Church Search Part 2

Good news! Adam and I found a church! It happened kind of unexpectedly, in that we decided last minute to visit All Souls Church of Boulder, and our experience there was really affirming. We knew almost right away that the church was a fit for us.

The church is small, and it meets in the building of a Seventh Day Adventist Church. The building is really beautiful and similar to the type of worship structure I am used to from growing up in the Presbyterian church. But more than the physical aspect of the church, there were at least 3 people who greeted us the first day we were there and mentioned, "I haven't seen you before, are you new here?" This kind of reaching out and awareness on the part of several people within the church created such a welcoming atmosphere. And it seemed that the people who greeted us were genuinely interested in us, not greeting us out of some obligation or superficiality.

The worship style of a church has also been something that is really important for Adam. Because he and I came from such different backgrounds, he is used to more charismatic worship, while I am used to traditional hymns and liturgy. If there was a way to combine the two, All Souls has found it. And it wasn't what either one of us expected either. We sing the words to mostly traditional hymns, but the music is re-written with somewhat of a bluegrass/folk feel in which a guitar, bass, and fiddle (and occasionally a piano and banjo) provide the melody. There are freedom and artistry that Adam appreciates and the structure and words that impact me so deeply.

Lastly, our church doesn't have a pastor. I think this would be the only thing that, in any other case, would make us a little bit wary. However, the church body shows such unity and so many people within the church volunteer in various capacities that the absence of a pastor is somewhat overlooked. Don't get me wrong, we definitely continue to pray for the right person to come along as a leader, a teacher, and an administrator. There are several people who volunteer their time to oversee the administrative aspects of the church, and it is apparent that they are very busy and perhaps exhausted by this role.

All this to say, THANK YOU, God for providing us with a church community in such a surprising and exciting way. Thank you for praying for us, too. Adam is saying that he is excited to go to church for the first time in years, and he even went without me this morning. (I wanted to sleep in, and I feel the freedom to do that!) The pastor who spoke last week said "Church is the place where people come together that have no earthly reason to do so." I think that statement adequately describes both the fact that our church is full of imperfect, quirky people, and the fact that, despite this, we are called to gather. Adam and I are excited to gather with others in the name of Jesus.