More on Worship

At Harristown Christian Church we offer what is best described as a "traditional" worship service. There are rites like weekly open communion service and the lighting of the Gospel and Epistle candles by an accolyte. We sing at least four hymns accompanied by an organ or piano and sometimes both. Then there's the pastoral prayer followed by the Lord's Prayer, an introit and benediction, two readings from the Bible and singing the Gloria Patri and Doxology.

Other than the form of our worship services, the thing that sets us apart from other churches is that the preaching is positive in tone. Our pastor explains the Bible reading, giving the history surrounding it, what the writer was trying to do, and any special considerations like translation from the original language that it was written in. Then the pastor relates the Bible reading to our current time and teaches us how we can live according to the Bible lesson.

We are fortunate to have three women who are competent on the keyboard, one or two who have beautiful singing voices, and an appreciative audience for just about anyone who wants to do something for the worship service. We have an occasional harp or trumpet solo and vocal solos with beautiful sign language accompaniment.

We also have a body of people who are willing to do the work of the church including mowing the lawn, repairing things that break, handling the necessary paperwork, participating in the worship service, attending and teaching Bible study classes, and coordinating our mission giving. And our potlucks are still worth coming to, because our cooks are the best anywhere.

What we do not have is hellfire-and-damnation preaching, talking on and on about sin and sinners, harrangues about giving more money, political issues masked as Christian duties, or speaking in tongues or testimonials. We also don't have charismatic things like arm waving, amens, spontaneous outpourings from the congregation, or contemporary music with guitars and drums.

What I personally miss is a choir, enough people singing so I don't feel like I'm doing a solo, enough people to do an occasional playlet, and a Sunday School for kids....along with some kids to teach.

All in all, Harristown Christian Church is a wonderful place to recognize God's goodness and grace. It's a place to come back to weekly so that we can "recharge our batteries" and get right with God and man. We're small, but we're great in heart and service.