Why Go to Church?

A week ago last Sunday, I shared this with the congregation. A special thanks to church member Henry Hecht for passing it along to us from his former congregation, First Congregational Church, San Francisco.

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Why go to church?

Does it make much sense to go to church? Why do you go to church? I have often discussd this questions with people who were spiritually alive, spiritually dead, or spiritually curious.

Why go to church? It is an interesting question. Once, I read about a regular church goer who complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I have gone for 30 years now, "he said, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I cannot remember a single one of them. So I think, I am wasting my time, and the pastors are wasting their time by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column of the newspaper, much to the delight of the editor and other readers.

It went on until someone wrote, "I have been married for 30 years now. In that time, my spouse has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my spouse had not given me these meals, I would be practically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today."

No matter what you think about sermons, i still think it is worth it to worship, to pray, and to sing together. Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible.

Thank God for our physical and spiritual nourishment.

Hope to see you on Sunday. Have a nice summer.

Signed, "Wilfried" (the pastor at the church)