Have you ever danced during worship?

Maybe a better question for us Presbyterians would be, “have you ever wanted to dance in worship?”

Sarah Hunt, an MPC member and deacon, had a particularly moving experience during livestream worship on Sunday, April 30th. 

It’s a beautiful account of the Holy Spirit and work and we’re grateful to Sarah for sharing with all of us. 

“Dancing in Church”

By Sarah Hunt

“On Sunday morning, I woke up feeling sluggish. We’d hosted a get-together the evening before – a reunion of sorts – of the staff of the magazine that we’d worked on at the Times-Union in Jacksonville. I was tired. Very tired.

Our clothes for church were accessorized (I’m a little obsessive about such things), but I didn’t think I could sit through the service in a pew.

My husband, Jon, is one of several volunteers who operate the audio-visual equipment to live-stream services. It was his Sunday to operate the cameras,  so he headed out without me.

At 10:55 a.m., I logged onto the iMac, called up Facebook, went to the MPC page and clicked on the service.

The church looked packed. I knew it was confirmation Sunday, but I’d forgotten that the children’s choirs were performing. And, there was to be a baptism, too.

‘”Wishing to See Jesus,” was the title of Hunter’s sermon. It was, as always,  thought-provoking and filled me with joy/guilt/regret/hope.

Then, I scrolled down and saw the song title: “I Danced in the Morning.” I love that hymn!

When Ray started playing the organ, a strange feeling washed over me. Sitting on the loveseat in Jon’s office with two dogs at my feet and a cat beside me, I began to sing: “And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be and I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said he.”

In no time, I was on my feet, singing, swaying, DANCING!

It was an amazing feeling of worship like none I’ve ever experienced. All my life, I’ve sat in a pew or stood while singing hymns in church, but I’d never danced. That was something I thought holy-rollers did!

Then, I got to the verse where the tempo slowed down: “Jesus “danced on a Friday when the sky turned black; it’s hard to dance with the devil on your back. They buried my body and they thought I’d gone, but I am the Dance, and I still go on.”

I was in tears.

“They cut me down and I leapt up high, I am the life that will never, never die.”

Maybe we should at least stand and sway when we are moved by the music.