Sacred Spaces and Silver Screens

There are fewer things I love more than going to the movies. There’s something so

magical about the who process — going to the theater, being greeted by the

usher, handing a ticket stub, waiting in line for popcorn with all the other guests,

hearing their excited conversations, looking at all the posters in the hallway, and

choosing our seats.

I love that that A/C is cranked so low in the theater that I can wear a sweatshirt in

the summer. And to me, there are just few things better than the feeling I get in

my soul when the lights dip down and the screen goes dark just before the first

trailer starts.

I know it’s not that odd to like movies - it seems like everyone does enjoy a great

movie - but I am surprised at how many people that I know that do not like going

to the theater to see a movie. It’s “not for them” - they don’t like the crowds, the

noise, or paying way too much for a soda. They like their chair at home more than

the flip-up cinema seat.

What’s pure magic for me isn’t the same for them -the theater experience lights

up my heart and my imagination, but for them it doesn’t. What seems like the

same “thing” can actually be two very different experiences. We might all love

movies, but what makes a great movie experience can be so different.

The longer I work as a pastor, the more I realize that I can learn something about

church from the movie theater. At PUMC we are all bound together by a common

love - to worship God and serve others each day and each week. And we love

being together - which is good! In Hebrews 10, the author reminds their church

of the importance of meeting together - the author believes that none of us

comes to Jesus well by ourselves, but that we need to be together to encourage,

serve, and grow.

But one of the things I love is that the author doesn’t say that there’s only one

right way to “meet” together, so long as we are building each other up in love, our

time together might look very different. Some of us love different styles of music

to sing, ways to pray, roles as volunteers - some of us love the energy in the

crowd in the sanctuary, others might find they love their small group more. Just

like how there’s not one right way to watch and love a movie, there’s no one right

way to experience the love of God together at church.

I’m so happy that even across all our differences, and all our preferences, that at

PUMC we love God and that we truly love being together. Jesus says that when

we gather in love, his Spirit is there, and when we love well, our neighbors will see

God in us.

This summer, my prayer is that whether we are quiet or loud, in the crowd or

with a few, singing or silent together, that the exciting magic of God’s love will

come up for each of us, and for our neighbors as well.