Upper Room Community Church has devoted itself to the idea that somewhere in the local community there has to be a group of people who are learning to experience and live their ordinary, walk-around lives in the Real Presence of Triune, Living God. This is creating something more transparent, rawer, more transformative; here are some of the things we are experiencing:
I. WE ARE BECOMING CHURCH
We are becoming a community. We are lingering instead of leaving. We are opening up and being real about our joys and our sorrows. We are listening to one another. We’re praying for one another. We’re feeling seen, noticed, and loved. Now that we’ve experienced this, we wouldn’t settle for less ever again.
II. OUR WORSHIP CENTER HAS BECOME A CENTER OF PRAYER
Our worship room is unlike any other in the area. Around the edges of the space are multiple prayer stations: candles, a wailing wall, art, a world wall, a cross, a bucket of rocks, a communion station, a prayer quilt stand. Before, during and after worship you’ll see people using the stations. Sometimes the prayer stations are built into worship and sometimes the presence of God is so real that we just get up and gather around them during a song or during the sermon.
III. THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS
We talk about the most important things in worship—what God is up to, the brokenness of the world, the deepest yearnings of our soul, the kingdom of God. Our guide for these conversations is always Scripture, the book that still speaks to our deepest yearnings.
IV. SPIRITUAL FORMATION
We know life has touched us with some wounding experiences. We are slowly learning how to open our lives to God to love us back to health. We can sense that healing is radiating into every area of our life. To this end, we are utilizing the practices the ancients all used to experience and enjoy the Presence of God: we have silent retreats, go on long hikes, read books like A. W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God,” do breath prayers, use lectio divina, etc.
In Auburn, we are starting to experience the reality and power of the Presence of God and would love to share that gift with you.