The Ultimate Guide to Going to Church on Vacation (For Lutherans)

 By Rev. Dan Greg

“How lovely is your dwelling place, Jesus Almighty!

My soul yearns, even faints for the sanctuary of Jesus;

My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young -- a place near your altar,

Jesus Almighty, my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;

They are ever praising You!” 

Psalm 84:1-4

To Begin

Growing up, when our family would go on our yearly Summer vacation up to Central Wisconsin, we would stay for the weekend. 

     That meant on Sunday morning, we weren’t around to attend our home church for Divine Service. 

When Sunday morning came around, my brother and I would still be woken up to get dressed and attend church. 

 

 “What do you mean? We’re far from St. John’s!” We would protest, looking around at our extended family sleeping in.

 

 “Aren’t you lucky?” Dad would say with a wink. “They have Lutheran churches up here, too.”

 

 “But aren’t we on vacation?”

 

 “Vacation from work and school does not mean vacation from Jesus.” Dad would remind us. 

 

 So, we got into the mini-van and drove over to Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church of Westfield, Wisconsin. 

    It was always lovely to see those people again.

 

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8c/99/c0/8c99c0f2a0e0bf2ffa5eb589629d1699.jpg

 

So. . .

Where did my father find this conviction, to go to church every Sunday, no matter what? I don’t know, I’ll ask him soon. 

What I do know is that he had gone through Luther’s Small Catechism with our pastor when he married my mother. In there, God reminds us of the Third Commandment: 

“Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 31:14, NIV).

Which, Luther explains in this way:

“We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.”

In a nutshell, we honor the 3rd Commandment from God when we set aside time each week to hear, read, and savor His Word. The best place to start with that is the Divine Service on Sundays.

 

 

“Pastor, I get it. I want to go to church, on vacation as well. But going to a church in a new place is scary because it’s different from what I’m used to at home!”

 

Here’s the lovely part: Lutheran church should look more or less the same, no matter where you are, whether it be in America or internationally! 

 

     An LCMS church, or a church of one of her sister churches will most likely host a Divine Service on any given Sunday morning or Saturday evening. 

 

       The basic beats, prayers, songs, etc will be the same as at home! 

 

        No fear!

 

So, how did my Dad know to go to Immanuel in Westfield, Wisconsin? 

 

       He didn't have the internet. He didn't even look in the Yellow Pages.

 

     My Dad simply asked his pastor:  

“Hey, I’m going on vacation to such and such place. 

Do you know of any LCMS churches nearby there?”

 

Luckily, Westfield, Wisconsin is headquarters of a family chicken farm and packaging business. They’re LCMS, dont’cha know? 

    In fact, they donate lots and lots of food to our Synod’s seminaries to share with future pastors’ families.

Knowing this, our pastor recommended their church: Immanuel. There, the service was essentially the same thing as back home, with different people preaching and teaching up front!

I’m more than happy to help you find a place for worship on vacation. That’s part of the fun of being Lutheran; we have friends in every city. I’ve made great friendships visiting different LCMS churches across America, as well as pastors from our sister church in Germany.

 

    Long story short, tell your pastor where you're going on vacation, and ask if he has a recommendation for a church to visit. 

 

 

The Guide. . . 

Finally, here are some tools for you to use on your own. Say, you make a last minute decision to go somewhere, how can one find where to go to church? 

Check out our Synod's Church Locator. (Click Here)

         

    Here's another one I use. (Click Here)

 

        There, you can type in where you’re going, and be given the option of many different LCMS churches in the area. 

        It will also list who’s the pastor there, phone numbers, emails, addresses, etc. 

 

 Click on their website or find their Social Media pages. 

 

Ask yourself: 

• "What does their service and bulletin look like (if they post them online)?"
• “Does this worship look similar to what worship is like at home?"  
• Do they use organs and pianos to sing hymns?
• Do they celebrate the Lord’s Supper every Sunday?

By the way, here’s a disclaimer that every pastor will appreciate: 

 

Before you show up on Sunday, call, email, or Facebook message the church and let them know: 

 

“My family and I are excited to come to this church next Sunday while we’re on vacation. We are members in good standing of an LCMS church, and desire to receive communion.”

        (Conditionally, may I add, on whether you are or not 😉) 

 

This will make things run smoothly come Sunday, and will relieve the conscience of the pastor there.

 

 The Day Of. . . 

When you get there, 

 

1) Introduce yourself to Pastor if he’s around, or an elder or usher on duty. They’ll let Pastor know you’re here, and that he won’t get a surprise at the Communion rail.

 

2) Be sure to look around during the service and watch what the members are doing. This way, you’ll get the sense of the local customs and traditions. 

Maybe they’ll kneel during the prayers or confession. 

Maybe they line up for communion differently. 

Maybe the pastor says something different before Communion starts.

 

3) Make note of what you think is interesting or different, and bring those thoughts home with you along with a bulletin. This creates great conversations with your home pastor.

 

4) Consider staying for their Bible Class, just like at home. 

    See how their pastor may teach differently than your own, or structure class differently. This can help your home church as well!

    You'll also make connections across the country/world that you'll probably run into on a later date in a conversation with other Lutherans. (Lutherans call this game: "Who Do You Know?") 

 

5) Before you leave, thank the people and the pastor for having you as guest. Maybe ask for recommendations on restaurants or things to see and do in the area that online didn’t mention.

 

6) Consider asking for a travel blessing or prayer from the pastor.

 

Congratulations! 

You just experienced true Christian fellowship, through agreement in God’s teachings (also translated “doctrines.”)

 

“How good and pleasant it is

when God’s people live together in unity!” 

Psalm 133:1, NIV.