Traditional Appearing Minnesota Churches You Can Find Easily

Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis

First Covenant Church, Minneapolis

The Wells at 7th Street Church, Minneapolis

First United Church of Christ (Congregational)
Rochester

Skinner Memorial Chapel, Rochester
(Carleton College)

14 Maine churches from the outside (and one from the inside)

United Baptist Church, Saco

St Paul's Episcopal Church, Brunswick,

Berean Baptist Church, Brunswick

Monroe Community Church

Grace United Methodist Church, Bangor

St Thomas Anglican Church, Ellsworth

Saint Savior's Episcopal Church, Bar Harbor

Bar Harbor Congregational Church

Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Bar Harbor

St Andrew's Lutheran Church, Ellsworth

Congregational Church of East Sumner

Bible Baptist Church, Hancock

Ellsworth Community of Christ

as promised: inside St Thomas Episcopal Church,
Camden

Windows inside St Thomas Episcopal, Camden

more windows, same church

And the outside: beautiful stone tower, beautiful half-timbered walls, beautiful pointy steeple. all in one building.
St Thomas Episcopal Church, Camden

Trinity Church, Congregational, Bolton

Sam was quite obviously frustrated. Wires were hanging from the ceiling of her kitchen where she had been trying to repair a light fixture that just wouldn’t work. Mindy remarked that electrical work made her brain glaze over, and Sam said she felt exactly the same. She’s a widow with six kids, and it takes work and some special  skills to keep up the house. A small group Bible study meets every Friday night at the house. We were there with group members Alex and Joanna Langberg (Mindy went to college with Joanna).

Alex and Joanna’s church, Trinity, began with a Bible study in the 1960’s. A group of women, some who went to church and some who didn’t, met regularly. The women didn’t feel any of the churches in the area had enough depth in their study of Scripture, and they urged their husbands to join their Bible study. Some did; these folks started the church in 1963.

They were able to buy farm property, and their first meetings were held in the barn. They were able to get a bank loan to renovate the barn’s interior, turning the barn into a sanctuary.  In the 1970s, they began building a new structure, and ten years later,  they added to that building and built the current sanctuary. They continue to plan and build.

I talked to a variety of people about how they came to the church and what they appreciate about Trinity.

Greg is a sophomore in high school. When he was in elementary school, he asked his family if they could visit Trinity because he had friends who went to the church. His family did, and everyone in the family liked the church. Greg likes the youth group, appreciating his friendships there. He also likes the summer youth group trips. There is a rotation of three different trips: backpacking, Creation (a Christian music festival), and a missions trip to Jackson, Mississippi, where the team works with Voice of Calvary, founded by John Perkins. Students work on the houses of the poor and learn about the causes of poverty.

Greg is looking forward to helping with Vacation Bible School the next week. He expects to lead a group of 3rd graders as well as helping with skits (playing an “underwater robot” and belaying on a rope from the rafters, which he thought the kids would enjoy).  

John is the sexton (basically a kind of property manager) of the church. He’s had the job six years, but he’s attended the church for twenty. When they were searching for a church to attend , they were discouraged by many churches in the area. John’s wife would refer to churches as “cold” or “dark,” but when she came to Trinity, she called it “warm” and “light.” John was impressed when a woman he talked to on this first visit treated him like she’d known him for years.

Another man I talked to, Steve, said many Congregational churches in the area are like social clubs, “which is fine,” but he was impressed by Trinity because they taught “the actual Gospel of Jesus Christ and believed it.”

Before the service I met Deb, a missionary with CRU (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ). She’ll do the missions talks for VBS, and she was talking about her work during the worship service that morning as well. She came to Trinity when she was a little girl. She came to trust in Christ through the children’s ministries of the church, including VBS and Pioneer Girls. She was given her first Bible by a woman in the church, and the church supported her when she went with CRU to serve overseas and when she returned to serve CRU in Orlando, Florida.

