I enjoy worship and I enjoy worshiping in different settings within different faith traditions; I even enjoy the diverse music genres.

On Sunday, September 27, 2015, I worshiped with St Jerome’s Episcopal Church in the Brady District of Tulsa.  Their bishop as well as representatives from several ecumenical faith traditions was present as we celebrated their 20th year of ministry.  It was empowering.

When I was in seminary, a small group of friends and I organized a worship service in the chapel at the University of Tulsa.  Our goal was to have everybody use his or her five senses during the service.  We burned incense, we felt the textured paper of the bulletins, and we heard music galore.  Everything went great until we had to exit the chapel because there was too much incense.  We were literally smoked out of the chapel.

Needless to say, St. Jerome’s didn’t have the problem of being smoked out of the  sanctuary even though the incense filled the air several times during the worship service.  The beautiful liturgy was well written and the music was fantastic.  The Bishop, the Priest, the Ordained Deacon, and the ecumenical ministers present were dressed in their robes, stoles, and miters.  Even their five lay leaders wore robes.  We rejoiced, we sang, we recited liturgy including the Nicene Creed, and we prayed kneeling on portable, cushioned kneelers.

Just when I could not imagine anymore “awesomeness,” the Priest gathered us to share communion.  He said, “…this is open to all people….”   We heard and recited liturgy and then we went up front – to the railing – to partake in communion. We shared the bread (communion wafers),  then we had the option to drink from the cup or have the Deacon share with us through intinction.  How wonderful it was to share in the bread and the cup with another faith tradition.