Worship Center or Sanctuary?

I was afraid I wasn't going to get a post in on day 12 of our Bow the Knee Hilldale's Passion Play 2008. We were at church early this morning - and a HUGE thank you to everyone who joined us for rehearsal. We got some good staging laid out. and then we, my lovely wife and I, drove to Madison for a birthday party for Hannah (2) and Benjamin (1) http://danielandchristy.blogspot.com/2008/02/1-year-and-2-year-pictures.html and then drove back to Clarksville to get the Worship Center ready for our morning services.

Lynn has created her magic with brown paper and spray paint to create wonderful mountains. I'll post set pictures tomorrow or Monday.

I'm used to calling the "Worship Center" a "Sanctuary." Sanctuary is derived from the Latin word sanctus which means "holy". If we sang the hymn Holy, Holy, Holy in Latin we would sing "Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus." (We get the word "sanctified" from this same word. Sanctified meaning "made holy.")

Sanctuary is a beautiful word. But somebody a few years back thinking "sanctuary" sounded old and stuffy and not very modern or contemporary - and therefore unacceptable to 20 year olds or unchurched people - decided church sanctuaries should be called "worship centers".

But someone in the office the other day said we call our meeting place a "worship center" because a "sanctuary" is for birds.

Here's what Merriam Webster has to say about it.

Merriam Webster http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sanctuary

1: a consecrated place: as a: the ancient Hebrew temple at Jerusalem or its holy of holies b (1): the most sacred part of a religious building (as the part of a Christian church in which the altar is placed) (2): the room in which general worship services are held (3): a place (as a church or a temple) for worship

2 a (1): a place of refuge and protection (2): a refuge for wildlife where predators are controlled and hunting is illegal b: the immunity from law attached to a sanctuary

Well, whatever you call it, I'll be looking for you tomorrow for worship. For our readers who live away from Clarksville I pray you'll join in worship at your local church. Spending time worshipping God with friends at church is the perfect thing for a Sunday morning.