The Church Hopper

For years, whenever someone has asked me where I would go to church if I didn’t work at Trinity, I would say Union Church. I have watched their services online here and there for years, but had never actually stepped foot into their building until last Sunday. 

This year for Mother’s Day my family was having our get together at my aunt’s house which is about two hours away from me. Knowing this, I knew that I would have to find an early service to attend that day. The earliest service that I could find was at 8:30am at Union. 

I pulled into the parking lot around 8:25am and followed some folks inside. I was greeted at the door by two people and quickly saw a sign that pointed me to the lobby. (I was hoping I would find the sanctuary from the lobby – which I did) 

It was a chilly morning, so when I saw that they had a coffee bar set up – I knew I needed a cup! The lady poured me a cup and wished me a Happy Mother’s Day! Once I added in my creamer I heard the music start, so into the sanctuary I went.

Walking into the service, I noticed that they had a section for the hearing impaired along with an interpreter – how cool is that? I found a seat and watched as others came in during the announcements. This church seems to have had the most diverse congregation that I have been to so far. The fact that everyone didn’t look like everyone else – just gave me visions of what I know heaven will be like. 

The service started with a few songs back to back. The band was really good, but the songs were a bit slower than I was expecting. As the service transitioned to the time of the message – the pastor headed to the stage and wished everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. He went on to say that – that wish was for all women regardless of their role. That meant a lot to me as I have no children of my own, but I do see myself as a mother figure to my nephews and the students at my daycare center. 

His sermon was on James chapter 2, and the theme of this series was Listen – Learn Do. He asked for volunteers from the congregation to come up and be each of the words. He explained that we often do Christianity wrong by not living out our lives in that order. His message left a great impression on me and I have brought it up in conversations throughout this week.

I filled out a visitor card that they had on the back of the chairs – which said to drop it off in the offering bucket. When they did not have an offering I just placed it in my pocket and was going to leave with it. As I was leaving the sanctuary and walking out back through the lobby, a lady asked if it was my first time worshiping with them, I said yes! She asked if I filled out a card, so I reached into my pocket and handed it to her. She thanked me for coming and handed me a welcome bag! I continued to try and make my way to the door when the pastor stopped me and thanked me for coming. He then recognized who I was and we had a great conversation. I left feeling very uplifted and at home there. 

By Tuesday I had received a phone call and email from their connections minister! She thanked me for coming and asked if she could pray for anything in particular for me. The email mentioned the same thing along with information about the upcoming sermon for Sunday! 

Quick Church Information

Name/address: Union Church 810 Main Street Danville, VA 24541

Denomination: Non-Denominational

Congregation size: Hard to measure as they have several services and the children and youth worship in a separate space.

Website/signage: They have an active facebook and website. Also they had a poster outside with service times – plus – signage inside was great for first time visitors.