nicely put, pastor das.

i like the new layout and photos.

Giddy? Maybe. I think the better word for me as a schoolgirl is hyper.

Face it, us kids have lots of energy.

No afternoon nap for me, nope.

Oh, Angela you must be mistaking me with that other Das brother over in Godfrey ;)

Thanks, though. I am pleased with the layout too, though I need to get another "links" sign that has "One Way" the right way up. I was actually trying to play off on the German for "left."

Why thank you, Suzie Schoolgirl. I don't understand the nuances between giddy and hyper, though. So perhaps an essay is in order, you know, compare and contrast, thesis, intro, body paragraphs, conclusion.

Thanks for the blessing Neil.
It’s refreshing to hear you appreciate ritual too. Along those lines, I hope you have the courage to cross yourself before, during, or after taking communion. I don't think it's my Catholicism speaking when I say that it strikes me as a natural gesture (although I don’t do it at Newcity). I think your right, taking communion is a transforming, renewing practice and not something to be taken lightly whether you believe in transubstantiation or not: "For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." (1 Corinthians 11:29) Nothing light about that.

Sometimes when I'm harboring unforgiveness or some other muck I don't take it. It's weird to let it pass by in protestant churches but during mass it was much more acceptable.
P.S. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not milling the cracker around to see if it’s getting fleshy like I once used to; I’m just saying that it’s good to be reminded that taking communion’s a serious and renewing practice.

"Sometimes when I'm harboring unforgiveness or some other muck I don't take it." Ditto. And, yes, it is a bit weird to let it pass in a Protestant church, both because people may well wonder what's up (and if it is the right person asking, that's OK too) and because we maybe have too easy of benchmark for receiving forgiveness as Protestants sometimes.

Please don't misinterpret that, folks. I am not advocating penance, but sometimes perhaps we have too quick an attitude to receiving forgiveness and moving on. The issue of receiving communion or not when I am black with sin is a tricky one. I try to guage whether my heart is truly repentant and broken. If it is, I think it is entirely appropriate to receive. Sometimes, though, if I am really a mess, I want to confess to a brother of elder and have them pray for me first and then come back to communion the following week, not because I cannot pray on my own and receive forgiveness, but because I may just need it that way. Again, the end of James.

And, Heidi, you are too funny...watching to see if the cracker gets fleshy. Ah, but that is another discussion altogether, one that I only know a little about just now.

If I could pick something to improve upon at church, and the list isn't very long mind you, I would have us all eat the bread and drink the wine at the same time, rather than doing it as it is passed (or shortly thereafter).

I'm not sure exactly what I think about abstaining from Communion for personal sins... I had always thought that if you knew you had an unrepented sin that you were still struggling with it was better to abstain. But then a pastor (at a different church) encouraged all Christians to take Communion, admonishing us that if we think we're doing God a favor by abstaining, then we are denying the power of this Sacrament in our lives and forgetting that we will all live with sin, repented and unrepented, until Christ's return. So, now I'm not so sure anymore.

Gosh, as music director for Neil's church I feel a little funny about making any comment on this thread, but here goes. Neil, recognizing that artists tend to be "thin-skinned", I will ignore the little voice in my head that wants to be offended that you don't find our church services to be the flawless earthly manifestation of worship. In fact, I could probably make a longer list than anybody of all the things that I would change or add or get rid of in our services. So I will refrain from sharing any of that, and will just add this: everyone who walks into the doors of New City Fellowship has to sacrifice something to worship there. You could probably say that about any church, but it is escpecially true of a multi-cultural chuch. This is an encouraging thought to me when I start to become aware of a way that we are failing to realize our vision (like the lack of a African American pastor). (by the way, I keep telling God that He needs to fix that problem for us, but He just doesn't seem to want to listen.) So, anyway, I'm really glad that you are part of our church despite the fact that it doesn't perfectly jive with your personal preferances and convictions about worship. Honestly, I wonder a lot of times why anyone stays at our church. It is really encouraging for me to know that it is one of your favorite times of the week, even if it is too rockin' sometimes.

You are right, Kirk, it is amazing to me too that anyone attends our church at all, because one does have to give up something to come. I am hoping in heaven that we can all take turns and participate fully in each other's worship styles and really understand, truly get how it works for the other person, and then blend them all together again like we do at New City.

The lovely thing is that our church does not take the lowest common denominator approach and make things insipid, but rather multiplies the strengths of everyone while having Chirst as the true denominator.

Also, my post really wasn't meant to suggest actual changes to the church, at least not all the things I mentioned in my post that I said I like. If I had to pick one thing, I think it would be a moment for confession (sometimes corporate) or reflection somewhere in the service. I was simply stating my preferences. Nothing moves me quite the way an old school hymn can, perhaps for reasons which may not even be all that spiritual (familiarity, comfort, nostalgia, etc.) but also for many that are spiritual. Also, I do not despise the "rocking songs" at all. I can be and have been quite moved by them to glorify God. I have come on a bit of journey, though, to expand my horizon of just what type of music may be appropriate in church. More important than the type of music played, though (and I don't think any type of music can work), is the manner in which it is played and the way in which the congregation is encouraged to worship. And I have absolutely no complaints there, my friend.

Renae, I was at one point rather used to taking the elements together as well, and there is certainly some symbolic power to that.

And, I can get the notion of taking communion no matter what in one sense. I suppose the key verses are I Cor. 1:27-32:

27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

I suppose the key is "without recognizing the body of the Lord." I am not sure what that means really. It doesn't seem to fit with having unpentent sin, but more with a complete disregard for what is happening in communion. It seems as if the Corinthian communion meals were actual meals in which some people perhaps ate and drank to excess even, and so did not even stop think what they were about. I am not sure about that, though.

Our notion of not participating in communion because of unrepentant might come from other places then or from principles about the Lord not hearing our prayers when we have sin in our hearts or the prominence of confession in the Lord's prayer (though it is not at the beginning of the prayer). I don't really know, so I am going to shut up now.

Hey brother, great pics on the side! I espicaly like the email one. :)

Love you man,

Thanks, brother. Yeah, I like it too, even if it is a cheesy self-portrait.