Nave

            Throughout the ages there have been specific terms used for portions of the church’s architecture. The name for the place where most of us sit, stand, and take part in worship is the nave. The word nave is a direct spinoff form the Latin word navis, which means ship. From the same root come words like navy, naval, navigation, and the like. 

            There are comparisons of the ship itself to the nave and the church, one of them being the cross formed by the mast and its crossbars. But the strongest image is that the ship is the only thing that will carry you on the water – and nobody will deny that it is better to be on the water than in it (as Rev. Dean Myers once put it – much of what follows is prompted by his sermon “Stay with the Ship”, as well).

            What an example the stalwart St. Paul is to all of us. Do you remember when he and the other prisoners were being taken on the long and hazardous voyage to Rome and the ship was endangered (Act 27:27-44)? It is a terrific sea story. What he said to the frightened and panicked Centurion and prisoners was, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” Stick with the ship was his advice.

            It is here, in the ship, that we are baptized and called children of God. We worship here, singing Hosanna and shouting Hallelujah. Some of our deepest and most poignant prayers are said in the nave. We confess our sins there and are forgiven. And when we die it is in the nave that we are committed to life everlasting as assured by Jesus Christ.

            Life has its heartbreaks, griefs, and sorrows but relief is ever in the nave, which also can be carried in the heart. Life has its joys, ecstasies, and triumphs and they can be celebrated in the nave as well as in the heart.  

            The church is a holy place, this ship. God himself is here as everywhere; His Son Jesus Christ is here with His promises of redemption and deliverance and the Holy Spirit is surely overall.

            Perhaps on some Saturdays and Sundays our greeters could say, as you pass through the doors from the narthex, “Welcome aboard!”

Symposium 2019

Last week I was absent from writing the blog due to preparing to attend the 30th annual Symposium at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. As a member of the 1988 class, which graduated a year before the inception of the symposia, it’s been suggested that the faculty took one look at us, going out the door, and thought “these guys are going to need some continuing education!”

            This year’s theme, of “(re)Forming the Devotional Life,” was very helpful. It began with the following definition, provided by Dr. David Schmitt: 

Devotion is…

·      A deep reverence for a particular teaching of the faith

·      That manifests itself in contemplative and active practices in the world.

In the face of the distractions of daily life, disenchantment with the world, and disillusionment with the church, devotion helps us to focus, to develop a scriptural imaginary, and rely more readily on God’s revelation to us in His Word. Thank you, Redeemer, for the opportunity to once again attend. I’m looking forward to sharing more of this in the days to come.

Surveys

During two of the last three weekends we have conducted surveys at our worship services. The same surveys are available online for those who weren’t in attendance but would like to put in their two cents.

            One survey was on communication at Redeemer. We have altered a few of the usual lines of communication and added a couple, as well. Communication is always in need of attention and we want to be as good and as clear at it as possible. We appreciate the input we’ve received. The results are still being tabulated and we will communicate them when finished.

            The second survey, over this past weekend, was on safety. That’s admittedly a broad category. Under that heading we want to develop plans regarding how we can best respond to fire alarms, tornado sirens, medical needs, active shooters, and other emergencies. Again, thank you for your participation. Once this survey has been tabulated, we will solicit people who would be interested in being part of our safety teams and we will begin training. And after that, we would have some congregational training for responding to the incidents mentioned, above. 

            Thank you for your interest and involvement. And let us hasten to add that if you have something else you feel ought to be addressed, please simply let us know.