360 Church of Petaluma - Update 1

A few years ago, I wrote about a new church - 360 church of Petaluma.
http://visitingchurches.blogspot.com/2011/10/360-church-of-petaluma.html

They have sinced moved from their location at Valley Vista School (at 360 N. Webster St., Petaluma) to 879 Lindsburg Lane (also in Petaluma).  http://360churchofpetaluma.com/contact-us/

As they told me, they first sought to lease this sight.  However, the owner, who also owned North Bay Construction, wanted them to buy the property, which they did for around $5,000,000.  It's a large piece of property, so they lease out most of it to businesses (mostly along the Payran side), which pays for the mortgage, so, as they tell me, they have no mortgage payment.

Meanwhile, they have been renovating the warehouse where they meet.  They have been raising the funds to renovate this space, which they have done in stages, and continue to do in their upstairs Sunday School rooms.  They have raised these funds from their congregation and friends.

Since I last visited them, they have increased their average attendance from about 200 adults on a given Sunday to around 300 or so, with many children in the Sunday school.

I rejoice in their growth both in their membership as well as their property holdings.  May God bless them as they continue to grow.

Penngrove Community Church - Update 2

Roger Hoffman

Penngrove Community Church called a new pastor, Rev. Roger Hoffman.

Roger graduated from Golden Gate Seminary in the 1976 with a Masters of Divinity.  While attending seminary in 1972 he was a co-founding pastor of Church of the Open Door in Mill Valley, California (which later moved to San Rafael.)

In 1979, Roger and his wife Eva, became missionaries to England.  They soon founded Open Door Community Church in Bromley, England, a suburb of London.  That church eventually grew to around 300 members.

In 1986, they turned over the leadership of that church to the team they had raised up, and returned to the United States.  Soon after his return, Roger became pastor of Church of the Open Door in San Francisco, California.

In 1997, Roger joined the pastoral staff of New Life Christian Centre in London, England.

Roger and Eva returned to the United States in 2002 to care for Roger's parents in Texas.  Their health had been deteriorating.  They spent a year with them.

Roger spent the next several years preaching in various churches as called upon as well as going on mission trips to Russia, Africa, and Malta.

Roger and Eva are excited about his call to pastor Penngrove Community Church, and the church is excited about having Pastor Roger there as well.

Last Penngrove Community Church Update
Original Penngrove Community Church Post

What Do People Wear to Church?

Sunday Clothes

In my last post, I explored what the clergy wear to church.  In this post, I want to explore what people (the laity) wear to church.

There is an old tradition often referred to as Sunday clothes, sometimes called Sunday best (or sometimes Sunday best clothes).  The idea is you put on your best clothes, sometimes your newest clothes, for going to church, whatever your tradition.  In this tradition, people often dressed to the hilt, in accordance to their means, when going to church on Sunday.

For many, this tradition showed respect for God, respect for the church, and respect for each other.  For those who continue in this tradition, it is similar to the requirement to dress well when going to court (the law still requires you to avoid overly casual clothes such as shorts, tank tops, sandals, etc. when you go to court - in order to show respect for the law, the court, and the judge.  The judge can hold you in contempt if you dress inappropriately.)  However, for those who uphold this tradition, it is more than a show of respect, it is a show of celebration and joy, yet with a touch of sobriety and solemnity.

This tradition is celebrated in the Broadway musical, Hello Dolly (1964 - music & lyrics by Jerry Herman - book by Michael Stewart), adapted into a film in 1969, in the song, Put On Your Sunday Clothes.  Though it doesn't put this tradition in the context of going to church, it speaks to the sheer joy of putting on your best clothes to get you out of your blues and to prepare you to go in style into town.


Unfortunately, at many churches that followed this tradition, if anyone came with long hair, blue jeans, or otherwise casually dressed, they were not only made unwelcome, but all too often asked to leave unless they returned appropriately dressed.  While many were not asked, they simply felt unwelcome.

This led to a different tradition in many contemporary churches where casual clothes are acceptable, and often welcomed, or even encouraged.  In some, this tradition has gone so far as to make you feel unwelcome if you get dressed up for Sunday.  (Sort of the opposite effect.)

Other churches have found some sort of a happy middle, where people are free to dress however they choose to, with some dressing tending more to what might be considered their Sunday best, while others dress more casually, with everyone seeming to get along as far as their attire goes.

I appreciate both traditions, especially after visiting all the churches in Petaluma.  I like dressing in my Sunday clothes as well as casually, depending on the church tradition I visited.  I am much more interested in what is in the inside of Christians than what they wear on the outside.

