Sunday Worship

One of the highpoints of the General Assembly is the large gathering for worship on Sunday.

The service usually lasts two hours or more. The music is wonderful. Choirs from the local churches and from the mission fields make a joyful noise as they sing with skill and passion. One of the choirs came from the Congo, while a large choir came from representatives of the many area Presbyterian congregations. There were liturgical dancers from one of the congregations from here in Alabama.

One tradition of the General Assembly worship is the chalice. A unique chalice is designed for each General Assembly. Hundreds are made for use in the service. These are usually sold after the worship service as a way of raising funds to cover the cost of the worship.

The host Presbytery for this year's General Assembly (Sheppards and Lapsley) has a strong bond with the Congo, so they selected as the design for their chalice one from the Congo (the name of the presbytery honors William Henry Sheppard, an African American pastor, and Samuel Lapsley, a white pastor, who served together as Presbyterian missionaries in the Congo in the 1890s). The original design was carved by a member of the Bakuba tribe of the North Kasai Synod. The designs encircling the chalice are traditional Kuba designs that represent linked arms. People working together.

John Rodgers of Chelsea, Alabama, made about 300 chalices for the Communion services. These are traditionally made available to those who wish to buy them. Selling them not only prevents any one church or person from being burdened with 300 chalices, the funds also raise money to pay for the cost of the worship service. I always buy one -- next time you come into my office you'll be able to see not only this year's, but a few previous chalices as well.