We go to church in a movie theater

Celebration Church University Campus, Fresno, California
Have I whined to you lately about our current schedule? My work schedule was supposed to include most weekends off, but that didn’t happen, so I’ve been working most Saturday nights (11:00 pm to 7:00 am Sunday). Because of that, I have trouble staying up to get to worship services that start later in the morning. Mindy is scheduled to work most Sundays from 10:45 am to 7:00 pm or so -- making even the few local Sunday evening services difficult. In other words, our jobs aren’t ideal for writing a blog about visiting churches.

And that’s why we were excited when we learned about a Sunday worship service at 8:30 pm. We’d gone to the movies (Isle of Dogs, two thumbs up though there’s nary a church in it) at the Maya Cinemas in Fresno, and among the film promotions, we found a flyer reading, “Live Your Best Life. Make A Difference. Celebration.” The church service is at the movie theater.

8:30 pm is ideal for our schedule. Do you know who else that time is ideal for? College students!

Celebration Church in Fresno has four campuses: Fresno, Clovis, Madera (with a Spanish language service), and this one called the University Campus. The theater is in a little shopping mall right next to the Fresno State University campus, an easy walk from dorms and apartments. (We recently visited Mad Duck Craft Brewing Company in the same mall for our bar blog).

As we approached the theater we were greeted by sign holders (“So Glad You’re Here” and “The Best Is Yet To Come”). I’m not sure what people seeing A Quiet Place thought of the signs, but we knew they were greeters for the church service. The sign holders directed us to a greeters table where we were given green bracelets to distinguish the churchgoers from the paying moviegoers. On the way to theater 13 (of 16), Tyrell greeted us. He was volunteering at a table with signups for water baptism and small groups.

We found seats in the mostly empty theater, and as 8:30 approached the rest of the seats filled up quickly, mostly with what looked like college students. I noticed several people bringing in coffees and waters that didn’t seem to come from the snack bar. (I didn’t notice anyone bringing in popcorn or soft drinks). It was nice to see people greeting each other happily, many hugs.

The song leaders warmed up (I appreciated that one was wearing a Nirvana t-shirt). We first sang David Crowder’s “How He Loves” (“He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy”) and then “Reckless Love.” (Sometime I want to take time to consider the violent imagery in contemporary Christian choruses, but not today.)

A young woman named Andrea led in prayer (“Thank you for this space”) and welcomed first-time visitors, encouraging them (us) to fill out an “I’m New Here” card. She introduced the speaker, Andrew. The guitarist, who’d been strumming gently in the background since the singing time ended, continued to play quietly. After a minute or two, Andrew hushed the strings.

Andrew began his message by stating their mission as a church, “To help people live their best life. There may be things we disagree about, but a fulfilled life, that’s what we’re fighting for.” He read John 10:10, where Jesus says He came to bring us abundant life. He said God has given us a recipe for a fulfilled life, and one of the ingredients in the recipe is relationships -- the focus of the message.

When he said, “It was God’s idea that we shouldn’t do life alone,” I heard those around us encourage him by saying, “Word!”

“Come on, man!”

“Truth.”

Andrew pointed to the importance of vulnerability in relationships. He noted that the things he was talking about that night were things he needed to work on in his own life.

He concluded pointing people to the most important relationship in life, a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. He encouraged people to pray along with him to begin that relationship.

There were brief closing announcements, for a small group gathering nearby and upcoming baptisms. Everyone was invited to have some pizza, which was served right outside the theater. While theater seats aren’t ideal for chatting, many people were sticking around to chat outside. The weather was pleasant and as was the conversation.

I worked in movie theaters during college, seminary, and for a while after we were married. I feel at home in a movie theaters, so Celebration Church meets at a time and place I love. Even better, it’s ideal for college students. This campus of the church began services in February, and the volunteer “the Dream Team,” who greeted and facilitated the service, seemed quite pleased with how things are going so far. So are we.

Mindy goes to chapel alone (very quietly)

Saint Anthony of Padua, Fresno, California
When we visited a Quaker meeting a few years ago, we weren’t surprised that it was mostly silent. Last month, we participated in a prayer path on Good Friday that (except for background music) was a contemplative time. This church visit was even quieter.

Also, this post won’t have many photographs. You’re going to need to use your imagination (but I won’t ask you to close your eyes; then you couldn’t keep reading).

Imagine it’s 8:00 on a beautiful spring morning. You're expecting to meet your work friend, but school kids are being dropped off. You drive around the building until you find a fairly empty parking lot.

As you walk around the main church building, you notice a border of blooming white roses. You remember the story your friend told you about the time a white rosebud fell on her shoulder while she was in the chapel where you’ll be meeting, and how that rosebud had seemed like a gift from heaven at a time when she needed that touch. You walk through a memorial garden with statues of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Saint Anthony of Padua, and others.

You pause to take a picture of the door into the office, then go inside to ask how to get to the chapel. She seems a little concerned about why you’re there, what with taking photos of the building (without the pastor’s permission). You explain that you’re meeting a friend, and she points you through the door to the chapel.

It’s a small room with two windows in a white-painted cinderblock wall. Three rows of wooden chairs with kneelers face a monstrance in the front of the room. A woman in the front row has her head bowed and a booklet in her hand. You look around as you settle into the silence of the room.

There’s a statue of Mary in the front right-hand corner and one of Jesus on the left. The carpet’s red. On either side of the table in front, gilded angels stand on bases against the wall. There’s a painting of the Last Supper you haven’t seen before on the wall above the monstrance, and you notice there’s a cat next to Judas.

