An Overwhelmingly Positive Experience

This morning (Sunday, August 29th), Chris, Brian, and I went to the First United Methodist Church of Ellensburg. We came in on the basis of the church's sign about that week's sermon: "Jesus' Rules for Partying".

From our first footsteps in the church to the time that we left, we were greeted and welcomed in a way which, to me, seemed a perfect example of what Christ's church on Earth should look like.

The service was a beautiful mesh of the old and the new in the Christian church. We sang a few brief choruses first, and then several hymns, of which I was surprised to find myself actually led to sing along out loud. Even more surprising, Chris and Brian also joined in the singing of the hymns.

The entire atmosphere of the church had somehow uniquely captured both high reverence within the liturgical atmosphere (which included The Lord's Prayer, Doxology, and taking of Communion) and a spirit of the overwhelming love of Christ's Body on Earth, the Church.

We were informed, when the church lined up to receive Communion, that we didn't need to be members of this church in order to partake in their Communion, that all Christians were part of the body and therefore always welcome to partake of Communion in this church. Chris and Brian (naturally) politely declined, but I got in line and took part in the sacrament. This is perhaps the only church where I have felt comfortable, as a first-time visitor, taking parting in Holy Communion.

The pastor, one Ms. Shalom Agtarap, preached a beautiful sermon on Jesus' teachings about inviting the poor and the destitute in sit in the "best places" at dinner. A lesson, not heard often enough, about how as Christians our first duty is to be like Jesus Christ, and that one of His major emphases was "doing unto the least of these."

All three of us came out with an overwhelmingly positive regard for this church, Brian proclaiming "What an uplifting experience that was!" I came out feeling that I had truly participated in a celebration of my Christianity, and felt completely "at home" in this body of Christ.

This was a rare occasion where the church service seemed not to suck the life out of me, but to inject new life into me. We will certainly be returning.