
There was no offering taken. The leader had a few notes jotted down on some scraps of paper and his only scripture reference was in electronic format on an IPhone. He quoted from many scriptures, some directly and others by memory. It didn't surprise me that he spoke on the topic of the Holy Spirit and the topic was covered like a shot gun blast, numerous ideas being propelled into the group with the desire that something would hit everyone in the room. There were numerous young children who roamed through the chairs in a free range fashion, at one point cruising right past the leader, who seemed completely unphased.
The talk ended, there was a short song and people mulled around. It appeared that no one was in a hurry to leave and most just visited and got reacquainted with those they didn't have time to talk to at the beginning of the service.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Westwood: A comfortable old sweater
Today I went to Westwood Church. It felt like an old sweater that you find in storage after several years. You thought that all the sights and smells were forgotten until you put it on and then the familiarity fills your senses. I have a long personal history with this congregation, my family and I went to this church for over 10 years. The pastor has changed, many of the faces are new, however the format for the service is surprising familiar.I must fess up, I missed most of the first part of the service because I was talking with the main organizer of the MCC fall fair. We were talking about funeral and death rituals (one of my passions)
Seating positioning is always a political issue in church. If you want to see someone squirm just sit in their traditional spot and watch their body language. Most won't say anything directly but you can cut the uncomfortableness with a knife. One of the things I would like to do is sit near the front of the building. This gives me a good view of the pastor and makes it look like I am a keener. I chose the right side of the room (At Westwood. this is the location filled with young people.) I have always thought this as a very positive tradition. The church where I grew up the kids always sat in the back row (modeling what occurs in most schools) If you sit in the front you would be called goody two shoes and the people in the back would be the shit disturbers.That or the parents with young children who need to sneak out when their kids express themselves naturally.
Speaking about "shit disturbers" that was the phrase that came to mind when the pastor was asking the audience to shout out their impressions of who JC was. You see we tend to forget the fact that Christ was a shit disturber. The good Church goers of the day were the Pharisees and they thought they had God figured out. When JC came he rocked their world by re-defining things.
One of my favorite people in this church is an elder who swears now and again. He used to get in trouble from his wife when he swore in his adult Sunday school classes that he taught. Maybe there is hope for honest dialogue within this congregation after all. As long as you are not a women wanting to be an elder ... but I digress. I have to keep reminding myself to keep things positive or at least non-divisive.
The music was contemporary with a full band and a worship team. The music was matched to create the right atmosphere. Like a classic bell shaped curved it started slow, quickened with a short time frame and then became more meditative and somber as the music concluded, just prior to the sermon.
The sermon was well scripted and ended at its prescribed time. A quick song at the end, shake a few hands and then jump in your car so you can get dibs on the good spots at a local restaurant. That is unless you follow the ancient tradition of eating Faspa (a Mennonite meal of buns and cheese so that woman wouldn't have to work on the Sabbath)
Seating positioning is always a political issue in church. If you want to see someone squirm just sit in their traditional spot and watch their body language. Most won't say anything directly but you can cut the uncomfortableness with a knife. One of the things I would like to do is sit near the front of the building. This gives me a good view of the pastor and makes it look like I am a keener. I chose the right side of the room (At Westwood. this is the location filled with young people.) I have always thought this as a very positive tradition. The church where I grew up the kids always sat in the back row (modeling what occurs in most schools) If you sit in the front you would be called goody two shoes and the people in the back would be the shit disturbers.That or the parents with young children who need to sneak out when their kids express themselves naturally.
Speaking about "shit disturbers" that was the phrase that came to mind when the pastor was asking the audience to shout out their impressions of who JC was. You see we tend to forget the fact that Christ was a shit disturber. The good Church goers of the day were the Pharisees and they thought they had God figured out. When JC came he rocked their world by re-defining things.
One of my favorite people in this church is an elder who swears now and again. He used to get in trouble from his wife when he swore in his adult Sunday school classes that he taught. Maybe there is hope for honest dialogue within this congregation after all. As long as you are not a women wanting to be an elder ... but I digress. I have to keep reminding myself to keep things positive or at least non-divisive.
The music was contemporary with a full band and a worship team. The music was matched to create the right atmosphere. Like a classic bell shaped curved it started slow, quickened with a short time frame and then became more meditative and somber as the music concluded, just prior to the sermon.
The sermon was well scripted and ended at its prescribed time. A quick song at the end, shake a few hands and then jump in your car so you can get dibs on the good spots at a local restaurant. That is unless you follow the ancient tradition of eating Faspa (a Mennonite meal of buns and cheese so that woman wouldn't have to work on the Sabbath)
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