On Sunday morning we had the opportunity to be part of a wonderful worship service. It was a service designed for people who know little or nothing about the church. At every point along the service, the church lay leader would give a brief commentary about what was to come next, why we do it, and how it draws us closer to God as Christians. Whether it was a song, a prayer, the scripture reading, or the offering – everything was given a context within our worship and our Christian experience. Fancy churchy words like “doxology” and “liturgical” were either explained or omitted. A number of people who are unfamiliar with the church were invited, and indeed 5 first-time visitors attended. The church was left set up the way it had been the day before for the tea room, so it was a cozy, non-threatening atmosphere. It was a great example of how the church can recognize that it speaks a strange language to outsiders, and how it can respond.
We told Pastor Milan that this is something we will suggest in our own church in Sterling – perhaps attached to a direct mailing to families in our immediate neighborhood. The congregation, which as we have said before is highly tuned to the need for outreach to be part of its fiber, was very receptive and supportive. In fact, the suggestion was made to use the more informal “tea room” approach more often. After the service, tea and cake were served, allowing anyone with questions to discuss them while seated at a candle-lit table.
Rewinding 1100 years, we went with Pastor Milan and his family to Plzen in the afternoon on Sunday to visit a castle and an old church. Every time that begins to sound routine (there are SO MANY castles and old churches here – all of which are worthy of a visit), it turns out we stumbled upon the oldest intact building in the Czech Republic. Okay, “stumbled upon” is the wrong wording, since this was orchestrated of course by Milan and Dana. The church, a Romanesque circular stone building called the Rotunda, was built in the 900’s in what is now called Stare Plzenec (Old Pilzen). It was part of an old settlement that became home to an important feudal nobleman, 8 churches, and more recently, Milan’s parents. The orchestration continued when Milan’s mom just happened to know the lady who has the keys to the Rotunda, so she met us on the mountain to open the small building for us - a rare treat since it is usually only opened one Sunday morning a month.
Inside the church was a beautiful tiled floor. The tiles depicted two themes – one was a winged animal described in the book of Revelation, and the other was the head of Emperor Nero, the Roman Emperor who killed so many Christians. It might seem strange to seemingly pay tribute to Nero in this way. However, the tiles symbolized that the worshipers would forever walk on Nero’s head, or in short that God ultimately triumphed over Nero. It brings to mind the bumper sticker that says, “God is dead. – Nietzsche, 1882. Nietzsche is dead. – God, 1900.” God always wins. It was actually pretty moving to walk on Nero’s head – not out of some sadistic sense of 2000 year-old vengeance or something, but simply as a humble reminder of Christianity’s unshakeable foundation – something recognized and understood throughout the millennia, and beautifully explained at that morning’s tea room worship service.
Oh, and the castle was not too shabby either! Not a bad way to spend one’s 10th birthday! Happy Birthday Daniel! We ended the day at a shopping mall (a fitting way to bridge the millennia once again) eating a cheeseburger and buying a small Lego set or two to round out Daniel’s birthday celebration. Yes, it’s true, after seven weeks we broke down and bought a cheeseburger! At least it wasn’t from McDonalds or Burger King!
On Monday we met again with the ladies’ English class – a small group this week because of various vacations. Now we just returned from a quick jog to Germany to celebrate Phil’s great aunt’s 91st birthday. This was a joyful occasion. Because she is currently homebound after a small stroke, she was especially appreciative of our company. The visit from her church’s visitation representative on her birthday was a welcome surprise, and re-emphasized to us the importance of the ministry to homebound and shut-in people.
Tonight we are back in Tachov, where English students await, as well as possible participation in the work day to prepare for the Royal Rangers camp starting in about a week. Two of Phil’s German cousins will also be visiting us over the weekend, so it promises to be a full schedule.
The bearers of Tachov's coat of arms who would head up the parade.
Some of the parade's participants preparing to march in their period costumes.
Who said a string bass can't be part of a marching band? It only took 3 people to play it!
One of two troops of baton girls in the parade.
Remember how we bragged about the fire department's state of the art equipment? This is their fully operational horse-drawn (tractor-drawn for this parade) steam fire pumper. The firemen are in their traditional turn of the century uniforms.
Anna K., the Czech pop star, singing at the festival.
The Rotunda in old Pilzen.
The tile floor inside the Rotunda.
Happy (belated) birthday, Daniel!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea for the service -- that would also be helpful for children/youth...and probably for a fair number of the rest of us...