14 :: Ascension Lutheran Church

 

Today I worshiped at Ascension Lutheran Church, near the center of Charlotte. Based on its position on Morehead Street, this is a church that literally has tens of thousands of people driving past it daily. It is an older church and when it was built, the traffic was not so dense and Charlotte was not so large. 

In short, this little church has seen a great deal of growth around it over the years.

Of interest, this congregation has a small section of its property set aside to minister to deaf people. It is called, somewhat intuitively, The Chapel for the Deaf. I don't know much more about it, but it is an interesting and noteworthy feature of this church.

While driving to the church, I had my windows down, enjoying a morning respite from the grueling heat of August in North Carolina. I told my phone to map me to Ascension Lutheran (I have an appallingly bad sense of direction, one of my few shortcomings). 

A woman in a car next to me smiled and yelled, "I heard you say Ascension! It's straight ahead, see you there!" 

On Sunday mornings, Charlotte can still feel like a very small city, it seems.

I parked and headed toward the church where I was met by a gaggle of kind, masked greeters. I had my temperature taken. Cleared to go in, I sat in a sanctuary that is built to look like an inverted boat, a very cool interior. 

Here are some pics:

It was easy to feel at ease in such a place. The Pastor was a very young guy, likely in the pulpit for the first or second time in his career, but he was a very personable and thoughtful guy. His sermon engaged me and made me think. More on that shortly. 

Here's a picture from afar of him in the act of preaching:

Three main things happened in my mind as a result of this morning's service.

First, I pondered the Lutheran denomination itself. I considered the fact that my Uncle and Aunt have historically attended a Lutheran Church, although neither were raised Lutheran. They are both from western Pennsylvania and now live in Charlotte, so I tried to think through the history of the denomination. 

Who are these Lutherans?

I know a bit about Martin Luther, father of the Protestant Reformation. The denomination carries his named and he was German. There were huge waves of German and Scandinavian immigrants to the US. Pennsylvania is the state that historically had a "Pennsylvania Dutch" population... and on and on I thought about what this denomination in the context of its part in the American spiritual landscape.

After the service, I found some validation for my musings. The below map is of Lutheran denominations in the US. Pennsylvania and Ohio are among the most dense. The Upper Midwest, where Norwegians, Danes and Swedes came in major numbers, is also heavy with Lutheran congregations.

This distribution is, of course, mostly an artifact of history. American Protestants who go to church largely ignore denominational distinctions, selecting the church that is the best fit for them based on style, format, social networks and perhaps proximity to home. But, seeing the historical distribution of where Lutherans have settled was interesting. 

Secondly, the sermon was thought-provoking. The Pastor described it as "a miracle" when an individual who was used to thinking about only him- or herself started to think of others. He said it is a miracle when the impulse toward self-centeredness is given over to consideration for the welfare of others. I have never heard the word miracle used in such a seemingly mundane context. 

A dead man rising from the grave after three days?

Miracle.

The lame walking?

Miracle.

Yeshua, Moses and Elijah transfiguring in light on the top of a mountain?

Miracle.

Someone healed of a grievous illness without explanation?

Miracle.

A person no longer thinking of themselves first?

Sure, that change of heart writ large could change Charlotte and change America and change the world, but that's not like...

Miracle.

Ok, but....

Miracle.

I stopped thinking about anything other than what insights might be coming from the sermon. It is a deeply profound point. 

What examples are there of hearts that shift from a self inclination into compassion for others? 

Two people choosing each other as partners through life. Parents creating a child through their bodies and focusing on the nurturing of new life that follows. Stopping to talk to a homeless person even though you might already be late for something. A comforting touch to someone weeping.

Miracles?

Miracles.

It's actually a beautiful sentiment and I'm still pondering it. There are mountaintop experiences that rewrite the heart in a split second. There are divine encounters that can knock a man off the back of his horse and rob him of his vision. There are events that mark the opening of a covenant as a man stares into a bush that is consumed in a fire that does not destroy it.

Those are miracles.

Then there are mundane acts that are a sign of a human heart that has pivoted away from self-absorption and into active love.

Those are also miracles.

I'll sit with this idea for a while.

Third and finally, I reflected on water as a spiritual theme. I was sitting in a place that looked like an upside-down boat, after all. 

The New Testament reading this morning was the story of Peter getting out of the boat and walking on water for a moment. Water is in the first chapter of the Bible, as the face of Adonai moves over the watery chaos. Water is used to baptize. Yeshua and a woman met at a water well and spoke about her soul. Moses smashed his staff into a boulder and water gushed out, slaking the thirst of the Israelites wandering the Desert of Sin. Even Yeshua Himself is referred to as the provider of Living Water.

And on and on it goes. 

Water as spiritual simile. 

I have a Psalm that I have always enjoyed a bit more than the others. It is Psalm 42, where verse 7 says, "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me." 

When I read this Psalm years ago, I was going through an interesting spiritual phase during which there seemed to be new depths carved out in my life. Deep calling unto deep.

The imagery of being struck by waves and billows of water appealed to me and seemed to match what I was going through. Being tossed to and fro by the power of moving water can be intimidating, even lethal. Yet if one learns not to fight that power and even yield to it, one can frolic, be transported elsewhere and perhaps even joyously surf!

The Holy Spirit pours like water, too. I see that now.

At the end of the service, an usher named Scott with whom I had chatted upon entering spoke to me. He said he hoped I had an amazing experience on my "sojourn" to one hundred churches. He also used my name, which I had stated in the brief exchange. 

An usher with a warm smile and a kind word who was polite enough to recall my name... evidence of basic goodness and one person thinking about another. It reminded me that miracle do indeed still happen in mundane ways and even in little exchanges.

I had a great time at Ascension Lutheran Church this morning. It's a special place to ponder small miracles that can have a huge impact.