Sunday
Worship Service
10:00 a.m.
Children and Youth
Sunday School
dismissed from
Service at
10:15 a.m.
Meet The Pastor
The Pastor is available
to meet you
in the church Narthex
following worship.
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We all know the old rube, if April Showers bring May flowers, what to Mayflowers bring? The old answer was Pilgrims. The answer today might well be allergies, swimmer’s ear, sunburns, sports injuries…you name it. Old rubes don’t work all that often anymore; largely because the current generations never learned them in the first place. How much of what we do at church could all too easily fall into this kind of category? If you’d never been to church would you know what a "Gloria Patri" or a "Doxology" is, let alone how to sing them? How much of what was drummed into the heads of those of us who were brought up in Sunday School and Vacation Bible School is common knowledge? If you’d like to find out, go to a funeral at a funeral parlor and see how many people are sitting there with their mouths closed while some are reciting either the 23rd Psalm or the Lord’s Prayer.
Here at Downingtown United Methodist Church, we’ll be working on discovering just how much we assume that people know. We’ll be looking at how we get into our building – what’s the main entrance? I’ve been here 9 months and I believe it could be either the double doors in the front of the church OR the double doors by the Welcome Center. We’ll also be pushing each other to recall that there are just two levels of participation at church. You’re either a host or a guest. Hosts are those who are regularly in their Father’s house and want everyone else coming to feel warm, welcome and at home. This isn’t American Express where membership is about privileges, or a reading of one’s pedigree. We are all on the same level playing field whether we’ve been a member for 75 years or 5 minutes. The church is all about being ready for guests. A country club or resort is for members.
Having said all this let me also say that there is much to celebrate. Much of this we’re aware of and already making progress on it. There are a lot of little things that we can do or do more of that will not only make a big difference, they will also pay huge dividends in how people feel about us when they come. We will be launching a huge upgrade to our hospitality efforts over the summer. Greeters & ushers will be offered new training. A worship committee is being formed and will be in place developing traditional worship with energy and zing. We will be working on building partnerships in our community. We need all of us to make this happen. I know that I can count on all of you to step up to the plate and together knock it out of the park. Stay tuned for more information, which will be spelled out in detail in subsequent newsletters.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Charlie
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