We go to a Seattle church

A Seattle Church, Seattle, Washington (Belltown)
“The shepherds got a spectacle. Everyone else got a shepherd.”

That's what Pastor Tim said as he began his sermon on Luke 2 the Sunday before Christmas at A Seattle Church. (I should make it clear “A Seattle Church” is the name of the church, not a vague reference.) And I thought that the title said something interesting about the church itself.

A Seattle Church began as a small group in 2013 which grew quickly. Something else was happening in Seattle at about the same time. Mars Hill, a megachurch with multiple campuses, was imploding.

Mars Hill was a spectacle -- as was its disintegration. That small group that began in 2013 found itself, in the words of Tyler, another pastor at A Seattle Church, becoming an infirmary for hurting people who'd been part of Mars Hill. That process changed the anticipated timeline of the small group's development, but in 2015, A Seattle Church had its official start.

We very much enjoyed worshiping at A Seattle Church this Sunday. We did the things I love in Christmas worship services -- preservice music included “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “The First Noel,” and Relient K’s “Sleigh Ride.” Even better, we sang together as a congregation, “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” “Joy to the World,” “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” and “Come All Ye Faithful.” Best of all, each person received a candle as we entered, and at the end of the service, we lit the candles as we sang “Silent Night.”

There was Advent candle lighting by a family -- which is the way Advent candles were lit in my church traditions. Different readers, including two adorable red-haired girls, read verses from Luke 2, which transitioned nicely into viewing the clip from A Charlie Brown Christmas of Linus reciting the story. Pastor Tim preached a good message on the passage, then said, we’ll be moving from Jesus’ birth to His death," and we had communion together. We closed the service singing “All Glory Be to Christ” to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne” which always gets to me.

So it was a wonderful service. And we also were greeted well by people, especially by Pastor Tyler, who welcomed us before we entered the building. He told us a little about his life and the church, and we told him about our project of visiting churches (which is almost finished). He asked why we started the project, and I told him we'd talked to people who thought the church in America was dying out. We wanted to see if that was so. I told Tyler about large churches with lots of young people which seemed to go against the story of a dying church, and Tyler asked if that was what we were looking for. And I realized I was talking about spectacular churches --which we saw in our journey, amazing things.

But what we saw more of were “shepherd” churches. Small, humble places where people were cared for. At A Seattle Church, they started out with young families. Now, due to changing demographics and financial realities in the city, they have more single professionals and they desire to serve whoever comes their way. 

Christmas is about Immanuel, “God with us,” and A Seattle Church is a place where -- certainly -- God was with us.

We go to church for a saint

Seattle Finnish Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington (Crown Hill)
“Would you like to be in the procession?” A woman asked a girl as she entered the church with her family. It was the church's annual Santa Lucia celebration, and there was no limit on how many young people could participate.

Last minute recruitment has been part of my life many times in churches. We also overheard someone being recruited for a reading. I’m not sure if it was part of a recruitment process, but I heard a man tell someone, “I am quite familiar with this song. In a different language, of course.” In general, it says something about a church that's comfortable doing last minute recruiting. It says that this is a small church with a family setting, where people feel comfortable asking each other to pitch in.

Anyway, you may be wondering what this “Santa Lucia” thing is all about. For one thing, it is part of why we decided to go to the Finnish Lutheran Church last Sunday. When our kids were young, we often celebrated Santa Lucia (or Saint Lucy) Day, December 13th. It wasn’t an ethnic heritage thing for us, but we thought the celebration was fun -- in homes, the oldest daughter traditionally wakes the family with candles, coffee, and sweet rolls. Mindy would make our daughters a wreath with candles to wear as a crown, convince one of them to wear a white robe (probably formerly used as a Princess Leia costume or an angel costume from a church Christmas play), and they would wake the household for breakfast. We were happy to see the procession this Sunday (December 16th) with children carrying candles (battery operated for small children and a real flame for the older girl portraying Lucia).

Though I mentioned this isn’t a part of our cultural heritage, Lucia is part of the Finnish Lutheran tradition. It is interesting that though the girl martyr was Italian, she is especially celebrated in Norway, Sweden, and Finland (particularly in the Swedish speaking portions of the country). Finnish culture was central to this worship service, particularly in the music. Three of the five hymns we sang were in Finnish. (Finnish is a rather exotic language; the largest of the Uralic languages. We heard someone mention a theory that the language is most closely related to Korean.) The one word I could confidently pick out was “Hoosianna,” which I believe would be translated as “Hosanna” (though it might be “Hallelujah”).

Another major portion of the musical menu of the morning wasn’t Finnish at all. The prelude for the service was “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth” from George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, and all the special music of the morning (two solos and a duet) came from that same classic choral work. We also sang a hymn by a German and an Englishman, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”.