I was happy to hear that the church supports the local ministry Young Life, an outreach to High School students. (I worked as a Young Life volunteer in college and seminary.) The church was instrumental in bringing the organization to the area. They provide office space for the local Young Life area director. (Our friends Joanna and Alex serve on the local Young Life committee. Their grown kids attended YL Club when they were in high school.) The church also supports a local crisis pregnancy center among other local ministries and missions organizations.

We attended the 9:30 am Sunday worship service (during the summer there’s just one service, but during the rest of the year there are two services.) Eric Wilder, the Associate Pastor for Youth and Young Adults, made the announcements. Apparently the new church pictorial directory has been a long time coming, and he announced that they’d finally arrived. He said he believed their arrival may have been foretold in the Book of Revelation as a sign of Christ’s Second Coming. He also announced that ice cream scoopers were still needed for Thursday night’s VBS community night. He also encouraged non-scoopers to come in order to get to know the parents of the children who came to VBS.

The church apparently has a choir, but they weren’t singing the morning we were there. (They might not meet in the summer -- we forgot to ask.) The worship band led the congregation in choruses and hymns (we could follow along and sing via words in the bulletin, in the hymnal, and on the screen).

Pastor David Smith was in the midst of a series on spiritual gifts, speaking on some of the “Office” gifts of apostle, pastor, and evangelist. He added that even though we may not have a certain spiritual gift doesn’t mean we are exempt from practicing. For instance, just because we don’t have the gift of mercy doesn’t mean we should not show mercy -- so this sermon wasn’t just for people with those office gifts.

Speaking of evangelism, he told a story he had heard from a man in the church. Gene was on a plane flight, and felt he should share the Gospel with the man seated next to him. After his presentation, Gene’s seatmate introduced himself as Bill Hybels, the pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, one of the largest churches in the country. Bill told Gene he had done a good job.

Pastor Smith said the reason he sometimes gives a gospel presentation in church services is because he believes “a healthy church will always have some people who aren’t Christians.”

Pastor Smith didn’t give the benediction that morning. He called Gary, the pastor of another local congregation, Clinton Congregational Church, to come forward. The men meet regularly in a local ministerial group, and Smith had Gary “work on his vacation.”

After church, our friend Alex and another gentleman, Tom, cooked and served hot dogs. (They do this every Sunday in July. By the way, these MA hot dog buns are different from West Coast hot dog buns. Someone suggested that they’re more lobster roll style buns.)

Oh, and about the light fixture in Sam’s kitchen: Alex climbed up on the counter and fixed it after Bible study. Because that’s what people at Trinity do -- help bring God’s light to each other.

Statistics

Service Length: 1 hour 27 minutes

Sermon Length: 29 minutes

Visitor Treatment: We were greeted on arrival (and we'd been welcomed with open arms when we helped set up for Vacation Bible School on Saturday afternoon). During the service, visitors were encouraged to fill out a card in the rack in front of them, and there was also a book in the lobby for visitors to sign. There was a greeting time during the service, and afterwards, several people spoke to us (because the pastor knew we were coming, he'd mentioned us just before the greeting time).

Followup by Tuesday Morning: none Pastor Smith sent an email thanking us for helping set up for VBS (he doesn't know how much we enjoyed it!) and visiting on Sunday.

Our Rough Count: 130

Probable Ushers' Count: 150

Snacks: hot dogs and potato chips, water and lemonade

Musicians: acoustic guitar (2 men)

piano (man)

vocals (2 women; one played tambourine for one of the songs)

Songs: "Great is Thy Faithfulness"

"Come ye Sinners"

"To the Cross I Cling"

"The Lord's Prayer"

"Wonderful Grace of Jesus" (a biography of the composer was inserted in the bulletin)

"Doxology"

"There is a Kingdom"

Miles to church: 5 miles

Miles from start: 33,551

Total 2016 Miles: 33,255

Church website: www.trinitybolton.org

6 Reasons Connecticut is a Surprisingly Interesting State

1. The state's official nickname is "The Constitution State," but unofficially, it's also called the Nutmeg State, Provision State, and The Land of Steady Habits. (The state song is "Yankee Doodle Dandy," which seems to me to be far more frivolous than its nicknames.)

