In the kitchen at my church there are many different smells. down at one end you can smell all of the food being made and you can usually tell who made what because of the smells wafting out of the crock pots. At that same end there are all of the sinks and there is usually a steady stream of dishes being washed so the smell of dish soap clouds around that area. A little further down are the two rangetops we use to make tea. At this spot there is an earthy watery smell that you catch a wiff of as you walk by. Down at the end there are all of the random platters and bowls and assorted plastic items that don't really have a home so they go down there. When you open those cabinet doors the odor that comes out reminds me of an old church. Our church is not that old and that is the only place I can smell that smell.
There are many different things to feel at my church. The oddly soft roughness fo the pews, the texture of the walls as you walk by and the smoothness of the wood on the other "furniture". There is also the cold hardness of the microphone as I hold it up to my mouth when I sing and the metal of my flute as I play with the congregationals. Most of the things I feel at church are not physical. I feel extreme joy, love, compassion, sometimes sadness, respect, wonder, purpose, responsibility, young, old, and many other things. Yes our 'church' is made out of steel and plaster but Hillside Baptist Church is the body of believers that come together so it would make sense that most of what we feel is not physical.
On Sunday mornings, evenings, and Wednesday nights the sound of preaching can be heard without fail. There is also the sound of teachers teaching bible lessons and kids laughing and singing praises. There is much laughter at my church through the many different age groups because we enjoy each other. Hardly ever do you hear the sound of a harsh word (unless it's a parent scolding their child) and everyone has something encouraging to say. You also hear the pledge of allegiance being said so that we can instill in our children the pride we should have to be Americans.
Even now that I'm older I sneak pieces of candy out of one of the Sunday School teachers classrooms. They know I do it and someitmes they have a little stash waiting for me so I taste the tastes of chocolate and bubble gum while I'm sitting listening to the preaching. There are also the dinner fellowships where everyone brings something so yummy to eat. Almost everyone at my church is an amazing cook and everything is so good when you eat you almost have to roll yourself out to the car when you're finished. There is wonderful potato soup, scrumptious salads, and ooey gooey dump cake, and strawberry layer cake. It's making my mouth water right now just talking about it. There is also the Lord's Supper that we take. The little crackers are hard and dry and then the grape juice that you wash them down with.
My eyes might be a bit biased but when I see my church I see something the Lord has blessed and something that we as Christians can be proud of (a good pride). I see smiling faces all around, especially in the children who are my favorite to see, and I see everyone working to help others and to glorify the Lord. We just built a new sanctuary and as they were getting all of the steel beams up we as church members would take sharpies and write different bible verses on the beams. There were verses everywhere and and everyone had a good time doing it. I see old people I see middle aged people and I see young people. Oh yes we have problems and those can be seen too but usually they are overlooked by people who are just looking because they see the love of the Lord shining in the faces of our church.
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