Living Word (Evangelical) Lutheran Church

I visited Living Word (Evangelical) Lutheran Church at 901 Ely Boulevard South this Sunday (Aug. 28th). (Their sign still says Evangelical, though they have otherwise dropped Evangelical from their name.)

Rev. Jeffery D. Smith pastors the congregation whose attendance averages around 35 to 40 weekly, and represents a good mix of young, middle-age, and elderly. He also pastors Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Windsor. After he delivers the sermon at Living Word, he departs to lead the service in Windsor.

This is the third Lutheran church in town. I discussed why there are more than one in my posting about St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. The simple answer is they belong to different Lutheran denominations. Living Word is a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), the third largest Lutheran body in the U.S.. Though similar in many ways the Missouri Synod, WELS sees itself as more conservative and stricter about who it can have fellowship with. However, the liturgical service is very similar, and you would not likely be able to tell the difference between the two.

Eastside Church

This Sunday (Aug. 14th), I visited Eastside Church at 200 Ely Blvd. South (at the corner of Ely and Washington). Eastside Church is associated with the National Association of Free Will Baptists. Though Free Will Baptists trace their roots to 17th Century Baptists, much of their tradition is tied to the American revival camp meetings of the 18th and especially the 19th Century. Thus you tend to find lively worship, a sermon with lots of Scripture quotes, and finally an emotional alter call, the latter being something not many churches still do.

When Pastor Gary Bigelow came to Eastside Church (previously Eastside Free Will Church) a few years ago, it was down to 3 remaining members. Since then, he has built it back up to a weekly attendance of around 55 members. (At one time, Eastside Church - which has been in Petaluma over 50 years - had a membership of around 600 members.) The Church has a good makeup of elderly, middle age, and young people. The worship band is mostly made up of very young good muscians who add a contemporary touch and are very committed. A lot of work has gone into sprucing up the church building and the grounds.

I got to see my very good friends Roxanne and Denny Kowalski and their son Joe, who besides being a gifted muscian, loves drama and being in theater.

St. Mary's Chapel

This Sunday (Aug. 7th), I visited St. Mary's Chapel which meets at Herman Son Hall at 860 Wilson Ave (at the corner of Western) with my good friend Harry Cortez. They hold a Tridentine Mass - basically a pre-Vatican II Catholic mass - all recited in Latin except for the homily. (They provide a missal in both Latin and English, side by side, so you can follow what they are saying.) A local parish priest has to give permission for the Tridentine Mass to be held. (I understand William F. Buckley attended a Tridentine Mass every day till his death.)

A Carmelite friar, Fr. Mark Kristy, performs the rite at St. Mary's Chapel. He is based at the Carmelite House of Prayer in Oakville, just north of Yountville and south of St. Helena. He travels from there every Sunday to perform the mass, and then later travels to perform another Tridentine Mass in Rutherford, just north of Oakville. He is not the only one who travels, since most of the 30 or so who weekly attend this Mass live outside of Petaluma, and many travel some distance to attend a Tridentine Mass.

While some who attend a Tridentine Mass do so because of an objection to the changes made at Vatican II, many simply choose this more traditional Catholic mass as an option, which often reminds them of going to the Catholic Church in their childhood or in their early years. The chapel has many traditional icons on display. The women usually wear the traditional Catholic doilies. Overall, it is an interesting glimpse into the Catholic Church before Vatican II.

Together 11 - City Ministries

This Sunday (July 31st) I attended and volunteered at Together 11, a joint church worship service sponsored by City Ministries, jointly held by 11 churches, at the Petaluma Fairgrounds. Nearly 1350 brothers and sisters in the Lord attended representing various churches, denominations, and traditions all worshiping our Lord together. (This is the 3rd annual joint Sunday service City Ministries has put on.)

The eleven churches joining together to put on this effort were:

• Adobe Christian Center
• Calvary Chapel Petaluma
• First Presbyterian Church of Petaluma
• New Life Christian Fellowship
• Hillside Church
• Open Door Christian Church
• Petaluma Christian Church
• Petaluma Valley Baptist Church
• River of Joy Petaluma
• St. John's Anglican Church
• The Salvation Army

I previously wrote about City Ministries with regard to a joint Good Friday service they sponsored. In Psalm 133 (verse 1), King David wrote, "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity." (NIV) The Together 11 joint Sunday service was an enjoyable small taste of that.

Later Note: The Christian Bee wrote an article about this event in their August issue.