Come & Worship – Southern Province Offers Alternative Worship Experience
On any given Sunday morning in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, at Chelsee’s Coffee Shop & More on Trade Street uptown, you’ll find a group of about 25-plus people engaged in Moravian worship. The worship really isn’t all that different than what you’d find in a Moravian church. Worshippers sing, pray, hear scripture and reflections, and give their offerings. The difference is that, as the Rt Rev. Sam Gray, one of the leaders says, “You can listen but you have the opportunity to talk back if you want.” Worshippers also might be in jeans and sipping on a cup of coffee. The age range of those who come goes from infant to senior citizen. Some have Moravian roots, some do not. Music is played on keyboard, guitar, and even bongos, with music ranging from gospel and traditional hymns to contemporary and original songs. The relaxed atmosphere offers a more open and spontaneous feel. You never know when someone might walk in and through for a cup of coffee. The “sanctuary” is filled with artwork, cakes, tables and chairs, and the smell of fresh brewed coffee.
On Christmas Eve afternoon last December the worshipping community offered a lovefeast and candle service in a community center on an adjacent block. A prelude of chorales was played on the street beforehand consisting of brass and an upright bass. Coffee and buns were served inside in a semi-traditional lovefeast as 40 people sang Christmas carols together and heard the Christmas story. The warmth and light of Christ were there, and the Holy Spirit inspired the atmosphere.
The truth is that for whatever reason there are a growing number of people in our neighborhoods who do not and will not come to our traditional churches. Seems as if there are a growing number of people IN our churches who are drifting away — often into inactivity who seem less and less interested in being a part of the institution of the church. It’s easy to judge these people as lazy, heathens, slackers, lost, or whatever, but judging them will not change their attendance status. The reality is that they are not in church and chances are good that they will not return if they were ever there. So how should we respond to such a trend? Try harder? Hold tent revivals? Put up TV screens? Offer a contemporary worship? As helpful as some of these may be to a church, such efforts do not seem to interest the aforementioned growing number of people. What gives?
We live in a new era. There is no question about it. The world is different now than it was just 10 years ago. People see things differently. We really don’t know what the years ahead will bring in the church, and many of the old ways of doing things don’t seem to work as well any more. No, I am not saying it’s time to close up church and open a coffee shop, but I am saying that it’s time to do more than we are doing. Worship services in coffee houses or other venues can reopen a door that for many has closed. Experiments with different forms and models of “church” may prove fruitful as we forge into the future. There is nothing wrong with the old, but perhaps it’s time to work on the new that will be active alongside the old. “Come & Worship” is one such experiment. God works in mysterious ways. It doesn’t matter whether it’s on a pew in a church or a stool in a coffee house, God is still working.
“Come & Worship” is on Sunday mornings at 11:00 at Chelsee’s Coffee Shop & More, 533 N. Trade Street in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Worship is led on a rotating basis by the Rev. Brad Bennett, the Rt. Rev. Sam Gray, and the Rev. David Guthrie. The worship is approved by the Provincial Elders’ Conference of the Southern Province with the blessing of the Board of Christian Education, Board of Evangelism and Home Missions, and the Board of World Mission. Come and join us as we hear the Word of the Lord in a new and exciting way.
