rainstick and giggles

We went to church this morning in Green Bay, MI. What a breath of fresh air as we tour all over the country! It’s a real treat to have a chance to gather at a church without having to perform, retell the story 100 times or even dress up. We went in our travel clothes (ACC shirt and pants) and worshiped. Wow! We almost doubled the attendance of the congregation as this was a new Vineyard church that met in an old theater. It was a cool space with booths, tall tables and stools, a stage, pool table, and coffee and bagels. The collection of people ranged from young to old, black and white, churched and not-churched. And that dynamic made all the difference. We came together as a random family of God’s children, each adding their own gifts. My regular “older” companions harmonized with all the songs while the children offered a great sense of wonder and awe that we could do church in a restaurant and in jeans and travel sweatshirts. One of the aunties had to explain that they had to set up church every week just like we have to set up our set and props every time we go into a new theater.

As for me, the part that usually sticks in my mind more than anything are the sounds of songs. The harmonies of both the musicians, singers and the congregation always make me smile, but the accompaniment had a unique flavor. The djembe and guitars were nice, however, I was sure I heard a rain stick flowing at the beat of a beautiful song about following God’s lead. In the midst of singing, I opened my eyes to find that the source of the gentle percussion was a small child and her toy car rolling on the metal railing. A little bit of bubbling and deep rolling life behind the notes came from some folks chuckling in the back. These unrehearsed and even unplanned sounds helped me appreciate the grand scope of God’s workings in the world: how he would put us all together and speak small bits of humor, silliness, subtle demands, and beautiful reassurances all in the same tune. Such messages might only have been for my ears and heart, but I pray the meditations of the latter were matching his intention.