The Christian

Considering that for nearly the past 3-1/2 years, I have gone to church every Sunday except for when I was out of town, the fact that I willingly chose to not go my first two Sundays in London was exceptional. However, I must say, it felt like such a guilty pleasure to sleep in on a Sunday, lounge in my PJ's, do a jigsaw puzzle (just started a new one - this will be the hardest of the ones I've done while here), etc. But, knowing that I want to church hop a bit (I mean, there are so many beautiful, historical churches here), I figured I should get started. So, I decided to start with the American Church in London this past Sunday.

It's in the middle of the city and is a nice brick building with a decent sized sanctuary that is very plain in its decoration. Color scheme is white, pale green and pale blue with window panes to match. Very soft and light/bright. I didn't see any other part of the building.

They use the Pilgrim Hymnal and the Mission Praise Hymnal, published in 1958 and 1983, respectively. I’m familiar with the former as that is what St. Peter & St. Paul UCC, the church I attended growing up, used. However, for the past eight years I’ve attended Old South Church in Boston where we use the New Century Hymnal, published in 1995. This hymnal took a bit of time to get used to, but now I cannot imagine using a different one! The language is so inclusive, a bit more informal while still be majestic and poetic, and it includes hymns written in the past 10-20 years. So, that was an adjustment.

I did like that there was a laminated copy of the church’s Mission Statement in each pew. It was broken out into areas such as facilities, outreach, beliefs, music, etc.

There were seven people in the choir (summer choir) and their voices were very full. When the music director played the organ for the hymns and anthems, the organ sounded ok. (Remember, I’m spoiled by Old South’s Skinner Organ!). But, when he played the postlude (Brahms), it was amazing! He then proceeded to play two more (one by Widor I absolutely love and another I didn’t know).

There were about 150 people there I'd guess, and maybe 25% were 'minority'. The oddest thing by far was that they didn't say the Lord's Prayer. Weird. During the service the minister did the "prayers for the people" where, instead of just naming those names that had brought to the attention of the clergy, he asked for people in the congregation to speak out. I don't like that. Plus, in the bulletin, there were a list of names of people who needed prayers including the reason why! No privacy there! Also, the minister gave an update on what had been going on at the church - a second Sunday School class, a few baptisms and weddings, etc. Sort of an update on the state of church and stewardship.

The assistant minister (for youth) gave the sermon. It was ok, but it read more like a position paper or report on the Bible text of the day. It didn't really move me at all. It was well done, well researched and laid out, but little personal or real world connection to it.

Before the service, the pastor, John A. D'Elia, was walking up and down the side aisles talking to people. He stopped and chatted to the man behind me, who suggested they go to lunch. From their conversation, I ascertained that the pastor was having a book published this summer. I looked it up on amazon.com and it sounds somewhat interesting, if not for the long title alone - "A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship in America" Might be worth buying?

I filled out a 'new person card' and put it in the collection plate. The assistant minister emailed me the next day (very good sign of outreach!). That was a plus. Also a plus was the fact that the organist told me he'd play a Vierne piece for the postlude next week (I approached him after the postludes and told him I loved what he played and said I thought the one was Vierne and he said it was Widor, but he'd play Vierne then if I wanted - I told him to wait until next week.) So, I suppose I'll go back this coming Sunday.