The Church
Church buildings have a special significance that distinguishes them from public hall or commercial meeting places. They are set apart, specially dedicated to God for specific purpose of worship, religious education, fellowship, and service. Priority in the use of church buildings should be given to those spiritual ministries of the church itself and to the community it serves through its witness and program.
Individuals and groups who traditionally use church buildings include church staff members, the congregation, church organizations, wedding parties, funerals, and denominational agencies.
Some churches restrict the use of their facilities to their own membership. Others openly invite the use of their facilities by other groups in the community. The church should evaluate community needs in the light of it own basic objectives before establishing regulations concerning the use of its facilities by outside groups. Specific plans should be followed in providing facilities and using them properly.
Many church buildings remain unused much of the week. An idle church building should challenge congregational leadership to reexamine the church's concept of its purpose in the light of the spirituals needs of the community.
Church members should be able to use the church for weddings. Marriage is one of the most significant events of life, and it should be conducted with the blessings of the church. Young people contemplating marriage should know that their church wishes to join them in this special event. Each church should
determine and have on record its policy concerning the use of the church building for the marriage of nonmembers.
Many churches have found it useful to prepare a printed folder giving full information regarding the use of the buildings, including information regarding floral decorations, candles, wedding receptions, and any fee to be provided for the participating ministers, sound engineer, and building superintendent.
A folder giving full information on weddings in the church can be helpful for those planning church weddings, whether members of the congregation or not. Sometimes people are careless or uninformed about appropriate procedures or conduct when using church facilities. Consequently, many churches have adopted specific regulations regarding decorations, moving of furniture, use of rice or birdseed, and appropriate behavior of members of the wedding party.
There is way too much emphasis put on the church building being the place where God lives or the only place where God can be worshiped.
Although the history of Haslett Community Church may not be as long and storied as other churches, it is nevertheless a rich history. The roots of our community church began to grow on March 23, 1954 when several persons met at the home of Conrad and Rose Haney to discuss the need for a new church in Haslett. An open meeting was held at the Township Hall on March 31, 1954 to plan for a church. At that meeting, forty-nine people elected a steering committee and planned for services. One month and two days later on April 25, 1954, and one week after Easter, one hundred forty five people attended the first worship service and Sunday school above the old Township Hall and fire station on the northeast corner of Haslett and Okemos Roads. For the first year or so, guest ministers provided most of the sermons. Occasionally there would be a fire call and the siren would blow, interrupting the service. This always delighted the young children.
According to the author, the role of the city mission churches in the tenement areas is to find better homes for the immigrants who come to the city and are living in deplorable conditions.
This section has been designed to provide an overview of the major elements of program development. Detailed instructions have necessarily been omitted due to the fact that program development and implementation will vary according to the particular situation of a given church.
Ziggy Marley once said, “God is like the sun. When the sun shines, it shines for everyone. God is for everyone.” In the same way, Abbot Suger built the Basilica of St. Denis so that sunlight would flood throughout the building and symbolize the power of God inviting visitors into the cathedral. The Basilica of St. Denis was an artistic response to the rise of the Catholic Church’s power for it was modeled to be a physical representation of heaven, which the church heavily preached upon. (Thesis) As the basilica represented the shift from Romanesque architecture to Gothic, Abbot Suger introduced new techniques that transformed cathedrals to look more spacious and “heavenly”. (Map Statement #1-Art History) By allowing sunlight to come through the large windows, Abbot Suger instilled the Neo-Platonic idea that the sun was the physical representation of God. (Map Statement #2 –Philosophy) Also, at that time, the church was rising in power, so the new structural style of the basilica brought more converts and eventually more power to the church. (Map Statement #3 –Social Institutions) [Insert Literature Map Statement] The Basilica of St. Denis was built so that worshippers would be in awe of the “heaven-like” setting, which would cause more people to declare their faith to God and to the church.
But to explore the thoughts regarding the boundaries of the church any further, we must clarify exactly what the church is. When Paul gives his closing salutations to the Romans, he says “…greet the church that is in their house.” (Romans 16:5) He was referring to the people, the believers, within the house. Additionally, Paul says in his exposition on Christ “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills a...
Typically, a church is to be a very safe and sacred place where no-one would
This made me start to wonder what believers did in the first century. They were called “the church” so did they have buildings to gather in? Did they meet in houses? Did they meet in fields? Did they meet in the synagogue when it wasn’t being used? After evangelizing and people being saved, did Paul intend on having them raise and save money to build a building where they could worship in? Did Paul think that meeting together in someone’s house or wherever they could meet was “un-evolved” and they should get a building of their own? Was his reasoning that supporting a family a...
The catholic church’s approach on the music of a wedding, is that the function of music is to be minsterial, and the music must serve and never dominate. The catholic church states that what is true for Sunday liturgy is true for the wedding liturgy, and Sunday Mass sets the standard for all other liturgies.
When couples decided to get married, something they need to consider is if they would like to follow the tradition of
All of us have encountered someone in our lifetime – a family member, a co-worker, a neighbor, or an acquaintance – who asked us WHY? Why do we pour all of our talents, all of our gifts, and all of our service into church?
...ake a new temple of worship called the church. “In [Jesus] the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:21)
Sonnenberg looks at the various different components that make up the bigger picture in the community aspect in a youth worship setting; these components are looked at systematically. In the article Sonnenberg and her fellow researchers addresses four aspects which are discussed theoretically which are the following: physical presence, empathetic and emotional equality, the opportunity to cross social and ecclesiological boundaries and sharing faith (Sonnenberg, Nel, Kock, & Barnard, 2015). In the quest to address the question the importance of these four aspects the researches firstly presented the importance of each of these aspects individually, by analysing previous research and looking at the background regarding these aspects (Sonnenberg, Nel, Kock, & Barnard, 2015). Additionally the researchers observed these four aspects in a practical manner by using various methods to collect data; the data was collected through pictures, videos, field notes, small group and individual interviews and conversations and through email correspondence (Sonnenberg, Nel, Kock, & Barnard, 2015). The leaders of the different organisations and youth groups were also interviewed (Sonnenberg, Nel, Kock, & Barnard, 2015). A study such as this is of great importance when it comes to a Church context but not only is relevant for the Church but for youth leaders and even how one goes about one’s daily
... the same or else the church could not claim itself to be the body of Christ. And as the body of Christ, the church should be an inclusive community of Christian faith, or else it again is in conflict with the mission of Jesus Christ.
The Church is the body of Christ where God brings his people together. St. Paul the apostle himself calls the Church the Body of Christ where all those who believe in God join in as its members (New American Bible, 1 Cor. 12; 27). Jesus also refers to the Church as the House of the Father where God should be worshiped and served, although not in the physical sense of the word (NAB, Matt. 21.13). As the House of God, the Church serves as an instrument of salvation for the people of God. God continues to call all His children to come under one roof and dine at His table. There has always been this concern about sharing the Good News and baptizing all the nations in order to bring people under one roof and one belief in order to unify their faith and thus, form one family and one ecumanical Church. The Church still strives to fulfill Jesus’ desire so that all may be one (Ut unum sint 7).
His church is a “good sized” suburban church that has been around for 295 years. He describes the parishioners as having a “broad tent” of theological views. This congregation is open to new ideas and re-visiting the old. They appear to be carrying out intentional missional work in their community