Worship at Five Celebrate One Year!

“Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes.
How do you measure,
Measure a year?

In daylights?
In sunsets?
In midnights?
In cups of coffee?
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife?”

- “Seasons of Love” from RENT the Musical

How do you measure a year of Worship at Five?

Last September, PHPC took a leap of faith and launched a new worship service in a different space, at a different time, with different music. A handful of people were elated, curious, and excited to try something new. Still others were (and perhaps still are) skeptical or uninterested. I myself was just a few weeks into my first pastoral call, still trying to figure out how to set up my email account, putting books on my bookshelves and learning my way around the building.

Whether it was my own imposter syndrome or the fact that there were exactly 21 days between my first day at PHPC and the launch of Worship at Five (eek!), in no way did I actually feel prepared to coordinate and pastor a brand new worship service… But the Holy Spirit moves in mysterious and grace-filled ways. The Spirit seemed to know what she was doing when the doors of Founder’s Hall opened that first Sunday evening and people of all ages found seats under the string lights. The Spirit danced and moved about the space in the weeks to come as more and more folks found their way to the nametag table and the Communion table. The Spirit continues to surprise and astound me, calling us to share meals together and move the chairs around, to sing from the heart and to listen to the voices of children.

So how do you measure a year of Worship at Five?

In potlucks?
In laughter?
In dancing?
In loaves of communion bread?
In tears cried, in vulnerability shared, in new relationships formed, in children’s sermons?

I think the only way we can measure this year is in love- in love shared and grown and made real. I give so much thanks for a church that is willing to try something new, that continues to listen to the Holy Spirit, that lives into a vision where every person has a place at the table.
And I give thanks that you’ve called me to be a part of it.