After not attending indoor worship services for over a year, I re-entered this world in mid-March 2021. Over the next two months I visited 8 different congregations in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area (for more on those experiences check out Pandemic Regathering: 8 Experiences). Earlier today I attended my first indoor service of worship outside the state of Texas since before the onset of the pandemic at Naples United Church of Christ. Preparation I registered for the service Read More …
Discipleship
Pandemic Regathering: 8 Experiences (#1929)
When I first learned about COVID-19, I had no idea what to expect. In March 2020 when in person gatherings of all kind were discontinued, I never imagined it would be more than a year before I would next set foot in a sanctuary to worship alongside other followers of the Way of Jesus (I even blogged about the extended wait in posts like 6 Months Without In Person Worship and 10 Months Without In Person Worship). The First 8 Weeks My journey back to indoor worship and to intentionally Read More …
New Beginnings at First Presbyterian (Fort Worth) (#1928)
First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) has been a part of the Fort Worth community for 148 years. Originally established in 1873, this urban congregation moved to its current location in 1956. Like many congregations, it ceased all indoor gatherings early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike most congregations, it also completed a search for a new pastor and head of staff during the pandemic. On February 7, 2021, the congregation elected the Rev. Dr. Brian Coulter to serve as its next pastor Read More …
Central Christian Church: Concluding 158 Years (#1927)
On Easter Sunday 2021, Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the oldest continually meeting congregation in Dallas, Texas, (est. 1863) held its final service of worship. A week later, the congregation held its final public gathering: an outdoor legacy lunch - an opportunity for current and past members, community partners, ministers, and others to celebrate the ministry and mission of the congregation, and to bless it's transition into a new stage of life. Getting Started My Read More …
Giving Up the Output Oriented Church (#1922)
I've spent my entire life in church. More specifically, I've been a part of a dozen congregations affiliated with a group of denominations most continue to label Mainline Protestant (for more on my departure, check out Giving Up Mainline Protestantism). Defining Success Individual congregations rarely provide stakeholders with a clear definition of success. As a result, most members and many active participants are left to assume their congregation is doing just fine provided it Read More …
First Indoor Worship Service in a Year (#1921)
Last Sunday I attended my first in person worship service in over a year. For that outdoor service at First Presbyterian Church (Fort Worth, TX) I sat masked in a socially distanced chair with fewer than 20 other outdoor attendees - a group which was supplemented by folks worshipping in a nearby parking lot in their vehicles. (For more on this check out my post titled First in Person Worship Experience in a Year.) Today was another milestone day: I attended my first indoor worship service in Read More …
Giving Up Worship in Indoor Sacred Spaces (#1920)
For Lent, I’m giving up something big: the church I always knew. And, unlike past Lenten disciplines that ended on Easter, this change is one I expect to be permanent. Indoor Sacred Spaces as Primary From birth through childhood, adolescence, young adulthood and into middle age I have participated in weekly Sunday morning worship almost every week of every year of my life. At least 98% of those worship services occurred indoors within the walls of congregations I Read More …
First In Person Worship Experience in a Year (#1919)
I attended in person worship for the first time in over a year earlier today! First Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth created and has continually updated and followed a reopening plan that is based on data not dates. After a few months of providing a parking lot service during which all attendees were required to remain in their vehicles (I shared my initial experience in "New Year, New Worship Experience"), the congregation added an in person element to this weekly worship service Read More …
Giving Up Mainline Protestantism (#1917)
For Lent, I'm giving up something big: the church I always knew. And, unlike past Lenten disciples that ended on Easter, this change is one I expect to be permanent. My Christian Identity For all of my life, I've self-identified as a Mainline Protestant. Despite this unchanging identification, I've spent significant time outside my own tradition. My experiences beyond the Mainline include Worship. I've visited and worshipped in dozens of congregations affiliated with a variety Read More …
Giving Up the Church I Always Knew (#1916)
For the last fifteen or so years I've focused on approaching life, ministry, and the life of faith from a both/and perspective rather than the either/or framework that was normative in my earlier years. For Lent, I'm accustomed to both giving something up and adding something on as a way of growing in my faith. In past years, items in both the giving up and adding on categories have been mundane. They were not original. Nonetheless, they were helpful. This year, for Lent I'm formally Read More …