Presbyterian partnership

Last night was the first Wednesday night worship service among six north Metro Presbyterian Churches. We gathered at Presbyterian Church of the Way (PCOTW) to worship. We at Chain of Lakes helped co-host the service with PCOTW. Originally we were hoping to have the worship service at the Lino Lakes Senior Center, but it wasn’t available last night.

This worship service is a result of a Presbyterian partnership group that has met for at least a year. Representatives of Chain of Lakes, PCOTW, Arlington Hills, North Como and the Presbyterian Churches in White Bear Lake and North St. Paul have gathered to see if we can partner in effective ways. I haven’t attended the meetings, but have read the minutes. The group is discussing how effective partnership can take place in music sharing, maintenance, technology, administration, procurement, advertising, and social media.

Last night we worshipped together. We picked beauty for the theme of worship. All the songs had the theme of beauty. Kellie Burriss did a terrific job of sharing a solo after the sermon. I shared some reflections in the sermon (which I called a faith story) about the beauty I experienced recently when my family traveled to the Rocky Mountains. The Spirit was wonderfully present during worship. I talked to one worship leader afterwards who shared that it was very nice to attend a service and just worship instead of being a leader.

I don’t know where the Presbyterian partnership will lead, but last night was a very successful start to our common worship. Approximately 70 people attended and people from five of the six churches were there. The service can be viewed at: http://blip.tv/chain-of-lakes-church/presbyterian-partners-beauty-5374311

The next service will be Wednesday, July 27th at North Como Presbyterian at 7:00 p.m. The final Wednesday service will be on Wednesday, August 10th at North Presbyterian Church at 7:00 p.m.