Circuit Thoughts

Don’t forget, this coming Sunday we move our clocks forward one hour into Daylight Savings time. I’m not sure why we do this, but we have done it for so long, it is now a much-questioned tradition. I know that when it started there seemed to be a good reason, now we seem to just do it.

You know, come to think of it, all our churches have traditions that we may or may not understand. If you say your church is non-traditional, I have one question to ask; Do you celebrate Christmas every year at church? If you do, you have a tradition.

Now, I happen to think traditions are a great thing to have. I enjoy finding out why we do the things we do in church and in our communities. Often when I ask, I am told, “Well, my mom or dad did it that way”. Sometimes the reason for traditions is very simple.

There is a story of a newly-wed husband who saw his wife cut the ends off a ham before putting it in the pan and roasting it for supper. He asked why and the answer was, “That’s the way my mom does it.” So, he asked his mother in-law, and she said, “That’s the way my mom does it”. He asked his grandmother in-law, why she cut the ends off the ham before putting it in the oven, and she said; “When we were first married, my roasting pan was smaller than my ham, so I would have to cut the ends off to make it fit. I never got a bigger pan, and that is how I made the ham fit.”

While some traditions in our church may be as inane as the ham, others are there for a purpose. For those of us who have church on Sunday, we do it because the early church celebrated resurrection day each Sunday. Sunday School started off as a way to teach children how to read and write on the only day off they had from the Victorian workhouses.

Communion in many Methodist churches happens once a month because in the horse and buggy days, that’s when the preacher could be there to offer communion.

Even in the bible traditions come forth. Passover tradition is for the children to ask why they partake, and they are reminded why Passover happens. When Joshua crossed the Jordan, a pile of rock was set up so the future generations would remember why they are there.

Traditions can be fun, and they can be wonderful teachers. As we progress to Easter, I think it would be great for you to learn the traditions of your faith and place of worship. Ask the elders and your preacher why you do what you do. Let them tell you the stories that brought the church to the place you are. Use the traditions to deepen your relationship with God.

Traditions can be tools to a deeper understanding of the church, the saints and yourself.

See you in church.