What Clergy Wear (Vestments)

While I visited the churches, I saw a great deal of diversity and freedom in the the Church of what the clergy wear during church services, though some traditions have very strict regulations that govern this.  It also tends to show the difference between liturgical and non-liturgical churches.

In liturgical churches (Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans/Episcopalians, Lutherans, and others), the clergy almost always wear vestments (liturgical garments) during church services.  In Western churches, the vestment usually includes the Cassock (a long robe), the Alb (a garment worn over the Cassock) or the Cassock-Alb (a more modern combination of the two garments), and a Pectoral Cross.  Depending on the tradition, a number of other garments are worn.  In Eastern Churches, a whole other set of garments with other names are worn.  Each garment has a special significance, and an extensive study can be undertaken to understand the significance and relationship of all the garments worn by different traditions. Vestments tend to be colorful and often come in many different colors.  I visited several churches where the clergy wore vestments.

In history, many (not all) Protestant churches (especially Congregational, Presbyterian, and Reformed) gave up colorful vestments in favor of black preaching gowns - which look somewhat similar to a judge's robes.  The general idea was to simplify the vestments and to reflect a more sober and somber view of delivering God's words.  (However, some preaching gowns have color.)     I did not visit any churches where the minister still wears a black preaching gown (though some had pictures of clergy who did in the early days of their church).  In some churches, the minister wore a preaching gown (or robe) with colors.  It might be fun someday to visit a church that still observes the wearing of a black preaching gown.

At some point, Methodists clergy in England began wearing business suits (often with a collar). Over time, many clergy in non-liturgical churches have taken to wearing business suits during church services (and in many churches this is a requirement or simply expected).  The idea is to reflect what a serious person would wear in the surrounding culture.  I visited a number of churches where the pastor wore a business suit.

In churches that follow a more contemporary type of service, the pastor is given the freedom to come dressed in casual clothes - and sometimes they are dressed more casually than the congregants.  The general idea is that through faith in Christ, God is approachable and we can feel comfortable in his presence.  I visited several churches where the pastor wore casual attire.

Now many believers often have strong feelings or beliefs about how the clergy should be dressed, though Scripture has little to say on this point.  (Scripture did have much to say about how the priests in the Old Testament were to dress.)  Then again, many have strong feelings or beliefs about how others should dress in certain situations.  There is an interesting mix of customs, traditions, feelings, and freedoms about how we dress and how we dress in certain situations.  I tend to believe there is a great deal of freedom in this area as well as freedom for churches to set certain standards for their clergy to dress during church services.  I want to enjoy the rich diversity here rather than try to decide exactly which is correct here.

Penngrove Community Church - Update 1

Sad news to report: The pastor of Penngrove Community Church, Lowell Uhlig, has passed on to be with the Lord.  (Here is the obituary published in the local paper.) (Here is what I wrote when I previously visited Penngrove Community Church.)  Please pray for his family, as well the church, as they grieve (at their loss), celebrate his life (and transition to heaven), as well as the transition to new leadership in the church (the search and call for a new pastor).

Long before his death, I spoke with him about his time at Marin Covenant Church (in Terra Linda) and some of the brothers and sisters we knew there in common.

Update 2

Worship Music

Singers & Musicians Panels - Ghent Altarpiece
Jan & Hubert Van Eyck (1432) in Belgium

All Christian churches have music as part of their worship service (or Mass).  This is universal and a point of unity, as well as something beautiful - artistic and creative.  It spurs worship and opens the heart in ways other communication does not reach - since music has been described as the language of the soul. Thankfully, churches display a great deal of diversity in this area - it would be boring if they all played the same limited selection of music from a single songbook Sunday after Sunday till Christ returns.  Yet, its reassuring to play old classic tunes that have stood the test of time.

Eastern Nazarene College Cappella
Choir at Central Baptist Church

Almost all Western Christian churches use musical instruments to accompany singing.  (Orthodox Churches, including Eastern Orthodox, exclusively sing without musical accompaniment.)    One notable exception is the Churches of Christ (though other churches do so - while others do so on occasions - and have a cappella choirs for this).  They only sing a cappella (without instruments).  It actually sounds wonderful since they usually work out 4 part harmonies to all the songs they sing.  It's like being in a large barbershop quartet.  They claim the early church did not use musical instruments - and there seems to be some evidence to back this up - though I need to study this more.  Anyway, I think it is a great point of diversity - and I notice even in other churches - at some point in the song, the musical instruments will stop - and the congregation sings a cappella, and sometimes an entire song is sung this way.  It always sounds great.


