News From The Pews

Mum and I have recently been going through our old papers in the hopes of giving our house the appearance of organisation. Today Mum stumbled across a letter that I had written to one of my Aunties when I was 17. It made us laugh, so I thought that I would share it here.

Just to give you a bit of context for this letter, at the time Mum and I were going to a different church together and we had recently returned from a Hillsong conference. I've only been to Hillsong once, and you've got to take the good with the bad. There were things that I disagreed with, and things that I found incredibly helpful. Hillsong has a strong community focus, and seeks to encourage people to be involved in their local churches. I wrote this letter to my Aunty after returning to our church fresh out of Hillsong Conference:

"Hello Lyn!
Well it's been an interesting day. Today was our first day back at 'our local church', and with it came the exciting prospect of bringing a renewed zeal and enthusiasm to the congregation whilst driving out the spirit of criticism. Mum was allocated on the church roster to be part of the welcoming committee on the door, and I agreed to come along and greet our burdened congregation with a cheerful smile.
Never,
Ever,
Again.
The morning began like any other, with Mum and I taking our place beside several other women designated to hand out the church notices. However it soon became clear that whilst there was a crowd of people surrounding the church entrance, the pews were empty. This sad reality was reinforced by an aptly timed comment from the wife of a pastor, that there are "more people standing in the bloody door than in the actual church". I have to admit that I was thinking the same thing. Eventually a few people stumbled through the doors. My job as Welcomer was further complicated by an Asian named Ian who decided to engage me in conversation. Whilst he was a rather friendly chap, the conversation abruptly ended when he asked me if my eyelashes were fake, and, not believing me when I said that they were real, asked if he could touch them.
Very awkward.
Anyway, the service progressed as normal with two members of the congregation relaying their 'Hillsong experience' to the church. Listening to a description that consisted mostly of "like" and "stuff like that" was hardly inspiring. Apart from the offer of free chocolate from an Irish man called Terry to the entire congregation that had in fact expired (the chocolate that is, not the congregation), the service was uneventful, unemotional, unbearable.
Now as I sit here at home, all enthusiasm for supporting our local church and bringing along non-Christians has dwindled away and been replaced with criticism, snide remarks and complacency. Next week we're going to Emma's church. Please pray for us."

Just as a disclaimer, this was all very much in jest. Please don't misinterpret my 17 year old sarcasm. I have since changed churches, however there were more serious issues than this that provoked the move. No church is perfect, and part of the joy of church is interacting with people who are just as broken as I am. I think that most of us have had odd experiences in churches. My family and I shared a lot of laughter together after this paritcular day, and it's now a very fond memory.