Sept. 20th: The Point of All This

Hey everybody —

We did it. One Sunday at the Foster Theater is officially behind us. The building is still standing, and so are we. - -

Last Sunday

One line came out of Sunday that we're going to be repeating for a while, because it's the truest thing anybody said all day:

“It’s more important to be together than to have it together.”

And then we proved it. We gathered a few folks together for a group photo to mark the occasion, and the photo came out blurry. We posted it anyway. Honestly, it felt about right.

Settle in September got off to a delightful start. Thank you to the good folks at the Foster Theater (especially theater manager Paul LeFeber) for welcoming us so warmly. Somebody in the comments called the new venue “lit,” and we're not going to argue. It is a huge step up.

Mostly, though, thank you to you. You came, you found parking, you figured out a room none of us had worshiped in before, and you were patient with a team learning the building in real time. Some of you carried chairs. (Our worship vocalists had chairs onstage and Jelani still doesn’t know where they came from.) Some of you introduced yourselves to somebody you didn't know. Some of you just showed up, which on a launch Sunday is its own kind of contribution.

It wasn't seamless, but it was ours, and that turned out to be the better thing. - -

This Sunday

Pastor Joel is preaching from the very end of Exodus, where the cloud settles over the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle. His working title: “The Point of All This.”

Here's where he's going with this: It was never about the tabernacle.

Israel built the thing. Chapter after chapter of measurements, fabric, gold, clasps, poles — an enormous amount of detail about a structure. And then the book ends, and it doesn't end with the structure. It ends with a cloud. When the cloud lifted, the people moved. When the cloud stayed, the people stayed.

“Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out on each stage of their journey; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day it was taken up.”

Exodus 40:36–37 (NRSVUE)

The structure existed so the people could follow God. It was never there to be preserved for its own sake.

Which is a pointed word for a church that has just spent a season building structure. New room. New procedures. Check-in. A website. Signage on the way. All of it good, none of it the point. The point is to follow where God is leading, and to hold the scaffolding loosely enough that we can pack it up and move when the cloud lifts.

Which is a fitting place for Settle in September to land. Come hear Joel take it further. Sunday, September 20, 10:00 a.m., Foster Theater. - -

A New Forum

One of the new pages on our website is our new community forum. When you have some time and margin, give it a try. It's a place to debrief the sermon online while it's still rattling around in you, and it's another place where you can ask for prayer. In the forum you can talk through community events and what's coming up, to introduce yourself if you're new, and to share the life stuff — the new job, the new baby, the hard diagnosis, whatever it is. You can think of it as an alternative to a group on social media. At Access, we’ve decided we’d rather not have our spirituality mediated by algorithms that train us to be angry and afraid. We'll still post publicly, because that's how people find us. But the actual conversation — the part where you're known, and you know somebody back — belongs somewhere that isn't optimizing for your outrage. The forum is small and quiet right now. That's fine. Small and quiet is how these things start. Go say hi.

Find it at accesscov.com/forum. - -

Still building

Things to keep in mind as we continue into Settle-in September:

• Kids ministry is coming, but not yet. Kids stay in the room with their grown-ups. We're still doing church immigrant style — all ages together, the little ones learning the songs by being surrounded by them. Access Kids is being built carefully, and we'll tell you the moment it's ready. (Our target date is October 11.) - Please reserve the closest street parking spots to families with small children and people with mobility issues. If that’s you, don’t be shy – pull into that open spot. - Signage is ordered in our plans, but not yet on the sidewalk. Look for a human being instead of an A-frame. Say hi to them. - Printed materials are still minimal. Bring your phone if you like to follow along. You can find the service order at accesscov.com/service-order. - Check in when you arrive. It's quick, and it's how we welcome people we haven't met and stay connected with the ones we have. If you're wondering why we bother: What's the deal with checking in?

And keep being patient with our staff and lead team. One Sunday in a new building teaches you about forty things you didn't know you needed to know. We're working through the list. - -

Reminders

Sunday, September 27 — We gather at the Foster Theater, 10:00 a.m. Sunday, October 4 — Our first family potluck at First Tongan United Methodist Church. (Where's the party at? It's at Pardee St.) Start thinking now about what you're bringing. - -

One final thought

There's something freeing about a God who leads by cloud.

A cloud can't be nailed down. You can't put it on a calendar, or file it, or build a committee around it. All you can do is watch it, and stay ready, and go when it goes. That's a harder way to live than having the whole year mapped out. It's also the only way Israel ever got anywhere.

We have a room now. We'll have signage soon, and a kids ministry after that, and eventually all the ordinary furniture of a church that's found its footing. Good. Our task is to build it well, but also hold it loosely — because the day the cloud lifts, we want to be the kind of people who notice, and who are willing to move.

See you Sunday.

Onward in the love and grace of Jesus, who as always, gives us Access to God.