Couch Church

I've been hearing about a new "house church" movement....Christians gathering together in houses to form small, intimate churches in reaction to the mega-churches that seem to have run their course. In light of that, David and I have instituted the "couch church." It's the church we attend on those Sundays when we can't gather the energy to drive downtown to Old St. Pats.

Order of service:

1. Ritual of the coffee pouring
2. The couch sitting of the congregants
3. The settling of the cat
4. The reading of the random spiritual book selection
5. Short discussion and meditation
6. Silent prayer

I feel guilty when we don't go to church. I guess it's left-over guilt from childhood when we attended church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night every week, every year, every decade....never missing a service. It's just what Christians did back then, especially Baptist Christians. It took me a while to figure out that being a Christian isn't about going to church and keeping all of the rules, but a relationship with God. And while my head got stuffed with Bible verses, Bible stories, hymns, and sermons, (which I don't regret, mind you), there was more emphasis on keeping the rules than transforming lives. We were too busy judging those who smoked, attended movies, danced, and wore short shorts to notice the ugliness eating away at our own hearts. Eventually, the little church imploded and one night while the deacons of our little baptist church were having a fist-fights on the front lawn after an especially cantankerous business meeting, my parents whisked us away and we never went back. We started attending another Baptist church, a half hour away, that had it's own problems, but had it's good points, too. It wasn't until I was living in Chicago in my 20s that I started making my faith my own. I stopped going to church for a while. (I figured I had enough sermons inside my head to last me a lifetime.) But then I missed community and I tried to figure out where I belonged in this Christian family. I'm still trying to figure it out. So I try not to feel guilty, and remember that where two or three are gathered, God is there with us.

So David, Lucy the cat, God and I meet on the couch on Sunday mornings sometimes. Last Sunday David read from a book called "Psalms for Praying" that a nun once gave me. It's a book of prayers that coincide with each Psalm. Psalm 76:

In loving places, O Beloved, are You known,
your mercy extends to all the earth.
Your abode has been established in our soul,
your dwelling place in our heart.
You break down our walls--our anger, fear and doubts.
Glorious are You, more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
That which is haughty within us is brought low,
our greed brings us to ruin;
The violence that we harbor turns in upon ourselves.
In your loving mercy, O Beloved,
You raise us up with love.

For you fill us with wonder!
You, who know our innermost being,
You forgive us and raise us up.
From the depths of our soul you call us to love,
to grow toward harmony and wholeness.
You well up in our hearts with the injunction
to liberate all the oppressed of the earth.

Surely our fear-filled hearts will one day praise you,
the gold that comes out of the ashes.
Abondon yourself to the Beloved with confidence;
and receive the blessings of Love
from the Heart of your heart,
From the One who forgives your transgressions,
Who welcomes you home with joy!


David said he loves the part where it says, "Surely our fear-filled hearts will one day praise you, the gold that comes out of the ashes." I like the last part that says, "abandon yourself to the Beloved with confidence....from the One who forgives your transgressions, Who welcomes you home with joy!"

Good stuff, this couch church. Maybe we'll try it more often.