54 :: Carmel Presbyterian Church

We worshipped at Carmel Presbyterian Church on Maundy Thursday. It was the second Presbyterian Church of the evening. The experience was different than what we experienced at First Presbyterian, this was a full worship service. Carmel Presbyterian is architecturally a very unique structure, it is one of the most interesting places aesthetically that I have encountered in this spiritual pivot thus far.

When we arrived, we sat down in a reasonably well-attended Maundy Thursday service. It was a beautiful sanctuary. I have seen the tall, conical roof of this building for years. Now I understand that the shape of the sanctuary is based on this external conical structure. 

You'll see the sloping ceiling throughout this post.

Here was the bulletin:

This church was open for worship and people were showing up. It felt great to be there, albeit on the cusp of Good Friday, a day of sadness. 

This congregation was about half masked and half not. 

The sermon was solid and focused on the themes that one would expect to hear about propitiation, a word that appeared on the screen at one point. This word means a conciliatory offering to God. Pastor Dave McKechnie [link] offered a grounded extrapolation of why we were present this evening. 

Christ on the cross.

Since this is a PCUSA church, I am noticing how the denomination has a great deal of variety in both format and theology. I would say that this is a more traditional church within the OCUSA spectrum.

One thing that the congregation did was they sang the Lord's Prayer. I don't believe I have ever experienced that. It was really wonderful, here's a video of that:

I am noticing that as more of the mainline churches open and we find ourselves worshipping in South Charlotte more often, I am coming across people that I know. The woman who performed the solo singing at Carmel is married to the man who played the piano. Their daughter went to Northwest School of the Arts, and I know them. This kind of thing will happen more often after I move into South Charlotte in August.

One attribute of this church was that the singing and verses were read in unison off of screens. Such screens are standard fare for the more contemporary churches, but are less common in the mainline churches. 

Additionally, the music was not from the hymnal, but from a more modern set of songs. Really interesting.

For the second time this evening, we took communion. The bread element was acquired via toothpicks and the wine (juice) via individual cups. We took the elements in unison as we stood in a huge circle.

We exited into a chilly night, spiritually fed and satisfied. We were fortified against the darkness and sadness of the coming Good Friday.

Both architecturally, spiritually and theologically, this proved to be a unique and gratifying place to spend Mundy Thursday night. Thanks to Carmel Pres for this visit.