plans

HE knows the plans HE has for me; they were written for me before I was even one day old.

I feel the need to write about today so in the future I may look back and be able to say, "So this was the plan..." (You don't have to read it if you're not interested...)

1st Sunday: I went to Times Square Church. It was huge, and packed! The church was started by a pastor who saw crime, etc. in the Times Square area and felt a need to minister to the people there. It has now grown into a non-denom mega church with a big gospel choir. The service was quite an experience, and I'm sure I'll go back again. In terms of theology, well, you can guess. The next day I went to class and got to talking with one of the girls. She recommended a churches, and I wrote down the name of one.

2nd Sunday: I looked up churches on the LCMS website. I chose one with the service starting at 11:00. I also wrote down the info for another church with a service at 11:30. I rushed to the subway, got all hot and sweaty, and then had to wait about 20 minutes for a train because of construction. On the subway a guy struck up a conversation with me, saying I must be going to church because I was wearing a skirt. Kinda weird, but ok... Anyway, he told me about a church called Redeemer that he and several other Columbia students attend. By the time I transferred, got off the subway, figured out which way was east, and walked to the church, I was fifteen minutes late. And, to top it off, the doors were locked! So... I resolutely turned around, rushed back to the subway, took one train, transferred, got off, figured out which way was west, and rushed to the second church. By the time I got there, I was 30 minutes late. I almost didn't go in because I knew the service would only last another half hour. It was Lutheran, after all. The door off the street opened directly into the sanctuary, and there were seriously fewer than 25 people there! The service was nice - good music, etc. Pastor was a bit hard to understand because of his NY accent! Afterwards, I talked with some members, grads of the Concordia system, for quite awhile. It was nice, and I assured them I'd be back.

The Point: I got home after that and looked at the paper with the notes from the girl in class and discovered that she and the guy on the subway had both recommended the same church. Coincidence?

3rd Sunday, Today: I planned to go back to the Lutheran church and try the new one (RPC) as well, but then Jerad and Liza asked me to meet them for brunch. If they hadn't, I probably would have gone to the Lutheran church and then spent the rest of the day studying. As it was, we ate, then I hung out at Starbucks and read for class, then went to 7:00 pm service at RPC. Coincidence? It seems to me it was more than that! I enjoyed the service and met some nice people - Charlie and Whitney were their names, I think. They were with a whole big group from Columbia Med School. Anyway, the church has fellowship groups near school, a group for grad students, and lots of other opportunities for meeting people. I'm excited to see what comes of it all... to see the plans HE has for me!