The sermon was from guest pastor Kristy Daniels, and I got the impression that she visits often. She said that Maria, the pianist and organist, choose the music for the day and that “Hark! The Herald” was sermon enough for the day. (But she still spoke. Pastors always say something or another was sermon enough, but they always preach anyway. That’s what pastors do. I’ve only been in one service where the pastor followed through on that. Kudos David Jordan-Irwin.) Pastor Kristy spoke on the Gospel reading, Luke 3, about John the Baptist, who was quite the Advent kind of guy, preparing the way for the Messiah.

I found the announcements after the sermon especially interesting: in the afternoon, Swedish Lutherans were going to use the building for a Swedish language service with a guest Swedish pastor from San Francisco. The Finnish congregation wouldn't be meeting the next Sunday, we heard, because the congregation would be gathering on Christmas Day.

After the worship service, everyone was invited downstairs for coffee and snacks (if you know anything about Scandinavian culture, you know they love their coffee). We chatted with many people around the table, some about our project of visiting churches and bars. I asked John, who was sitting across from us, what he appreciated about this church.

He talked about how the church celebrated Finnish culture. Along with the worship services, there are classes for Finnish language and music. He said that the church faced challenges (“We’ve been having more funerals than weddings”). He said the tech companies are bringing in many workers from Finland, but they don’t seem to be seeking out churches here. For now, the people of Seattle’s Finnish Lutheran Church obviously enjoy being able to celebrate their culture and their Lord Jesus Christ together.

We go to church for s'more

Living Hope Free Methodist Church, Bothell, Washington

There's an online game called Whamageddon. The object of the game is to make it through the Christmas season without hearing “Last Christmas” by that ‘80’s pop sensation, Wham!

It’s a worthy goal. The song about a singer who gave away his/her heart the previous yuletide but this year is saving it for “someone special” is beyond inane. Mindy and I lost the game the other day. The car radio was tuned to a station that plays oldies during the week and Christmas songs on the weekend, and there it was: “Now I know what a fool I’ve been, but if you kissed me now, I know you’d fool me again.” I felt like a fool for listening to this tripe.

It could have been worse, though. The game could have been about “The Christmas Shoes.”

This is a long way to say that though Christmas songs are on the radio, in almost every store, maybe even playing at work, good Christmas music needs to be sought out.

We sought it out at a Living Hope Free Methodist Church in Bothell on Sunday night. The church was hosting a special event, “Carol S’more.”

It was a dark, cold, rainy night, and entering the bright, warm church was especially pleasant. A smiling woman handed me a program and said, “The words are the same as the ones we’ll be singing. Unless it’s a joke.” (The song sheets in the program were accurate. So that wasn’t a joke. But saying it might be a joke, was, in fact, a joke.)

We seated ourselves in the middle of the sanctuary, near small children and a service dog -- which made the service even more pleasant. (Pro tip: dogs and small children make everything in life a little more pleasant -- especially when they're not your responsibility.) The pianist’s prelude included “Christmas Time is Here” from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Pastor Kyle welcomed people to the service (“I’m sure I greeted many of you by saying “Good morning”) and introduced "The Pilgrims" men’s chorus, representatives of New Horizons Ministry. The service format alternated between “Everybody Sings” and The Pilgrims singing. Some of the songs might be heard on your local Christmas music station (“The First Noel,” “O Come All Ye Faithful”) but there are songs I love (“Angels from the Realms of Glory,” “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night”) that you have to go to church to hear.

There was a break in the singing when Kristina, the pianist, gave an introduction to the work of New Horizons, an outreach to homeless youth in the Seattle area. The estimated 1,500 homeless young people in the area (70% of whom recently exited the foster care system) are in need of assistance. New Horizons provides meals, housing, legal counsel, job training, and other necessary services, all with the bedrock goal of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (People seemed eager to contribute to the offering, all of which would go directly to the ministry.)

The service concluded with a couple of my favorite carols: “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” (a theologically profound song with lyrics like “veiled in flesh the Godhead see”) and “Joy to the World” (which probably could, and should, be sung all year long).

After the singing ended, everyone was invited to enjoy indoor s’mores. In a nearby room, sterno cans were lit down the center of four tables. At other tables, a selection of elements for making classic or gourmet s'mores was available along with skewers for toasting the marshmallows over the flames.  Graham crackers, brownie bites, Hershey’s milk and cookies and cream chocolates, and strawberries (!?!) were available.

Pastor Kyle had said it was a night to celebrate our God and King Jesus Christ, and the evening did just that. And not once did we have to debate the morality of “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”

Bonus Post: We don't go to Nigeria (but we would if we could)

Wheelchairs for Nigeria
Someone recently told me she didn’t want to give her children vaccines because she didn’t think they did any good, and might instead cause harm. She said, “I don’t see how putting a disease in someone can prevent a disease.”

Sadly, she’s not alone these days. There seem to be a growing number of people who believe what a friend of a friend, a former Playboy centerfold, or a leading comic from the '90s have to say about the topic rather than decades of scientific research. It’s sort of depressing.

