Week 9: First Presbyterian Church

This past Sunday I attended the weekly service at the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Cedar Rapids. My experience with Presbyterianism is somewhat limited. In elementary school I went to a local Presbyterian church for Vacation Bible School every summer. I still remember the chorus of the song that helped us memorize John 3:16. My sister's family also attended a different Presbyterian church years ago, and I remember going with them a couple of times as well.

First Presbyterian is part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States. Presbyterians are traditionally Calvinists, but I have no idea how closely the PC
(USA) holds to Calvinist thinking. For example, the articles on predestination on the theology portion of their website acknowledge the difficulty many people have with the idea of God creating people with the intention to damn them.

First Presbyterian

The church building is gorgeous. I went in the front doors, but I think people are supposed to come through the glass doors to the right. At least, that's where most of the people seemed to be coming from inside and I had to walk over there to get the worship outline from the greeter.

I wasn't able to get a good shot of the sanctuary without a lot of people in it, but it really is lovely. Click here for a good picture of it. It's probably my favorite of all the worship spaces I've seen so far.

There was a gentleman playing the trombone as a prelude to the service. He was doing a great job, but it felt like a really odd choice of an instrument. When I think about instruments to get people in the mood for worship, a solo trombone doesn't usually come to mind.

The Service

The service began with a call and response type prayer, followed by the hymn, Now Thank We All Our God. There wasn't a choir, and my side of the church sounded a pretty weak. Across the aisle, however, were some really strong male singers that made the hymns sound great.

They had a period of greeting similar to what I've seen at other churches. People left their pews and walked around the church greeting others. This was probably the most awkward period of greeting I've had. At other churches that have done this, congregants greeted everyone they saw regardless of whether or not they knew them. No one really greeted me this time except for the people immediately in front of and behind me. I just sort of stood their awkwardly while people people walked past me and greeted everyone around me.

There were a few prayers following this, including a recitation of the Glory Be, which surprised me. I don't think I've ever heard it in a non-Catholic context. There was also a children's sermon, although only three children came to the front for it. I couldn't see into the balcony, but it looked like there were around 70 people with me on the ground floor, the vast majority of them over 50.

The Sermon

A selection from Judges 4 & 5 was read, and the sermon focused on the prophetess Deborah. The minister mentioned that Deborah's story tends to be overlooked, both anciently and today. For example, St. Paul left her name out of his mentioning of the Judges in Hebrews 11. It made me curious as to whether or not Deborah's story was in the Catholic lectionary. After a search it does not appear that Judges 4 or 5 is in there. Kind of a bummer.

She briefly made mention of the many atrocities commanded by and committed in the name of God in the Old Testament. She explained that the ancient Jews existed in a different "theological framework" than we do today. It didn't feel like a great way to explain away God-sanctioned war, genocide, rape, etc., in your holy book.

I was stuck thinking about that for awhile and missed a bit of the sermon. When I tuned back in she was talking about what a Deborah would look like today. She would be someone who went with you to chemo, for example. Also, asking Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave a restaurant is not the sort of thing a modern day Deborah would do. That last comment probably wold have been more appropriate in a sermon on Jesus dining with tax collectors. It was a really odd way to try to fit current events into the sermon.

An "Affirmation of Faith" followed the sermon. Very similar in structure to a creed, although I have no idea who wrote it. The first line went, "We believe in God, the Root of all living, Creator of all things." The minister then prayed for current concerns in the congregation and world events. There was a mention of the children at the border, which I appreciated. We all prayed the Lord's Prayer and sang a doxology, which I knew as the hymn Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow. Finally, there was an offertory and benediction, and the service finished after listening to some more trombone music.

Final Thoughts

As I was leaving a sweet elderly gentleman thanked me for coming and said he hoped I would join them again. I think he was the only person I actually spoke with when I was there. I'm sure I would have been able to talk with more people had I been able to stay for doughnuts. I suppose I'll have to work on being more outgoing at certain churches. Going into a brand new place alone where everyone knows everyone else but you is intimidating, and I'm always hoping I won't be the one that has to initiate conversation.