The other great diversity between churches exists between traditional hymns and contemporary worship music.  The New Testament records the early church sang psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. (Col. 3:16)  Throughout the history of the Church, much diversity exists between many styles of hymns, including Gregorian chants.  Charles Wesley revolutionized hymnody by focusing on expressing one's personal feelings in a relationship with God.  This, along with the Second Great Awakening produced a new style of music called Gospel.  However, many gospel songs are now thought of as hymns - such as How Great Thou Art.

2nd Chapter of Acts

In contrast, Contemporary Christian Music started with the Jesus Movement, much of it based in Calvary Chapel.  It diverted from hymns and focused on music based on folk music as well as rock.  2nd Chapters of Act, Keith Green, Maranatha Music, plus several artists on the Catholic side including the widely known John Michael Talbot, were leading examples.  Today, there is a newer version of Contemporary Christian Music, which tends to focus more on rock - though it tends to be more a matter of newer songs versus somewhat older songs.  Chris Tomlin, Third Day, and Casting Crowns are examples of the newer Contemporary Christian Music.

Chris Tomlin

In various churches, the diversity expresses itself in that while some churches use traditional hymns, others have hymns at an earlier service, and Contemporary Christian Music at a later service.  (Of those who exclusively do hymns - some will include Weslyan-type hymns, while other do not.)   Others exclusively devote themselves to Contemporary Christian Music (though they will occasionally include a hymn - often a gospel song identified as a hymn).  Of those, some will exclusively use earlier Contemporary Christian Music, some will exclusively use later CCMs, while others will use a mix, tending to prefer one or the other.

While some insist on one type of Christian music or another - I tend to like it if it is good music.  However, I am looking forward to any comments about this - since I have found when it comes to music - while all like it - there are many opinions on it.

Communion (The Eucharist)

The Last Supper, by Bouveret - 1896

As I visited churches, I didn't always have Communion (the Eucharist) with them.  While some churches have The Eucharist (Communion) weekly, many have it monthly, and some have it quarterly.  So if I visited a church that held it monthly, or quarterly, I was not always there on their Communion Sunday.  On the other hand, if they held it weekly, then of course, I was there for that service.

However, all churches observe Communion (The Eucharist).  There is only one exception among the churches I visited, and that is the Salvation Army.  They do not observe it as part of their church service, believing it is merely an outward sign of an inward grace - that should be observed in the heart.  Quakers also do not observe this on the same grounds - but I did not visit them as they do not have a church in Petaluma.  All other orthodox Christian churches observe this.  So for almost all such churches, this is a point of unity.

Most Christian traditions also believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the elements (the bread [or host] and the wine).  That is, they really believe Christ is present in the elements, and the elements are not merely symbols.  On this point, there is unity in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican/Episcopal, and Methodist traditions.  While each may understand the Real Presence differently (another topic for discussion), they each affirm it.  While I do not want to overlook the different ways different traditions understand this, I would rather not focus on those differences.

The Baptist tradition (and those who stand in the Baptist tradition) denies the Real Presence - that is they believe the elements are merely symbolic.  However, they affirm that Christ is present during the Communion, as He is present throughout the entire service, since Christ said where two or three are gathered in His name, He is present.  (Matthew 18:20)

To be sure, all such traditions believe the elements, the bread and the wine, are to some degree symbolic, or signs, or represent in some sense - the body and blood of Jesus, especially since at the Last Supper, Jesus was still bodily present when he presented the bread and the wine to the apostles.  However, most traditions do not regard them as merely symbols.

In addition, all such traditions agree that The Eucharist (or Communion) is a memorial, or a remembrance. However, some believe it is only a memorial - while others believe it is a reenactment memorial, similar to how Israel reenacted the Passover as a memorial (somewhat similar to how we, as Americans, reenact Thanksgiving as a memorial to the first Pilgrims).

Some traditions believe the bread must be unleavened, while others accept leavened bread, and others leave it optional.  Unfortunately, at times, in Church history, there have been fierce battles over this, and some still see this as a point of contention (though many others accept either).

While some Christians, traditions, or churches, seem to focus on the areas of disagreement here, and argue forcefully about it, I, and many other Christians, traditions, and churches would rather focus on the areas of agreement here, and avoid an argument, if possible, without overlooking differences and diversity, and instead, promote unity here to the extent possible.

Finally, that leaves the issue about why some traditions call it Communion, while some call it The Eucharist.  Eucharist simply means thanksgiving in Greek.  All Christians agree there is thanksgiving in this celebration. Communion is a Latin word for sharing something in common - the Greek word is koininia - often translated fellowship in the New Testament.  So while some may see grounds here for disagreement, I see more grounds for agreement - all Christians would agree that the remembrance of the Last Supper is both cause for thanksgiving and something we share in common, and a basis for fellowship.