A congregation of the United Church of Canada
Holy Week Looms
“Our boats are different.”
Buying and selling music gear is an interesting endeavour. This past week I did both. The characters you meet are fascinating. I was wanting to trade up one of my pedals to a more feature rich model so I went to the local music store to try to make a deal. I didn’t think there was enough value in the trade, so I opted to buy and sell on Kijiji. There, I met up with a guy to sell something, and he wanted to show me his guitars, and play me some samples, and talk, and talk, and talk about music. It was obvious it was his absolute passion. Forty-five minutes later he finally bought my pedal and I left. Next I bought a pedal from a guy in Midland. We had excellent conversations through text, and I was confident that I was getting good value. He had several things on offer so it was clear he had done this a lot, and was a seasoned veteran.
Finally, I had ordered a shiny new device that made something I own obsolete so I needed to sell it. I made a connection and met the guy the other day. He said he had never heard of this kind of device and wanted me to show him what it could do and how to use it. He was obviously a beginner guitarist, and his enthusiasm and delight at the prospect of making new sounds and expressing himself was infectious.
Unsurprisingly, I notice connections to faith in these interactions. Some church folk are like the corporate music store guys, big on procedures and formality. Some church folk are quirky and will talk your ear off with their ministry and justice passions and experiences. Some church folk are breezy and knowledgeable and confident in their path. And some church folks are enthusiastic beginners trying to figure it all out and grow in their faith.
Everyone is on their own unique journey of faith, which means everyone will approach and experience various churchy things differently than you might, or I might. That’s good for me to remember as I’m preparing Holy Week worship services. I need to remember that wide variety of experience of those participating, and balance that some are ready to dive in deeply while others are just figuring out how to dip their toes in – and everything in between.
There’s a meme floating around that challenges the old saying “we’re all in the same boat.” We’re not. It’s truer to say “we’re all in the same storm!” But our boats – our knowledge, our resources, our abilities, our challenges, our gifts – are all different, so we experience the “storm” differently. Just like we experience church differently – and Holy Week too.
Wherever you are in your journey of faith, I hope as we enter Holy Week this weekend that your experience will be what you need it to be to grow ever deeper in the Way of Jesus.