That Sense of Awe

Some of you may know that I have worked really hard to make church accessible to people who don't normally like church. Over the years it has been a mission to remove barriers and make us in the church more accessible.

So imagine my surprise when after a long day of "power touring" around London, we show up at Westminster Abbey...yeah the one Chuck and Di got married in...right at 4 PM in shorts and backpacks and subway grime. Tracey went up to the really nicely dressed fella in a suit and fetching flowing robe and asked him what it would take to get in to see this unbeliveable church building. He said you have to get tickets...but the Abbey is going to close right after this service. This was our one real day in London, so it looked like our hope of getting in were dashed. But then the nice robe-y fella says, you can go to the service without a ticket. You mean dressed like we were...sure you canhe says...you are welcome.

Wow...can you believe it? We are in Westminster Abbey! Now the thing about the Abbey is, you don't need a bunch of posters and such to get people's attention...just the ceilings kept me mezmerized for an hour. Not to mention all the statues of people who have been faithful servants of the church but also the Lord.

I mean when you hear that organ start and the choir sing...wow...Chris Tomlin's got nothing on these guys. No fancy sermon with three points and a flashy ending....just a couple of Scripture passages and lots of standing and sitting and repeating after me's.

Now Mimi and I aren't exactly seekers, but the paper they gave us said if we will just listen and have an open mind, God could speak to us. We were so moved! We were awestruck!

But mostly we felt as if we were welcome both here in this huge building designed to help people feel a sense of awe, but also by the wonderful people we met.

Seeker freindly can take all shapes and forms...but mostly it is just being people friendly