On Sunday, August 9, I was at Blue Ridge Presbyterian Church, Ruckersville, which is north of Charlottesville on Route 29. The last time I was on that stretch of highway, the gap between the edge of Charlottesville’s retail reach and Ruckersville was a lot larger than it is now!
Blue Ridge Presbyterian Church is located on a two-lane country road that runs through rolling hills, trees, and many houses. As I turned at their sign, I first thought I was pulling into somebody’s home, as this was a wooded lot and the structure there looked like a house! Did I turn too soon?
I had not! I recognized the building I saw on their website through the trees! I had arrived!
Blue Ridge is on a spacious wooded plot with great outdoor structures and ample parking. The entrance is in the middle of the building, and when entering, you step into the narthex with offices to the left and the sanctuary on the right, and on Sunday mornings, greeters greeting! I thought to myself, “this building just seems to be the right size!”
Their pastor had to be away, so I was asked to help lead worship. In the several email exchanges between pastor, worship leader, and myself, their pastor’s only real guidance to us was “to have fun with it (the worship service and bulletin).” Excellent advice, preacher!
My thought of the building “being just the right size” came from my quick tour of the inside. My guess is that roughly fifty percent of the floor space is the sanctuary, with a flexible layout made possible by having chairs rather than pews. It is an open and airy space, with the décor (accent wall, banners, lighting) supporting a friendly atmosphere with a good amount of well-thought-out seating.
The congregation is as inviting as their space. I sensed the good camaraderie in their midst, watching and listening as they shared greetings, chatted about life events, and the leadership of the day went out of their way to be sure I was not nervous! (Tip: I am usually calm and collected on the outside and always nervous on the inside with this portion of my ministry!)
My hope is that worship went well. Their lay leader was wonderful, and the service included a member playing the flute during parts of the service. (I hope this is an “every Sunday thing”!) The congregation was receptive and warm, with one of them taking a few laps around the sanctuary (a visiting grandson!).
When the service was complete, people still mingled. There were extended family members present, so a good deal of catching up took place for many, and snacks for the road were offered as people left. Since there was no rush for the parking lot this morning, I knew that it must be the case every Sunday!
Blue Ridge’s building may be the newest in our presbytery, and while it feels like it is indeed the “right size,” there appears to be room for growth. Should that occur, there would not be an urgent need to build on due to the building’s flexible setup.
My final thought is the same one I keep coming to as I travel about: there are indeed great faith communities in our presbytery, places of hope and of possibilities, and it seems most of them have a good sense of who they are and what they can accomplish as they continue to grow in their faith together.
Till next week’s travels,
Kerry
