Go out into the world...

Whether it was a mistaken understanding or not, there was concern when the Chrismon symbols were first introduced in 1971 as to whether the symbols were pagan or sufficiently spiritual. The change introduced provided an educational opportunity.

In June of 1974 there was discussion of urging preludes which encouraged meditation prior to worship. In 1990 when it was decided to purchase 425 new hymnals for worship, over 400 of them were purchased through the donations of members in honor of friends and families of the congregation. From the decoration of the sanctuary to the purchase of handbells, the care of the organ and the care with which the liturgy is developed, it is clear that the quality of worship is an important element in the life of Highland.

Each change met with both support and resistance. That did not mean that one group was more faithful than the other. It did mean that the value with which we hold worship can result in different conclusions. It is neither wrong to want to hold on to traditions nor wrong to want to change to meet changing conditions. Neither prevents the true worship of God and either can, if approached with the wrong attitude, prevent true worship.

Throughout Scripture, it was not merely the act of worship but the attitude with which people entered into worship which was important. Whether it is the commandment to bring a lamb without blemish or to worship in sincerity and truth, we are invited to bring our best to God in worship. The quality of worship has been a continuing concern of the people of Highland. Though all of us sometimes forget ourselves in worship, there is mention as far back as 1954 of the problem of noise and talking disturbing the opening of worship.

The quality of music that was offered to God was a concern of the organist/choir director, Larry Wise, when he offered the money that would have been allocated to his salary to pay for hiring soloists for the choir. This expense was later picked up first by the Deacons and then by the Mixed Adult Class. In November of 1983, it was decided to hire a full-time director of music as part of the staff. It was clear before that that the excellence of music in worship had been the result of an incredible collection of dedicated volunteers who generously gave of their time.

Again, there was a blend of openness and concern for quality.

First the biblical story that informs us. When Jesus was with the Samaritan woman at the well, she questioned him as to the correct form and place of worship. Jesus acknowledged that the people of Judea worshipped in one way while the Samaritans worshipped in another place and way but then he said, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him.” (John 4:1-30)

From the movement of wilderness altars to temples to synagogues and continuing among the Christian community in the development of the church, believers have always felt free to experiment with different forms and times of worship according to their times and conditions.

Experimentation and openness to change have always been a part of the history of the Highland community. That never meant that all change was good or that even good change did not meet with its share of grumbles and nay sayers. But as a church, they kept trying to respond to their changing times and conditions.

Since at least 1956, there has been continued exploration of a different hour for Sunday worship during the summer in an attempt to meet the needs of those who desired an earlier worship hour. In 1963 they experimented with midweek services in the homes with a host home in different neighborhoods inviting 10 other families and a pastor. Also in 1963 it was proposed to have an early Sunday morning service for families which would last no longer than 35 minutes with the sermon being shaped to speak to the age of those in junior high.

In 1967 there developed the Experimental Church which met in homes. In 1968 they discussed the possibility of midweek services at noon or breakfast and having the sanctuary open during the week for meditation. In 1975 they voted to replace the Christmas Day service with a Christmas Eve service. In the 80′s they increased the number of times that Communion was celebrated. In 1989 they introduced the idea of preworship hymn sings to develop their comfort with new songs and increase their experience of old favorites. In 1991 they began trying to lift up the work of the congregation as an act of worship for an annual meeting.

Not all of the results of these experiments were good but there is a continual attempt to seek to provide the opportunity for people to worship God in spirit and truth and not to be frozen into a particular form or tradition.

But some of the seeds fall on good soil and their response is to produce the fruits of the Spirit in abundance. Here we see the development of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control which enable a church to reflect for the world a community based on Christian love. There is no law against such things. (Galatians 5:22-23)

The message to the church is obvious. When you begin to see these types of fruits experienced in a congregation, it is hard to imagine such a congregation not growing in vitality. We live in a world that is starved for such fruits.

It is a mystery why it happens for some and not for others. Sometimes the quality of the soil is determined by what happens within a believer and sometimes by the environment around her in the church or the greater world. But it begins by the act of baptism by which the community gives affirmation to the priority of the love of God.

Baptism is no guarantee. While many were baptized in the early years at highland, not all stayed. Like with the baptism infants, we may be chosen by God but we do not always reflect that choice as we grow older.

As Jesus suggested in the parable of the sower, first God, then Jesus, and then the church through baptism sows the seeds of faith. Some fall along the path with no fertile ground in which to take root. The parents do not understand that the act of baptism is not a magical act but a sign of God’s invitation and that they also have a responsibility of providing for the child the continuing experience of Christian nurture within a Christian community. Without the base of a Christian community in which the family actively participates, the newly baptized are easily picked off by the scavengers of society which eat them up.

Other seed falls on the rocky ground of church social events, projects and activities. Immediately they spring up with great enthusiasm but they are so busy with the activities of church life that they have little time or opportunity to develop any depth of faith. So when the heat of the normal human frailties of a church community begins to shine upon them, they are immediately disappointed and begin to wither away because they have no roots.

Other seeds fall upon thorns of church bickering, denominational conflict, pastoral scandals, etc. and those thorns grow up like huge excuses to avoid the community of faith. They soon choke the promise of faith out of them.