So here’s some good news: polio has almost been eradicated. Last year there were only 22 reported new cases in the world. Thirty years ago, thousands of people contracted the disease every year in Nigeria, but around that time, Rotary International took an interest in providing vaccines to the nation. In time, the Gates Foundation took up the cause. Is it just a coincidence that the dramatic decline in polio occurred when the vaccines were distributed?

Dr. Ron Rice, a retired Presbyterian pastor, presented this good news to a Sunday School class at West Side Presbyterian Church last Sunday. but there was bad news to go with the good. Though a great deal of charitable giving has been directed toward preventing new cases, little has been done for the crippled victims of the disease. For that matter, little has been done to help Nigerians living with the effects of birth defects, other diseases, and maiming accidents. Wheelchairs for Nigeria, through Beautiful Gate, is doing that very thing. 

The name “Beautiful Gate” comes from the passage in Acts 3 where God used Peter to heal a lame man who waited by a temple gate called “Beautiful.” With a factory employing 65 Nigerians (some of them physically disabled), the ministry manufactures wheelchairs for distribution throughout the country. These wheelchairs are quite different from what you’re probably picturing. They’re more like adult-sized tricycles adapted for pedaling and steering by hand (instead of feet).

Ron and his wife Sharon recently returned from a three-week wheelchair distribution trip to Plateau State in Nigeria. From a base in Jos, the Rices and Ayuba Gufwan, their Nigerian partner, drove to communities up to three hours away to distribute wheelchairs. Ayuba, himself a polio survivor who uses a wheelchair, was honored with presentations in several communities, while Ron, who was made an honorary chief on a recent trip, was able to meet -- in appropriate turban and robes -- with an emir to discuss the project. While at the emir’s palace, Beautiful Gate gave away 50 wheelchairs to members of the community. Many of the local leaders he meets are Muslim. Nigeria (the most populous African nation) is a majority Islamic nation, though a few Nigerian states have a Christian majority.

When Ron meets with Muslim leaders, he doesn't hide his faith in Christ or that most of the money for the wheelchairs comes from churches in the United States. He is respectful of the people he meets with, acknowledging that Islam also calls for concern for the poor and weak. Muslim leaders, he said, are often surprised that Christians are concerned for poor Muslims.

On this trip, Ron and Sharon were also able to visit a state school for the deaf and two different ministries for the blind. At the University of Jos, the 85 blind students in residence were offered a folding white cane or an audio recorder they could use for lectures. Every stop on their trip provided an opportunity to remind people of God’s love for them and His special care for the poor. The main emphasis of their ministry, though, is polio victims. Beautiful Gate distributed 360 chairs in eight different presentations. In every community, more chairs than they could accommodate were needed.

Could you help fill this need? One chair manufactured by Beautiful Gate’s factory costs $150. As you consider charitable giving this Christmas season (and before year’s end), this is certainly a worthy ministry. Click here to learn more.

We go to church for an ancient tradition

Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, Seattle, Washington
The O Antiphons Service of Advent Lessons and Carols

I have to confess my ignorance (and laziness). I had no idea what the “O Antiphons" were when I told Dean about the evening Advent service at Saint Mark’s. I mostly suggested we should attend because it was in the evening and I thought there'd be carol singing. I always like to sing carols. Researching -- even a little -- didn’t occur to me.

Turns out, the O Antiphons are ancient invocations (the earliest mention of them that I'm aware of -- I eventually researched a little -- was in the 6th century. Usually, one of these prayers beginning with the word "O" was sung or chanted during evening worship on each of the last seven nights before Christmas Eve. They were part of preparing to celebrate Jesus' coming into the world.

At Saint Mark's, they sang all of them in Latin and in English, interspersed with readings from the Bible, a couple of modern poems, prayers, and a hymn or two. Three choirs, handbells, incense, candles, and banners illustrated and accompanied the great O's.

The program had a request for no unauthorized video or photography during the liturgy (meaning the entire worship service); we honored that request. I noticed the authorized photographer, though. He, like others assisting with the service, wore a white robe with a rope tied around the waist. Members of the choirs wore fancier robes, while those reading scripture or poems wore regular clothes. The officiant, The Very Reverend Steven L. Thomason (the dean and rector of the cathedral), wore a green embroidered cape over a white robe. 

Finally, at the end of the service, we sang "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," which contains, in one hymn, all seven of the O Antiphons. It's my favorite pre-Christmas carol, though I hadn't known the background of the verses. 

Here's the text of the song; I've linked each title with the Bible verses that were used during the service with that portion:

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, thou Wisdom from on high, who orderest all things mightily; to us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, O come, thou Lord of might, who to thy tribes on Sinai's height in ancient times didst give the law, in cloud and majesty, and awe. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, thou Branch of Jesse's tree, free them from Satan's tyranny that trust thy mighty power to save, and give them victory o'er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home; make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, thou Dayspring from on high, and cheer us by thy drawing nigh; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Desire of nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind; bid thou our sad divisions cease, and be thyself our King of Peace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!