Under the Trees

Back years ago when I was pastoring the St. John Church in Columbus, we had an outdoor early morning worship service.  We had to drag out chairs every Sunday, figure out how to do the music without a piano, and convince people that the weather was most comfortable.  And it was comfortable most of the time under the shade of the trees.  Since it was outdoors, we started the services on the Sunday after Easter and brought them to an end on Labor Day.  It went well for several years until someone remembered there was air conditioning in the church and nary a gnat!    

I have often wondered why more churches do not offer outdoor services.  Maybe everyone has gotten too conditioned to manufactured air to enjoy the fresh air of the outdoors.  Being here at the farm has made me realize that the creation is a wonderful place to experience God, to sense His presence, and to Hear His Word.  It often seems that when I retired I traded the brick and morter sanctuary for an outdoor cathedral so huge that the horizon provides its walls.    

A church up the road from here has an occasional outdoor worship service in its prayer garden and it is always such a refreshing experience to sit with the people of God in the creation God has given us.  The 19th Psalm casts some wonderful images as it says, "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims His handiwork...In the heavens He has set a tent for the sun...Day to day pours forth speech...There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes through the earth..."  (Psalm 19:1-4)  There is no sanctuary like the Creation and whether we worship within it alone or with a gathering of folks, it is always a place to offer praise to God and to listen for His voice.