Letter for September
Dear Friends,
It has fallen to me to write September’s letter and, at the moment, I don’t know which way this will go! Last week I read an interesting article in ‘Christianity’ magazine about rules and regulations and worship. It posed an interesting question, “Are we too hide-bound by rules and do we forget about the message Jesus gave us?”
I have always felt self-conscious when reading, serving communion or welcoming friends to church because of my taste in clothing. One thing that is important to me (apart from my faith) is my type of music and I often wear ‘Heavy Metal’ T-shirts – advertising some of my favourite groups. I have an inkling, at the back of my mind, that the designs may cause offence or even repulsion to members of the congregation. However, the article outlined many points about ‘living by the rules’ rather than ‘by the spirit’. Would I be a better Christian if I wore a suit to church every Sunday? The article talked about how the early Christians were not so interested in HOW they worshipped God – just that they DID worship God. The article ended with something like, “will there some day be a group of Christians worshipping God kneeling on a mat, facing Jerusalem and doing it five times a day? I pray so.”
Surely it isn’t what God wants, us going to church only on Sundays, in our best clothes, and then being done with Him for the rest of the week. How many of us have started to say grace at every meal, as Bill McCrea encouraged us to do? How many of us include God in everything we do?
Should I still feel self-conscious about not wearing a suit on Sundays? . . . . . . . Probably not!