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by Charis Church doors Barred. Locks set. Guitar strings, silent, strung Across an empty floor. Organ pipes Stopped with cobwebs. All locked, all empty. Cancelled. Windows boarded. Bibles stowed away. Spiderwebs in the pulpit, And floors forgotten By human feet. Dirt on the windows. Dust on the shelves. Silence rings, not bells And only insects hear. But:  Unless our hearts are shut and locked, And our voices are silent, Unless our lights are snuffed out, And our eyes are shut with fear, The inner sanctums of our hearts have gone cold, And we’ve clogged the valves of kindness, There is church today. Instead of making excuses, We make a way in the desert Instead of stockpiling, We give of God’s heart And we wash our hands of bacteria, But we don’t wash our hands of our neighbours. And we might wear our masks, But our eyes are wide open. Church is now. © 2020 Charis Noviskie. All rights reserved
by Charis Well, we’re stuck inside our houses With the people we claim to know and love best And now, with televisions, laptops or radios tuned in We discover something called worship, online. And it’s not the same  Weird without the coloured lights The sound of a hundred speakers And people—hundreds or more—just beside But now: There’re no dimmed lights No loudspeakers No crowds Instead we have dizzy sunlight, Gleaming through familiar frames And tinny sounds from only one speaker A couple of people—family And nowhere else to go Suddenly The sounds of family nearby Are loud We can hear every breath And the exact way that they might sing And the sound of clothes rustling No more big, dark, comfy spaces to throw loud voices into No more forests of raised arms to secure our own hands No more dimmed lights to hide expression And, suddenly My soul is vulnerable In a different way than before Can I still worship in such a way? When the world, The people around me Refuse to fade away? When even closing my eyes seems wrong And engaging is suddenly so much harder Because I can hear the kids next door playing And construction down the street Someone sneezing Somebody laughing too loud I can hear cars and sirens and neighbours And I can hear dishes clanging in the kitchen I can smell the spices of home food I am too distracted to worship! But all these distractions Aren’t they just the simple things that were always there? Gifts That we’ve forgotten in spectacle—lights, crowds, stages  Maybe I am learning to appreciate Richness The copious aroma of life Spicy, sweet, tangy Salty, savoury, tender flavour The taste and touch and feel of life-- In everyday moments I can no longer block out That the people around me are more precious than spectacles And that God can be worshipped by us too Together, in a way that doesn’t deny This rich aroma Of our everyday lives Now I share with God The kitchen cooking, dishwashing, couch-sitting, pillow-fighting, Debating, laughing, crying, smiling, Secret handshakes Nicknames, chores Pet projects, pet peeves Smallest thoughts Biggest dreams… The smell of home-cooked food My everyday life Because God loves to see life Life Is Richness © 2020 Charis Noviskie. All rights reserved.
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Mike & Chandra Noviskie,
missionaries to South Africa CCF Missions is a ministry of Christian City Fellowship. |
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