Sabbath in Calistoga

Today I went to church in Calistoga. The church is made up of almost 200 members. The building is modest, but representative. The people clearly love their church -- you can feel it as soon as you walk through the doors.

The Sabbath School class was taught by Janet Borisevich-Mezenov, an old friend from PUC days that I had not seen in a long, long time. The English professor in her came through very clearly. She was articulate and stimulated thoughtful discussion. PUC is blessed to have her on their faculty roster.

The worship service was in two phases. The first phase was more of a church family time. There was a song service, welcome, and announcements. The Beginners Sabbath School made a presentation -- thirteenth Sabbath style. What was interesting to me was that this department is not led by young mothers, but by perky, energetic grandmother types. Then there was a children's story. Phase one went for about 45 minutes and then things transitioned into the more formal worship service. The whole thing felt very traditional, and yet there were simple worship choruses sung as congregational responses and there was a garden of prayer. The sermon was given by a young Bible worker who shared his conversion story. And as can happen, the chorister and worship elder didn't seem to know what they were doing at times. The congregation just rolled with it and told them what the next thing was suppose to be when things got mixed up.

I am quickly coming to the conclusion that church hopping is the pits. I like having a church home with the people who make up my church family. These are the people I do life and ministry with. We worship together every Sabbath. We do church in a way that is honest in terms of who we are in Christ. I like exploring how things are done in other churches, but I thrive best in my own church home. How many more weeks until I can return?