At Home at Church
By Lawn Griffiths, Tribune, April 30, 2005
Henry Staggs handed out a hodgepodge of Bibles ‹ of various translations ‹
and instructed everyone to find 1 Peter 1:13. The five well-behaved
children
sitting on the floor in the middle of the room were preoccupied with
petting
Jezebel, a poodle-schnauzer mix. Yet they took Bibles and opened them on
the
floor.
Eighteen people ‹ eight adults and 10 children ‹ had squeezed into what
was
once a small bedroom for a Sunday afternoon of "house church." Each in the
tight circle took turns reading a verse until the 13 verses of the Bible
had
been read. That children occasionally struggled with words was part of the
faith adventure.
Everyone, including a 6-month-old girl, was affirmed as part of Living
Hope
Christian Fellow****p, gathered in the condominium of Henry and Cindy
Staggs
in Mesa. During the two hours, no sermon was given, no offering plate
passed.
No organ or piano played, and no four-part choir sang. Missing were
hymnals,
stained-glass windows or roomy pews.
But no one was a stranger.
Todd Spence strummed his guitar as the group sang such popular songs as
"Lord, I Lift Your Name on High." A discussion focused on the Bible
passage,
and everyone held hands in a circle for a closing prayer. Then the group
moved to the dining room for a "full meal communion" in the tradition of
the
Last Supper. Their hearty conversations cemented friend****ps.
remainder at: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=40548
Forwarded by the <a href="http://housechurch.org">House
Church Network</a>
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