Reflections on Evening Worship

By: the Rev. Rachel Pedersen

Starting this past October, the church began an experiment in intergenerational worship. Our new Evening Worship services take place in the Sanctuary on the first Sunday of the month at 5:00 p.m. Inside the bulletin cover we offer this welcome:

If you have a hard time sitting still or a tricky time standing up: God welcomes you!

If you have a hard time sitting still or a tricky time standing up: God welcomes you!

If you can’t sing a note or find a book in the Bible: God welcomes you!

If you can’t sing a note or find a book in the Bible: God welcomes you!

If your heart feels heavy or if you are bursting with joy: God welcomes you!

If your heart feels heavy or if you are bursting with joy: God welcomes you!

Evening Worship is a time to reconnect with God, one another and ourselves. We are thankful you have joined this multigenerational community as we worship God through our songs, prayer, reading and listening.

When we first imagined these services, we were not sure what to expect. Since we began, I’ve seen the Spirit at work as people welcome one another to our shared space — leaning down to greet the youngest members and reaching over pews to welcome a latecomer. I have overheard our middle school and adult ushering team talking about cell structure and science experiments in between doing their greeting duties and witnessed three generations of a family snuggling together as they search for hymns.

I shared in the delight of children passing the offering plate for the first time and joined our children’s choir as they and the rest of the congregation giggled at a joke in a sermon. More than anything, I am in awe watching as this community grows together, sharing in the joy of our common worship.