Your friend comes in, sees you, whispers hello, and settles into a chair next to you. She prays, sometimes kneeling and sometimes sitting. Others enter, cross themselves, kneel (sometimes facedown), pray. The windows are shut, and the blinds are closed; the air in the room is very still. You pray, then take a few notes, hoping you're not disrespectful by doing so.

The picture of Jesus between the windows on the wall to your right has a caption that reads, “Jesus I trust in You.” You think about that, and about the Last Supper and Communion, and just a little about different churches’ beliefs about the Eucharist. You’re just a little drowsy but mostly very peaceful.

It’s quiet.

A few people leave; a few more come in. There are about a dozen people in the 12 x 12 room, but it doesn’t occur to you that there were 12 disciples with Jesus at the Last Supper.

A few minutes after 9:00, you and your friend are ready to leave. She shows you where to sign the guestbook, and the two of you go out a back door toward the parking lot. She had to park a block away because of school traffic, and your car’s in the opposite direction. You say goodbye and walk to your own car, past the white roses and the saints’ statues. And you (silently) rejoice.

Go to church with us!

Cheers and Amen
If you met us during 2016 during our year-long 50-state quest to visit a bar and a church in every state, it's possible you wondered if we were going to write a book about our adventure. You probably also thought we were just a little crazy.

Guess what! You were right! We’ve finally got a test version of the book to go along with the 198 posts on this blog, 88 bar posts, and 142 posts about movies that we wrote during that year.  Not only that, but you can help determine what the finished book will look like and what extra material -- like which Walmart parking lots we slept in, favorite tourist traps, all the movies and TV shows we watched, and churches and ministries we visited -- you'd like included.

Here’s the deal: the work in progress is available on Amazon. We don’t anticipate changing the main content (except, of course, to correct errors!), but what sidebars and/or end matter do you want to see? What do you think of the cover? Would you like photos inside even if it raises the price?

Until Tax Day, April 15, Cheers and Amen will be available for just $5.99 (as low as we can go; we expect the final version to be around $9.99). Click here, buy it, read it, and let us know what you think. We plan to work on revisions during May and hope to have the final version available in paperback and ebook by July 4. Let us know what you think!

Mindy claims she's open to any and all suggestions: go ahead and test her on it. Leave a comment over on the right, on Facebook, or by email: deanandmindygotochurch at gmail dot com.

Thank you so much for your help. Writing (and editing) the book has been a much slower process than we anticipated, and we're happy to finally have something to share with you. We can't wait to hear what you think!

We go to church alone on a Friday

Fresno First Church of the Nazarene, Fresno, California
The mariachi music coming from the wedding at the house across the street was quite loud, but otherwise, the neighborhood surrounding Fresno First Church of the Nazarene seemed quiet. As we walked into the church lobby, we could hear the music from the outside and also worship music from inside the sanctuary.

The lobby was empty except for the chairs in the comfortable seating area beneath a lovely stained glass window. We looked at the display wall covered with remembrances of the church’s history (including a plaque from May 5, 1985, commemorating the church’s 75th anniversary). We peeked in the sanctuary; no one was inside, but we did see stations set up for a meditative journey.

To our right as we entered the back of the sanctuary, we saw a table covered with votive candles and a sign marking it as the first table, “Preparation.” The Mary and Martha passage from Luke 10 was written on a piece of paper, with encouragement to take time, like Mary did, to slow down and reflect on Jesus, then to light one of the candles. Protestants don’t get nearly as many opportunities to play with fire as Catholics.

Taped arrows on the carpet directed us to the next station, “Reflection,” which contained Scripture about Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. (The remainder of the stations focused on different days of Holy Week). The “Reflection” station encouraged us to make Jesus King in our lives.

At the next station, “Communion,” we jumped several days ahead in the week, to Maundy (or Covenant Thursday). The table contained pita bread and a cup of grape juice with instructions encouraging us to remember Christ’s sacrifice as we dipped the bread in the cup and ate. The bread was soft and fresh, and the juice was sweet.

A few feet beyond the communion table was a cross, the fourth station, representing that very day, Good Friday. The paper on the lectern next to the cross had the most widely quoted verse from the Bible, John 3:16, along with the following verse as well (“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him”). The paper noted that people in the world are pretty good at condemning others, but that isn’t why Jesus came. The paper encouraged people to write an ongoing struggle or sin on one of the index cards next to the paper, then lay it at the foot of the cross.

While I was standing by the cross at the front of the church, I noticed a woman enter the room with two children. I thought how wonderful for a family to be able to walk the path, going as fast or slow as needed. The children spoke quietly with the woman as they read at each station, then sat and (I assume) prayed silently before moving from one station to the next.

The fifth station was labeled “Quiet” and marked the Saturday of Holy Week when Jesus was left in the tomb. That station’s instructions noted that Jesus died to make a way between God and people, and encouraged people to write the names of those who needed to know Jesus on the paper table covering and to light a candle for them as well.)

The final station was Easter, “He Is Risen.” It was jumping the gun a bit on that Good Friday, but I felt satisfied, knowing that the story ends so well. While I was standing at that station, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” began to play; and I needed to stay for the whole song. It is perhaps my favorite.

When we exited the sanctuary and returned to the lobby, Chris Archer, the church’s pastor, greeted us. We told him how much we appreciated the chance to meditate on work of Christ in this creative fashion. The sanctuary was open from 3:00 pm until 8:00 (we were there between 5:30 & 6:00). Chris said some of the older folks from the church had come when the sanctuary opened; he expected more people to come after work or dinner.

Chris told us he’d been at the church for three years and invited us to return on Easter. Knowing churches, we knew there would be many more people on Sunday, but we appreciated the opportunity to go to church when we could be alone. Because we weren't alone at all.