2. The source of Mystic's name (the river and the village) isn't particularly mysterious. It's derived from a Pequot term, missi tuk, which describes a large river whose waters are driven into waves by tides or wind.

3. The Congregational church dominated religious life in Connecticut during the colonial period, and two of the oldest churches in the state, in Windsor (established in 1633) and in Wethersfield (established in 1634), grew out of that tradition.

4. Most of the small arms cartridges used in World War I were made in Connecticut, primarily by Remington Arms in Bridgeport, and also Winchester in New Haven and Colt in Hartford.

5. The first telephone exchange in the world was established in New Haven in 1875.

6. Connecticut is the 48th state in area, 4th in density, and 29th in population. It may have the highest per capita median income of any state ($60,847.00), but the capital, Hartford, has the lowest per capita income in the state ($13,428.00 in 2000).

First Congregational Church of Long Beach

This month we're visiting churches that are featured in movies, so it seems reasonable to first deal with expectations raised by viewing the movie. This week's church was used as a location for the Robin Williams film "License to Wed." Here are three things found in the film which we didn't find at the actual church:

1) The pastors are not wildly antic stand-up comedians. Yes, I know that some may find such clergy appealing, but do you really want your pastor making zany asides about your mother's liver disease? Senior Minister the Rev. Elena Larssen and  Associate Minister the Rev. John Forrest Douglas seemed to be quite pleasant and kind, both with a decent sense of humor, but neither seemed destined to be opening at the Improv any time soon.

2) Late comers were not shamed. In the film, Williams interrupts his own prayer to note that the couple under his premarital counseling is late for church. The choir sings a special little "you're late" song reminiscent of the white rabbit in "Alice in Wonderland." When we were at this church, anyway, late comers entered in peace. Shaming people for any reason would be at odds with the middle part of the church motto: "A Liberal Church, Welcoming of All, Passionately Committed to Social Justice."

3) St. Augustine's Church in the film is quite nebulous about its denominational affiliation, whereas First Congregational is clear about its denominational affiliation, proud of their descent from the Pilgrims. In a conversation with folks before church, there were several mentions (usually jovial) of someone or other being a "good Congregationalist" and the denomination received a few hat tips during the service.

We arrived half an hour before the service and a number of people welcomed us and someone directed me to a church timeline filling a wall in the fellowship hall ("Koinonia Room"). The display had been set up the previous year in celebration of the church building's hundredth anniversary. There were a number of interesting entries through the years (I was amused by a mention of a petition early in the 20th century against billiards and pool tables, and was interested to see the church's proclamations against Hitler in the early 1930's).

The timeline noted television shows that been filmed at the church, including Ally McBeal and Criminal Minds. A gentleman named Chan told me that American Horror Story had recently done location filming there. Chan had been serving as church secretary when Ally McBeal filmed, and said that everything that might interrupt filming had been removed then, except the church's answering machine.

I asked Chan how long he had been attending the church. He said he and his partner first came to the church in 1987.  He believed they might have been the church's first openly gay couple. (I noticed that the timeline included the church's participation in a Gay Pride parade in 1985.) Chan said he believed a third of the church was gay or lesbian, though someone else thought half would be more accurate. (Another gentleman, Ben, told Mindy that the official figure is 43%.) Chan and Ben both mentioned that the associate minister is gay (which the church's website also mentions). A number of people we talked to said that the church's welcoming nature is what first appealed to them.

The service opened with the sound of a Buddhist singing bowl and the progression of the choir in their robes to the front of the sanctuary. (Mindy noticed the organist in shorts providing a nice casual contrast to the choir and clerical robes.) During the service, the choir that day sang a Randy Stonehill song from the eighties, "Shut de Do'." (In the weekly church newsletter, the choir director said of the song, "What strikes me is that the only thing required to keep the devil at bay, in the words of this week's anthem, is a door that is kept shut. The door, of course, is just as figurative as the devil ... but sometimes an actual door or two can make a difference.")

