May 3, 2006
It was Easter Sunday morning and the acolyte made her way down the aisle toward the table in the front of the worship space. She was intently focused on the candle to be lit located directly below the cross of fresh flowers; so focused that she did not notice the flame no longer existed on the candle lighter she carried. As I looked across the worship area I saw what only took a few seconds unfold as if it were in slow motion.

The acolyte continued, with great focus, moving toward the altar, one of the pastors began walking forward from his seat, and an older gentleman on the second row reached in his pocket. As the pastor moved past the gentleman’s seat, the man placed a cigarette lighter in the pastor’s hand. As the acolyte lifted her candle lighter toward the candle to be lit, the pastor met the extinguished lighter with the flame of the cigarette lighter to carry out the ritual of the symbolic act of the light of Christ entering the worship space.

The beauty of what I saw was multilayered. A young child participating in worship with such focused passion, a pastor aware of the resources available when a change needed to be made, and a man who will never sing in the choir or serve as an usher, participate in allowing the Light of Christ to shine in worship. It was a wonderful Easter Sunday morning for so many reasons, but my remembrance of this gentleman’s awareness of the gift he had to offer to allow the service to continue, without disruption, was my favorite moment. It is often in the smallest acts that I see the way in which each person contributes to the life of worship related ministries in my congregation. So many people come together to prepare the “liturgy” for worship each week and it is part of the job of those in leadership to be constantly looking for ways to involve more people in the life of worship related ministries. How can we look with “eyes of anticipation” to incorporate more and more people into the rich connection of participation in our local congregations? There are those who will step forward and express the gifts they have and how they would like to connect within the Body of Christ; however, there are many who need someone to help guide them into seeing a future that involves them actively “living their gifts” in the life of the community of faith.

You might think a cigarette lighter is a strange example when there are so many artistic expressions of the way people serve in the life of the church. However, I know that this particular situation is truly an expression of someone feeling accepted and loved in order that they might give of that which they have to assist in the life of worship. Several years ago, I doubt the older gentleman would have reached into his pocket and pulled out his lighter in church. However, his connection with a loving faith community has made a huge difference in his life. The next time I see him sitting on the front porch of the church smoking a cigarette on Sunday morning, I’ll be reminded of the Light of Christ that he helps bring into the world through his life. Each and every person has a way to share the Light of Christ and it is excited to help people discover the unique gifts they have been given.