Scout Sunday

Today is Scout Sunday for my son's Cub Scout Pack which means we went to a church service from the church that sponors us.  (We didn't miss our Catholic mass because we went to Saturday mass.)  The church that generously sponors our pack is a sect from the United Church of Christ - a mainline Protestant Christian denomination that has it's roots from Lutheranism.

We go to Scout Sunday once a year to thank the church for sponsoring us and give a financial donation.  All the boys are in full uniform and participate in the flag ceremony.  It's a wonderful way for the boys to show their appreciation and for the congregation to see who they're supporting.  The congregation is very warm and welcoming to us.

However, it is a VERY different experience than being in a Catholic Mass.  There are some similarities as if they picked and chose what they liked from Catholicism or Lutheranism and made up parts to fill in the rest of their service.  Here are some of my impressions and/or comments:

*  They do not believe in the Eucharist being the body and blood of Jesus so communion is only done once a month and it's a self-service type of thing. 
*  The pastor is a woman and she seems to know the names of every parishioner.  Impressive.
* They begin their service with announcements in a fun and joking manner. 
* They do an Old Testament and New Testament reading which I like and the pastor gives a sermon.  And today, being Scout Sunday, she did a very good job at explaining the history of scouting and discussing the first duty of scouting...1)  Duty to God.
*  They do not recite the Nicene Creed or the Apostle's Creed.  Instead they have something called, "The New Creed."  Not at all like the Nicene or Apostle's Creed.
* Their youth came out in the middle of the service and they performed skits to entertain the congregation ... a kind of comedy routine and they ended in a hip Christian song.  They were good, really good and I can tell it took a lot of guts and work for the kids to learn their parts but I found myself wondering... what does this have to do with Jesus?  The skits had nothing to do with God.  I didn't get it... I found it amusing for their talent but didn't see how it should have been part of a church service.

After I leave one of their services, I find myself appreciating my Church Mass more.  I love that our Church feels holy and sacred.  That we are there to worship Jesus and not be entertained.