While on this trip we've committed to ourselves to attend all of church every Sunday. So far we are doing well. While in DC we've gone to church three times and each time getting there has been a bit of an adventure and each time the services have been great.
The first Sunday was sweltering: high heat and high humidity. We weren't exactly sure where we were going when we got off the metro. Meanwhile we are baking in the heat, managing kids, and trying to figure out where we were compared to where we wanted to go. We looked around for others wearing "church clothes" that we could follow and we were just far enough off the path that there weren't any others. Google maps on my phone got us where we needed to be. Not knowing how long it would take us to get there we had left early enough that we still arrived 15 minutes early. We didn't stop sweating until an hour after church had started. The stress of getting there on time dissipated quickly with the warm welcome we received.
The second Sunday we thought we had it figured out and left with what we thought was enough time to make it to church on time. We missed our first train and had to wait 15 minutes for the next one. Fortunately we had built in a few extra minutes to our plan and were only a few minutes late when we arrived. It was a bit of relief that the meeting was also behind schedule and started moments after we sat down.
The third Sunday it was raining, only a drizzle at the apartment but a torrential downpour at the church. We had two single-person umbrellas and Seth and Joe had their rain jackets on. We made it to church and were soaked through. My socks are probably still wet. But again the services were great.
One of the benefits of attending a world-wide church is that the format, content, and feeling is consistent. The presentation varies slightly locally but we always feel at home. The fact that it is a world-wide church does not impeded our ability to feel connected anywhere we go. The people are what gives each congregation its own personality and that feeling of connection.
The first Sunday was sweltering: high heat and high humidity. We weren't exactly sure where we were going when we got off the metro. Meanwhile we are baking in the heat, managing kids, and trying to figure out where we were compared to where we wanted to go. We looked around for others wearing "church clothes" that we could follow and we were just far enough off the path that there weren't any others. Google maps on my phone got us where we needed to be. Not knowing how long it would take us to get there we had left early enough that we still arrived 15 minutes early. We didn't stop sweating until an hour after church had started. The stress of getting there on time dissipated quickly with the warm welcome we received.
The second Sunday we thought we had it figured out and left with what we thought was enough time to make it to church on time. We missed our first train and had to wait 15 minutes for the next one. Fortunately we had built in a few extra minutes to our plan and were only a few minutes late when we arrived. It was a bit of relief that the meeting was also behind schedule and started moments after we sat down.
The third Sunday it was raining, only a drizzle at the apartment but a torrential downpour at the church. We had two single-person umbrellas and Seth and Joe had their rain jackets on. We made it to church and were soaked through. My socks are probably still wet. But again the services were great.
One of the benefits of attending a world-wide church is that the format, content, and feeling is consistent. The presentation varies slightly locally but we always feel at home. The fact that it is a world-wide church does not impeded our ability to feel connected anywhere we go. The people are what gives each congregation its own personality and that feeling of connection.
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