Worship and Community

I am about to break all the blogging rules--this will probably be long and won't have any pictures (sorry Mom). So grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable before venturing into this blog post =)

I met with Katie for coffee yesterday afternoon. Katie is the new DCE at a Presbyterian church down the road and came to New Orleans around the same time that I did. We were chatting about the involvement of children and young adults in church and she mentioned that a lot of friends had been unable to find a "meaningful worship" experience since being in New Orleans. I think this is something a lot of young adults can relate to and an issue that needs to be addressed in our churches. So, I have been sitting at the coffee shop this morning thinking about "meaningful worship." What is it and how do we find it?

When talking about conflict in the church (especially in regards to worship) I have said and heard it said we should simply remember worship is not for us, it is for God! Problem solved, right? Well, not really--so I tried to break it down a little. What is it that young adults really want? I want a meaningful community. In my experience, when a strong community of faith comes together in fellowship we all desire to worship! To me this is meaningful worship--to be a part of a healthy community of like minded people that are so grateful for the gifts of God and so longing for the support and healing of Jesus that they want to be together in worship and prayer.

Ultimately, I think most people want to be a part of this kind of church. So where is the break down? Why do young adults have a hard time feeling welcomed and comfortable in the life of the Presbyterian church? How do we connect the generations? How do we facilitate these types of conversations in our own congregations?

There is a huge need in the New Orleans community for young adult ministries. As part of the outreach ministry at Metairie Ridge I am going to start a young adult group. Primarily we will come together to worship. I don't want this service to be a replacement for Sunday morning church. I want a place for young adults to be in community and be a support system for each other so we have the strength and tools we need to go back into our intergenerational church communities and make a difference. It seems crazy to be starting a new service from the ground up but the need is there and I certainly have the time.

So, if you made it this far in the blog, thanks for reading! I would love to hear your ideas on what makes worship/community meaningful to you...