A worship filled day at FBC

Sundays are fun days at First Baptist. The church is hopping from first thing in the morning until late at night.Adele is usually there by 6:30 a.m. and I follower her in by 6:45 a.m. She runs through the hymns and her special music and I check the heat, tune up the sermon, tie up loose ends and pray for the people who will gathering there that morning.

Lori Lord and Oliver Bray usually show up by 8:45 a.m. to get things ready for Sunday School. The place comes alive shortly afterward. Kids and teachers come and Sunday School begins. For the next hour there is a buzz as six classes take place. at 10:10 a.m. the choir begins to arrive and they start gathering down in Fellowship Hall. At 10:25 a.m., with people streaming up the stairs, the choir moves into place and it is just about time for worship to begin. Adele is playing the prelude and I walk down the aisle with the worship assistant and at 10:30 a.m the worship service begins.

Most weeks we celebrate God's presence right up to 11:35 - 11:40 a.m. and then for the next half hour or more we greet one another, have a cup of coffee and slowly begin to clear out. As we do, Pastor Daniel Song of the Korean Methodist Church comes in and begins to set up for his service. At 12:15 p.m. the members of the Korean Church begin to arrive. They often begin with a time of prayer and at 12:30 p.m. their worship service begins.

After worship the Korean congregation moved downstairs to have lunch together. That usually begins about 1:45 - 1:50 p.m. Sharing a meal together is not technically part of their worship experience but it is very important to the church community. We have coffee. They have lunch.

At 2:50 - 3:00 p.m. the Korean Church is leaving and the first members of Buena Nuevas begin arriving. The Praise team sets up and the Sunday School teachers unpack and prepare their class rooms. Sunday School begins at 3:30 p.m. and the Praise team practices.

At 4:30 p.m. the Hispanic worship service begins. People are in and out of the sanctuary and many things take place as the worship service continue until about 6:30 p.m.

Some nights we come back for youth group meetings or Bible studies and the day is extended a little longer.

I like to think that in this multi cultural center of Connecticut, where over thirty different languages are spoken, we are praising God like they did on the day of Pentecost. That is cool.

Cal