The church was beginning the annual stewardship drive, which I had heard people talking about before the service. During the "Stewardship Moment", a member of the congregation urged people to consider the benefit the church provided by offering opportunities to volunteer.  The Drop-In Center provides meals for the homeless, and a number of students have used this as an opportunity to meet requirements for volunteer hours. Other groups have served at the center, including Hindu, Muslim and Jewish organizations. The DAYS Program provides language and math tutoring for schoolchildren.Volunteering for these programs, the speaker noted, made people "feel better about themselves."

The prayer time was introduced as a "moment to take a deep breath."  The conclusion of the prayer was not, as is common in churches, in Jesus' name, but rather "we pray this in your many names." (There is a reason we honor the name of Jesus above all others. In Philippians 2, Paul  wrote, "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."*)

Rev. Douglas gave the sermon, using Mark 12:41-44 (where a widow donated all she had, two small coins, to God's service) as his starting point. He began by telling the story of "The Lion King," saying that just as Simba believed Scar's lies, we tell ourselves lies. We say, "I'm not smart enough" or "I'm not good enough for that job." But, he said, the widow's story teaches us that "YOU ARE ENOUGH."

The thing is, though we sometimes tell ourselves untrue and negative messages, sometimes we're not smart enough. That's why Harvard didn't come begging me to take their scholarship money. And I'm not up to the job of center for the Golden State Warriors. Those who use a twelve-step program to deal with their addictions admit regularly that by themselves, they're not enough to deal with their cravings. And I'm not good enough for salvation without the grace that comes through Christ's death on the cross. I'm not enough, but Jesus is.

All of this made me rather sad this week. You see, as we've visited various churches, we obviously encounter beliefs and practices that differ from our own.  We usually consider these minor things. But this church, in an article explaining their liberal theology, states that for most who are part of the church, "Jesus is not a divine figure sent from God to pay for the sins of a fallen humanity." In the Bible, 1 John 4:2 -3 reads, "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God."

We really liked the kind people we met at this church, and they serve their community in fine ways. But salvation through Jesus Christ is heart of the Christian gospel. As C. S. Lewis famously argued, Jesus was the Lord, a liar or a lunatic. This church wishes to honor Jesus as a good teacher, but He didn't leave us that option.

*Philippians 2:9-11, NIV

Statistics:

Service Length: 1 hour 16 minutes

Sermon Length: 13 minutes

Visitor Treatment: "Passing the peace" was a warm greeting time during the service, and several people greeted us as we walked around before worship began. Each pew had an attendance form that all were encouraged to use to register their attendance.

Followup by Tuesday Morning: Welcoming email on Monday afternoon (from the Associate Minister)

Our Rough Count: 145

Probable Ushers' Count: 175

Snacks: coffee, tea and hot chocolate in the courtyard; cookies, fruit and other treats available in the Koinonia room for a donation to the Outreach and Social Justice committee

Musicians: organist/bongos (male), choir director/maracas (male), rhythm sticks (male), full choir (forgot to count, but probably about 15-20 men, 15-20 women), youth bell choir (about 10 middle school aged students), guitar (male) and percussion box (male) for a special song

Songs: organ, "Prelude on 'Borning Cry'"

            "We Sing Because"

            "Song of Welcome"

            bell choir, "A Festive Intrada"

            "I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry"

            choir, "Shut de Do'"

            special music, "It's Just Leaving"

            "There's a Spirit in the Air"

            organ, "Diptych (based on 'Orientis Partibus')"

            "Doxology"

            "What a Covenant"

            organ postlude (which people stayed for) "Trumpet Toccata"

Miles to place: 498

Total California Miles: 15,624

Church website: www.firstchurchlb.org