I went to church yesterday and didn't step foot in a religious building once! I was in Denver and don't listen to what most people say; Denver is a great place but it's not because of the weather (it's rained every day and it never rains 4 days in a row in Denver. People are watching the clouds waiting for 4 horsemen to appear!). It's not because of the the sights - it's a nice city but it's not Paris. There's lots of art around etc - it has a kind of Geelong feeling to it, small but trying to be bigger.



 

The people though - they make Denver - the people!! They smile at you in the street and say hello. The children playing on the sidewalks (see what I did there, I'm almost a linguistic local) say 'hi' before riding off on their bikes. The taxi drivers and bus drivers talk to you, not in a brusque what do you want sort of way but a genuinely friendly 'hi, how you doin'?' attitude.

 

I spent yesterday with some of the people from the House for All Sinners and Saints. It started with breakfast at 6:30am with the two pastors and some of the congregation. Kind of a drop in at a coffee shop, people just came and went on their way to work, or after dropping the kids off or after a hospital visit or just because it's was on.

 

Pastor Nadia and Pastor Brian were both there and the conversation was open and friendly, honest and funny. It was actually worth getting up at 5:30am for! It wasn't a service or an official church meeting, it was just a relaxed gathering of a community. One lady dropped in, she was moving house. People offered to help (and they meant it) and so after the meeting had finished 5 of us went and lugged boxes for her.

 

Now that's nothing special in and of itself. People help each other all the time but it was the way in which it was done that made it special. People helped BUT (and it's a big but, a very big BUT) - this was still a church thing!

 

It showed me, again, that this is what the Church is. Church is lived; It should be a part of people's everyday lives. Not something we reserve for Sundays and special days. It's Jesus at work in the place we are. Not forced with lots of glib "God bless you's" but in a natural, grace is following, love is living, Jesus is here kind of way but without all the pious overtones that some religious types insist on adopting.

 

As we went in to Andrea's building (not her real name, I didn't ask her if I could use it, so I won't) she introduced us all to her building superintendent - "These are people from my church, these two are my pastors and that's a pastor visiting from Australia and that's a lady who goes to my church." It was all very natural, it was lovely. Again I say - it was Church.

 

I learnt loads yesterday (I'll write more in later blogs, I was in church all day and it was brilliant) but the biggest thing I learnt (or God reminded me of is closer to the truth) is that

CHURCH = COMMUNITY.

 

I pray I won't ever forget that!