The word “liturgy” has origins in Greek that translates to “the work of the people.”
Last Sunday was the first Sunday since coming to TCPC that I called in sick. I’ve missed a few other Sundays, but those were planned and had contingencies already well set in place. This Sunday was different. I’m doing just fine, but I had a particularly irritating headache and I was borderline incoherent. I made a couple of phone calls, sent a couple of text messages, and then promptly fell asleep. I gave some delirious suggestions, but not really anything that you might describe as “plans.” I woke up after worship had already ended.
My fog lifted somewhat and I took a look at my emails and the worship video. The word worship is all well and good, but last Sunday was liturgy.
And that, my friends, is Church.
I’m grateful to be here at TCPC, and love that I’m able to be part of the work that this church is doing. But the thing I love most is when I don’t have to do anything. First of all, this was the first time that I was able to sleep through a service that I planned. I get why people would do that, no shame or blame here. But beyond the opportunity to loaf around, it reminds me that the work that we do isn’t the “pastor’s work,” or “my church.”
Take a moment in your day sometime to say thank you to any of our incredible leaders at this church. The staff took everything in stride and worked to make things go exactly as they needed to go. And people stepped up. Thank you to everyone who stepped in to do that work. I do it all the time, and by now it’s pretty second nature to me. I preach most weeks, I enjoy public speaking, I’m over my embarrassment at my mistakes, I’m very comfortable with a microphone. It’s still work for me, but it’s work that I am comfortable doing (don’t ask me to do an oil change or to program a computer). You (the royal you) stepped up and put in hard work at the last minute. I don’t have a list of every name who stepped outside of their comfort zone, or took on more responsibility than they were expecting. I do know that I’m incredibly lucky that I’ve landed at a place where people are excited and ready to do the work.
I’m not going to keep calling in sick, but I love being able to watch the community be what it is supposed to be.
We do this work together, not because we have to, but because we want to. We do the work that we can as we can do it. When one of us can’t keep it up, then we see how to support each other. I appreciate that you did that for me this past Sunday.
Peace,
Rev. Jeff Fox-Kline
Connect with our amazing community, fellow friends, and neighbors at Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church! Our worship service starts at 10:00 a.m. each Sunday and all are welcome! We're located at 1200 S. Winton Road in Brighton, NY. If you can't make it in person, that's okay! You can also join our livestream on YouTube. If you have any questions, you're welcome to call our office at 585-244-8585 or send an email through our contact form.