JUNE 22 - June church visits

Well we head home this week and look forward to being back in Texas! Please make sure the highs are in the 80s and the lows are in the 60s so we will not have a big adjustment to make - HAHA!

I thought I would update you on the three church visits we made during the month of June. (Note you can click on the name of each church to see their web sites.)

JUNE 7 - CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH - As I prepared for this visit, it dawned on me that despite all of my years in East Texas, this would be the first time I had ever attended a Baptist church for Sunday morning worship. I don't know, however, if you can compare this congregation to Texas Baptists! Perhaps the most striking thing was that the senior pastor was a "she." We learned that Pastor Donna Hopkins Britt is the daughter of a former pastor of the church. This was an old established congregation with a beautiful old building. Maybe about 140 in attendance - plenty of room for more. A VERY accomplished choir - singing a VERY difficult piece. To get everything in (including Communion) - the sermon was brief but a very meaningful presentation on the Trinity. We were included in Communion which is not usually the norm for Baptists. Most Texas Methodists would feel very much at home at Calvary Baptist. It is located in a redeveloping part of town, close to downtown. A new "loft apartment complex" was about to open - and the church was going to be there for new dwellers on "move-in" day.

JUNE 14 - BROOKLYN TABERNACLE - We were in NYC on this weekend, and I had always wanted to hear the Brooklyn Tabernacle choir so we got there early for the 9 a.m. service. (The services are long - so the schedule is 9 a.m, 12 noon and 3:30 p.m.) If you are ever in NY on a Sunday, be sure to go check this place out. A few years ago they were so cramped they were having 6 or 7 services each Sunday, so they purchased and renovated a huge old Loew's Theatre for worship use. Wow - it looks brand new now. Something like 4000 seats. The story of the church is interesting. The pastor "inherited" a struggling mission from his father-in-law in inner-city Brooklyn. By the grace of God, it has grown over the years. The pastor's wife does not read music, but took over responsibility for the choir, and it is now a Grammy award winning group! Wow and wow! To top it off, the pastor and his wife are Anglo, and the congregation is (though somewhat diverse) 90% African-American. God is certainly at work here. As it turned out, the choir usually sings at 9 and noon, but today were singing at noon and 3:30 because they were recording a new CD. They had just a few music leaders instead. The most amazing thing was the congregational singing. It was really like a 4000 voice choir!! They don't spectate...they participate!!! We were planning to catch a Broadway show Sunday afternoon, but instead decided to come back for the 3:30 p.m. concert, so we were able to hear the choir after all. Again - check it out if you are ever in NY on a weekend!

JUNE 21 - ST. MARK'S UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, DALEVILLE VA - Our last Sunday away, so I decided to get back to the UMC! This church is slightly smaller in numbers than ours - average of about 250 in two services. Much like Cave Spring UMC - the sanctuary is "wide" (left to right) instead of "long" (front to back). The first thing you would notice (as a flat-lander) is the huge expanse of glass behind the altar - you can see the beautiful surrounding Allegheny Mountains as you worship. Wow. (Although when you stand to sing, you can spy the Kroger gas pumps!) It was also nice to see that the choir area and the handbell area were fully accessible with a ramp to the side. As it turned out, however, the music was "summer slim." No choir. No bells. The keyboardist was on her honeymoon. So the choir director played - led a couple of praise songs - and sang the special herself. I was pleased (just personal preference) that the service did not lead off with 15 minutes of announcements like others I attended. At this church you have to read the announcements on your own time. It did allow the pastor more preaching time than some of the others we have attended. The pastor was a good preacher, and gave a good message on Jesus and the storm - and he talked about the various storms we face. At the close of the service, they commissioned a teen member who was preparing to go on a mission trip to Uganda.

Well today (Monday) may be the most fun day of all - we are cleaning the apartment and packing up stuff. We look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we think together about the theme "Sabbath." Thank you so much for your prayers and your support which made this sabbatical possible!!

Robert & Betsy

JUNE 16 - a few more updates

Well we have had a few busy moments, and to top it off my laptop is down, so I am using the local library to post a few notes.

In the last few weeks, we have experienced the following (some of which you may already know about):

++ Our son Jeremy came up for a weekend visit

++ I participated in a 3-day retreat at a Catholic retreat center

++ We went to Williamsburg/Jamestown for 3 days - wow, lots of history there!

++ Our daughter Whitney came up for a weekend visit

++ We went to New York for a brief weekend trip

Lots of blessings in all of these special experiences - and also more reading and volunteer work has taken place...

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday, June 28, and we have felt your support and prayers throughout this "time apart." See you soon!!

