Church

I am enjoying church.

We entertained notions of at least visiting a different church and even flirted with the idea of belonging to a church somewhere else. Most of those in exile from the Antipodes in the area wind up at St Ebbe’s, so we wanted to be contrary. But it’s tricky without a car, and without access to the internet to find out what else is available. So, we have given into the inevitable and gone along.

It’s hard not to keep going though because it is genuinely enjoyable. We’ve gone to the evening congregation which is slightly clueless on our part, but we refuse to be entirely predictable. Although I can’t see us taking a newborn out in the middle of winter on public transport at 6pm to church, and I predict that we will succumb to the inevitable and wind up at the family service, I think we’ll miss the 6:30pm service for a few reasons.

Both weeks we’ve been the preaching has been really very good. And at the moment we are in the middle of a series on 2 Samuel, and its being preached as narrative in its salvific-historical context without a clumsy ‘Jesus-jump’ for the third point. That is such a rarity in the western world as to invite attendance at church just for the novelty value. Besides, the preacher reminds me of Cynergy’s preaching a bit – the same nimbleness of expression and neatness of arrangement, and a couple of similar hand gestures. It’s kind of cool.

And then there is the music. The guy who is music director is from our year at College, but he’s done something quite unique with the music. I don’t know whether it feeds off the service (and something unique to the English), or feeds into the service, but the service with the music is profoundly doxological. I don’t know how he blends the music so that it is neither workmanlike and stodgy, nor giving the sense that music is a concession to a weakminded congregation, but provides a context in which both the horizontal and vertical dimension of fellowship is given expression in such a way as to be both meaningful (without being sentimental) and worshipful. So I find that I’m not just looking forward to the sermon but I’m busily engaged in the whole service and almost surprised when it is over.

Overall, it feels like a service for grown ups, who are serious about trying to be Christian, trying to repent, and wanting to remember who Jesus is and what he has done. I am really enjoying it.