Peaceful moments

The front doors are bathed in sunlight if the weather allows.  Between the pillars that support the awning are wooden benches.  Walk inside… to your left is Fellowship Hall where church meals, meetings, and events take place.  To the right is the sanctuary.  The sanctuary is big and blue.  The carpeting is blue and the wall behind the altar is blue.  The side walls are white and set with colorful stained glass windows.  The light-colored wooden pews have maroon cushions on them.  The vaulted ceiling is made of the same light wood.  On the altar is a projection screen where they show the lyrics to our songs, our prayers, and announcements for the congregation.  Dead center on the wall behind the altar is a depiction of God wrought in brass.  God has his/her/its hands outstretched and a halo around his/her/its head.  There are no facial features, or clues to any gender or race.  In front of that is a podium where from which our two pastors preach (though they rarely remain stationary behind the podium) and a table from which communion is served.  On the right side of the altar, set back from the rest of the main floor is a raised floor where the choir sits between songs.  In front of this space are the mics, the drums, the piano, and the organ for making music during worship.  I like the sanctuary best after service when the lights are off and sunlight streams down through the windows.  I have many fond memories of sitting alone in the sanctuary or sitting there with just one person for company – usually my youth pastor.  I became a member of Peace in the sanctuary, my youth pastor blessed my prayer shawl in the sanctuary, and I have spent a lot of time in the sanctuary crying, praying, and meditating. 
 

My youth pastor blessed my prayer shawl for me.  We went into the Sanctuary.  It was just the two of us and we sat in a back corner that was full of sunlight streaming down through the tall, stained-glass windows.  She and I sat cross-legged with the shawl between us.  She arranged the shawl in a circle with a plastic, batter-powered tea light in the middle.  We both put our hands on it and I sank my fingers into the soft, purple yarn.  I could feel the sunlight on my shoulders.  She said the prayer:

May god's grace be upon this shawl...

warming, comforting, enfolding and embracing.

May this mantle be a safe haven...

a sacred place of security and well being...

sustaining and embracing in good times,

as well as difficult ones.

May the one who recieves this shawl be cradled in hope, kept in joy,

graced with peace,

and wrapped in love.  Amen. 

I thanked her; she gave me the prayer sheet and asked me to blow out the candle.  I chuckled nad pushed the button on the bottom of the plastic candle. 
 

She gave me a big hug.  It all felt very special and holy in the quiet, beautiful, sun-filled sanctuary.  I want to remember it. 
 

There was another moment I want to remember from Peace church.  It was on Good Friday, during the end of lent.  After the service was over, I stayed in the sanctuary to meditate, pray, and find some comfort and rest.  Both pastors were praying with those who stayed in the Sanctuary.  It was peaceful in the dark but I also had veelings of fear of the future and sadness about Jesus' death threatening to overwhelm me. My youth pastor came to sit by me.  We leaned together and she wrapped her arms around me.  I closed my eyes and tried to let all my worries melt away for a little while.  squeezed my shoulder and said, "God, be with sapphire always."
 

I felt so loved and treasured in that moment.
 

"Always."
 

God is and will be with me always.  My youth pastor helped me to realize and believe this.
 

That prayer was one of the few, breif, and far between moments in which I felt happiness, beauty, and comfort.  I need to hold on to these precious memories and reflect on them during hard times. 

The sanctuary is my favorite part of the church.  On the floors above and below the main sanctuary are classrooms and rooms for meetings.  I am more familiar with the lower floor.  There is the Iglesias sanctuary on the left for the Spanish services that take place on Sunday afternoons; to the right are Pastor Paul and Pastor Kayla’s offices.  Down from that are high school, middle school, and preschool classrooms, as well as bathrooms, and a small theater.  I go to faith formation in the high school room.  When you first walk into the high school room, there is a ping pong table that is occasionally cluttered with art supplies, bibles, and other things.  There is also a foosball table.  Five couches are arranged in a circle.  There is an area carpet in the middle with dark, muted squares of color.  A table stands on the carpet with candles on it, a box of markers, pens, and pencils, and a stack of paper.  There is a large television that looks as though it’s been around since the invention of the flat screen TV.  Back to Fellowship hall – carpet of questionable color (it’s got a little bit of everything in it) tan walls, high ceiling.  There are a few long rectangular tables on one side, and lots of round tables surrounded by folding chairs.  There is a podium that I have never seen being used that has a sound board on it.  The kitchen is right next to the main room and has a large window/counter for serving food.  The church is fairly large.  There is one main level with the sanctuary, church office, Fellowship hall, and Peace room.  The other side of the church is split into three levels with classrooms, meeting rooms, and a couple more offices.  Peace is the one place where I am able to let go of everything troubling me and just be happy.  It is the one place in my life where I am fully accepted for exactly who I am and loved without reservation.  This church saved me from a lot of grief I’d been getting from the Catholic church I attended my whole life up until a year ago.  Peace UCC teaches me about a God that loves everyone, not just a select few people; a God who is more like a parent than anything.  I love the people who go to my church with me.