Church of the Brethren St Petersburg

You can listen to the interview with Pastor Ehret of Church of the Brethren here.

Church of the Brethren St Petersburg
7040 38th Ave N
St Petersburg, FL 33710
(727) 381-0709

Contact: Pastor Vicki Ehret

Religion: Christian

Denomination: Church of the Brethren

Web Page: http://stpetebrethren.org

Attending a service of Church of the Brethren sitting in a big, comfortable chair.

And I'm not just saying that because there was actually a guy sitting with in a reclining chair. The small community of believers in St Petersburg attend services in a way that was both modern and conservative, familiar and unique.

The service itself started with a small group of people playing a song on their acoustic guitars, a kind of folksy Christian rock song that people could join into. But what followed was the more conservative style coming back in. People were invited to quiet their hearts, to meditate on the music. And as the congregation stood for their opening song, they were lead into a litergy, including a recitation of the Lord's Prayer.

Perhaps it was that mix of elements that I was finding so fascinating. A bit of the old, a bit of the new. The beliefs, through my interview with Pastor Ehret, shows a faith that has worked to reconnect to what they believe are the core beliefs depicted in the Bible. One thing I found interesting from the service was when Pastor Ehret mentioned that some people focus on the details of the stories in the Bible - rather than on what the moral lesson should be. Instead of worrying about whether the historical details are correct, one should try and

I'm still debating on how I feel about that. In my mind, if something is inaccurate, then you've got to fix it. Make it right. But, I guess that would destroy the "historical" works of Shakespeare if you got so bogged down into the details you missed the purpose of the story.

What I did find rather clever was the use of tie-ins between the youth lesson and the main sermon. The youth lesson involved a woman holding open an umbrella inside the church. It was kind of an object lesson - by exercising faith (so the lesson work), then you showed faith in God, which allowed the miracles to occur. Which explains her umbrella - she prayed for rain, and by holding her umbrella she was showing faith in God that her prayer would be answered.

The sermon delivered by Pastor Ehret was on the same trajectory. Her lesson was about how Jesus was prevented from doing miracles back in his own home town, because the faith of the people there was so weak. Without that faith, he was constrained.

It was those tie-ins that may explain why the youth members of this particular church seemed so involved. They were playing the music, they were attending the campouts, they participated in the youth lesson instead of just sitting there. People can see how the entire lesson ties together, both the old and the young were able to participate in the morals being taught so they could apply it to their own lives. And, do it in a place where they could feel all of their spiritual needs were met.