June 15, 2014 - Running Wild with the Frozen Chosen
Party Rock is in God’s House Tonight!* OK, it was this morning. And God’s House covers a lot of territory, even for me. (*Reference: Party Rock is in the House Tonight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGPwmgmXBWg )
I love my churchy Sunday mornings. I love my pre-church walk, listening to Sunday Morning with Michael Enright on CBC. Today he interviewed prison chaplain Kate Johnson and I encourage you to listen to it on podcast. http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/ I love driving to church; I listen to the local Christian radio station in order to hear The Gaithers or a cowboy Christian equivalent. Today they were singing “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder.” Yee haw! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LjZfjuOASs Then at 10 am, the program changed to All Nations Baptist Church where they were having a Duck Dynasty Father’s Day service. “Not your grandmother’s church!” as they are proud to point out.
And then, be still my beating heart, I arrived at Church of the Epiphany Anglican Church, ready to party hardy for Jesus’ sake. What’s not to like? Liturgy that’s hundreds of years old (with a few modifications,) four Scripture readings, ethereal music from the choir and a chance to belt it out from the pews, and always a soul-penetrating sermon from Pastor Tim. (OK, they call him Father Perry.) Today there was a baptism of a baby and a chance to renew our baptismal vows. Woo hoo! Somebody say AMEN! (Actually, I did at one point. But it was invited. Sort of…)
But I have to be truthful here. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Methodist – I don’t normally fly this high. My idea of a wild time is to go to lunch with a theological and scholarly friend and talk about the life and times of Susannah Wesley, the mother of Methodism. And I love that my church family – All Peoples United Church – has a strong lay preacher emphasis. Our services are short, informal, and feature a different preacher every week; I used to be one of them. We aren’t kidding when we say we are all Ministers of the Gospel – not necessarily by choice. But necessity is the mother of invention and was of Methodism - a story in itself.
But my daughter Caro’s sweetheart, Jeremy, is Anglican and a lay reader there. So when he is serving I get to “run wild” with the “frozen chosen.” (I’m joking about the “frozen” part; they are warm as a lamb.) My hubs, Laurence, asks me what I like about the Anglican service so much, and I tell him it’s like “Body Pump” group exercise classes at GoodLife. … OK, so - unlike my friend Susan - I’m not theological or scholarly, but here’s how my explanation went. At Body Pump there is a little music to get you in the right frame of mind. Warm up is like the call to worship and then it’s go-go-go for the next hour or so – but it’s a predictable go-go-go. But it’s never boring or mindless. Because what happens in each section differs every week, and you have to keep alert so you can appreciate the differences.
OK, there is no sermon at Body Pump. But there could be. How so? Enter my new favourite group exercise leader - Ernestine Shepherd. She’s 77 and the World’s Top Bodybuilder for her age group – AND she is a Methodist. She does her muscle-building workouts in the morning and in the afternoon she leads free exercise classes, usually in churches. And when she gives an inspirational talk, she starts it by saying, “I really love The Lord.” Be still my battered heart ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elsOwJ4IyyA
****
Me, I have retired from being a lay preacher, but my next voluntary ministry-as-I-see-it is to lead gentle exercise classes to older adults. (Minus the sermon – I do love to talk!) Our cool-down song may need to be “Nearer My God To thee” because if old Jancercise here is leading it, the participants will be!
I love my churchy Sunday mornings. I love my pre-church walk, listening to Sunday Morning with Michael Enright on CBC. Today he interviewed prison chaplain Kate Johnson and I encourage you to listen to it on podcast. http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/ I love driving to church; I listen to the local Christian radio station in order to hear The Gaithers or a cowboy Christian equivalent. Today they were singing “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder.” Yee haw! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LjZfjuOASs Then at 10 am, the program changed to All Nations Baptist Church where they were having a Duck Dynasty Father’s Day service. “Not your grandmother’s church!” as they are proud to point out.
And then, be still my beating heart, I arrived at Church of the Epiphany Anglican Church, ready to party hardy for Jesus’ sake. What’s not to like? Liturgy that’s hundreds of years old (with a few modifications,) four Scripture readings, ethereal music from the choir and a chance to belt it out from the pews, and always a soul-penetrating sermon from Pastor Tim. (OK, they call him Father Perry.) Today there was a baptism of a baby and a chance to renew our baptismal vows. Woo hoo! Somebody say AMEN! (Actually, I did at one point. But it was invited. Sort of…)
But I have to be truthful here. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Methodist – I don’t normally fly this high. My idea of a wild time is to go to lunch with a theological and scholarly friend and talk about the life and times of Susannah Wesley, the mother of Methodism. And I love that my church family – All Peoples United Church – has a strong lay preacher emphasis. Our services are short, informal, and feature a different preacher every week; I used to be one of them. We aren’t kidding when we say we are all Ministers of the Gospel – not necessarily by choice. But necessity is the mother of invention and was of Methodism - a story in itself.
But my daughter Caro’s sweetheart, Jeremy, is Anglican and a lay reader there. So when he is serving I get to “run wild” with the “frozen chosen.” (I’m joking about the “frozen” part; they are warm as a lamb.) My hubs, Laurence, asks me what I like about the Anglican service so much, and I tell him it’s like “Body Pump” group exercise classes at GoodLife. … OK, so - unlike my friend Susan - I’m not theological or scholarly, but here’s how my explanation went. At Body Pump there is a little music to get you in the right frame of mind. Warm up is like the call to worship and then it’s go-go-go for the next hour or so – but it’s a predictable go-go-go. But it’s never boring or mindless. Because what happens in each section differs every week, and you have to keep alert so you can appreciate the differences.
OK, there is no sermon at Body Pump. But there could be. How so? Enter my new favourite group exercise leader - Ernestine Shepherd. She’s 77 and the World’s Top Bodybuilder for her age group – AND she is a Methodist. She does her muscle-building workouts in the morning and in the afternoon she leads free exercise classes, usually in churches. And when she gives an inspirational talk, she starts it by saying, “I really love The Lord.” Be still my battered heart ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elsOwJ4IyyA
****
Me, I have retired from being a lay preacher, but my next voluntary ministry-as-I-see-it is to lead gentle exercise classes to older adults. (Minus the sermon – I do love to talk!) Our cool-down song may need to be “Nearer My God To thee” because if old Jancercise here is leading it, the participants will be!