JESUS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING 
AND WE FOLLOWED

An Alternative Worship Experience

SO WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? Because as Christians we are called to use our gifts in service to others. Our tradition tells us that being a follower of Jesus can take many forms, but few of them are stated as clearly as when Jesus says that "when you have cared for the least of these who are members of my family, you have cared for me" (Mt. 25:40).

BUT WHY SUNDAY MORNING? CAN'T WE VOLUNTEER SOME OTHER TIME?Yes, we can, and we do. But our community has many needs and Sunday mornings are no exception. Many times agencies or programs that help serve persons in need are short handed during that time due to the church schedules of many of their volunteers. Perhaps more importantly, in choosing to serve within our community during this time we are changing the way we understand our relationship to God and each other. Our schedules usually require that we separate our time between worship and service, but when we do that, we often miss the relationship between the two. The hymns we sing, the prayers we speak and the scripture we read on Sunday morning in our sanctuary are inspired by the same love of God that led Jesus to reach out and care for those around him.

IS THIS A SUBSTITUTE TO WORSHIP?  NO! This IS worship! Taking the time to feed the hungry, comfort the sick and share our gifts with others is as pleasing to God as the most beautiful prayer or song. Perhaps just a bit more risky. If gathering in our sanctuary on a Sunday morning has become a meaningful part of your faith life, we hope that you will consider this event an equally important way of encountering God.

HOW OFTEN WILL WE DO THIS?  Four times a year on the fifth Sunday of the month.  Every other Sunday we will be worshipping in our sanctuary as usual. Same time, same place.

WHERE WILL WE BE GOING?  We have identified three organizations who need our help: the soup kitchen at the Seventh Day Adventist Church of Montclair,  and First Montclair House in Montclair. Each of these places has different needs and you are encouraged to think about in which location you would like to participate.

Seventh Day Adventist Soup Kitchen, 15 Elmwood Ave., Montclair, is part of the network of organizations that provide hot meals to homeless and needy people in our area. Volunteers at this site will prepare the food from 10:00am until 12 noon and serve the clients from 12 noon to 2:00pm.

God's Love We Deliver, 166 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, is an organization whose mission is to improve the health and well being of men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses by alleviating hunger and malnutrition.  They deliver nutritious, high-quality meals to people who, because of their illness, are unable to provide or prepare meals for themselves.  Our task would be to help prepare the meals that will be delivered throughout the week.  The morning prep shift begins at 11:00am with a brief orientation and ends at 2:00pm.  This venue can take a maximum of 10 people and we would carpool from First Cong at 10:00am.

 First Montclair House, 56 Walnut Street, Montclair, is a senior citizen's residence that was established in the 1970's with a charter from First Congregational Church. We will provide a worship service for the residents and share in fellowship at a coffee hour. This is a good location for those in our community who are less mobile or who feel called to a ministry with older adults. We will need folks to participate in worship (musicians, readers, congregants) and to bake and serve the coffee hour refreshments.

Union Baptist Church Clothing and Food Pantry, corner of Midland Ave and Portland Place, Montclair, needs help in sorting and organizing their clothing and food pantry so that they can better provide assistance to members of their community in need of help.  We will be collecting our own donations of food and clothing to add to their supplies and deliver them that morning as well.

Broadway House for Continuing Care, 298 Broadway, Newark, NJ, is the largest AIDS nursing home in New Jersey and a special mission partner of FCC.  This Sunday we will be helping to weed and water the New Life Garden which was planted in April, as well as sharing some fellowship time with the residents there..

OK. SOUNDS GREAT. HOW CAN I SIGN UP?  During worship on the preceeding "Jesus Has Left the Building...AND WE FOLLOWED" we provide a time for each person to sign up for the ministry of his/her choice. You will be given a sheet with all the pertinent information on it and Ann Ralosky will be available after service to answer questions. It will be important to choose your location in advance so that we can inform the agencies of the numbers of participants to expect.

WHAT WILL BE HAPPENING AT FIRST CONG DURING THAT TIME?  There is no worship in the sanctuary that morning as we will be worshiping through our service throughout the community. The doors will be closed and a large banner will be posted saying "Jesus Has Left the Building...And We Followed!" with a brief explanation of where we are and what we are doing. We realize that this may be inconvenient for those who show up for worship either for the first time or because they did not know of this change. It is our hope that those who are interested in our congregation will understand that this is part of who we are and will be encouraged to either join us at one of the posted locations or return the following Sunday.

THIS SOUNDS A LITTLE RISKY. Yes, it is, but our faith calls us to take risks. We feel that as part of a denomination that claims "God is still speaking" we must listen for God's voice both inside and outside our sanctuary. We are also called to be the hands and feet of God as we put our faith into action to serve our neighbor in our community and around the world.