JUNE 1 - Churches we have visited

It is quite an experience to be able to attend church each Sunday without being responsible for leading it!! I began my sabbatical really looking forward to this (not to mention being able to get up each Sunday and leisurely read the paper and sip my coffee, instead of gulping!). As the sabbatical began, I decided that rather than picking one church - I would enjoy attending a different congregation each Sunday, trying to experience different types and styles (and denominations). You can click on the name of each congregation for more information online.



APRIL 27 - MOUNT PLEASANT UNITED METHODIST CHURCH. For our first Sunday in Virginia, I chose this congregation because the pastor (Rev. Liz Mortlock) had been so very kind with a phone call when we were here a few months ago, trying to locate a place to stay for the sabbatical. She had invited us to worship that weekend, but we had gone to the downtown UM church. So I thought now would be a good time to attend Mount Pleasant. It is a small congregation on the outskirts of Roanoke, a semi-rural area. The mostly older folks are very friendly, and it seems like almost everyone wants to meet a guest. Instead of a sermon, we heard a presentation from an adult/youth team that had taken a recent mission trip to an impoverished part of West Virginia. Mount Pleasant and Pastor Liz receive bonus points, as she took us out to lunch after worship!!



MAY 3 - CAVE SPRING UNITED METHODIST CHURCH. Originally an old rural congregation, dating well back into the 19th century, this is now suburban Roanoke, and the church has grown accordingly. Despite a gray, drizzly day, the interior of the sanctuary was bright and cheerful, with a lot of glass - highlighting the beautiful surrounding mountains. There was a lot of music, pipe organ, choir, and handbells. Being Communion Sunday, it did seem like we were trying to do a whole lot in a short time. In addition, there was a lot of "pre-service stuff," so that it was about 11:15 by the time we got to the opening hymn. The pastor had a nice conversational message on the 23rd Psalm. This is the largest UM congregation in the Roanoke area, with an average attendance of 463 (in 3 services - two traditional and one contemporary).



MAY 10 - FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, BRENHAM. We were actually back in Texas for this weekend, as we celebrated our daughter's 21st birthday and also had Mother's Day brunch with my mom after taking her with us to early church in Brenham. Pastor Dale had a message that celebrated the role of our moms in our lives. It was a rare experience to sit in the pew with my wife and mom. FUMC has several retired pastor couples in the church, so my mother enjoyed getting to see them!



MAY 17 - PARKWAY WESLEYAN CHURCH. You see Wesleyan churches fairly frequently in Virginia (unlike Texas). It is a denomination with roots in the teaching of John Wesley, like us United Methodists. Many of the Wesleyan congregations appear to be relatively small. Parkway is an exception. This is a large church that has relocated more than once due to growth, and the pastor has been there almost 20 years. The present building is a few years old, and is strikingly located on the top of a mountain. You should see the driveway that curves up the side of a mountain. It is a church with contemporary style worship, and averages over 1000 in attendance (in 2 services). The pastor had a pretty blunt, hard-hitting message, part of a series on heaven called "Wings." The message, based on Hebrews 11:32-40, walked us through the passage. First he reminded us that our victories and successes can cause us to lose sight of our wings (our future hope of heaven). Second, our devastating defeats can cause us to lose sight of our wings. Very insightfully he said it is OK to question God, but do not attack God in the midst of your difficulties. "Pity Road" will take you somewhere you don't want to go! Last, our daily grind can cause us to lose sight of our wings. "Most of life is lived between the home runs and the strikeouts." This church building appears to have been built with future growth in mind, as despite the large crowd, the people were scattered across a huge number of seats. This was a very young crowd.


MAY 24 - CHURCH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. This is a large Anglican parish in suburban Roanoke (perhaps about the size of Parkway in attendance, and a new building is being constructed). It was truly a unique worship experience, as it was a creative melding of "high-church" Anglican elements with a mellow-sound contemporary worship band. Never seen anything quite like it. There was a pretty large crowd, especially considering it was a holiday weekend. There were all ages represented, including quite a few younger adults, teens and children. There was a distinct "unrushed" feeling to the worship - which would have been great - except we had 12:30 brunch reservations. This was an 11 a.m. worship service - it had a full experience of a contemporary music set, an extended period of intercessory prayer, a full sermon (very well done, on David and Goliath), healing prayer at the altar, and Communion. The lead pastor is in his 40's (best as I can tell) - and has been at this church for over 20 years. I must admit that we took Communion, and then slid out the back door (at 12:45 p.m.)! I don't have a building pic, but will add one later perhaps.



MAY 30 - ST. ANN'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, ASHLAND, VIRGINIA. I attended Saturday evening mass along with the other participants in a weekend retreat. We carpooled from the retreat center to attend St. Ann's. This is a town on the outer northern edge of the Richmond area. It was a celebration of the feast of Pentecost. For those who enjoy "short and sweet" sermons, you would love the seven-minute sermon (or homily) at St. Ann's! (Don't expect that at BUMC, by the way!) Out of respect for Catholic norms, I did not take Communion.