Presence is one of five promises that members of McPherson First make: prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. The five practices below are different ways to practice presence. They come from twenty centuries of Christian tradition and John Wesley's own way of forming Methodists in the eighteenth century. Whoever you are, long-time member, first-time visitor, or someone still figuring out what you believe, you're welcome to try any of them.

Presence is showing up. Faith is not formed in isolation. From Israel gathered at Sinai to the early church gathered for the breaking of bread, God's people have been a people who meet. When you show up to worship, to communion, to a small group, to the homes and tables of others, you participate in something bigger than your own spiritual life. You become part of how the body of Christ is held together.

The five practices below are different ways to practice presence: in worship, at the table, in Sabbath, in honest conversation with a few people, and in welcoming others. Some ask for an hour. Some ask for a day. All of them ask you to show up.

Engaged Worship

Worship is not a performance you watch. It is a practice you participate in. The early Methodists believed that what we do together on Sunday shapes who we become the rest of the week. Singing trains the heart. Liturgy forms the imagination. Hearing scripture read aloud opens the ear of the soul.

Ways to try it:

  • Arrive five minutes early to greet someone you don't know yet
  • Sing every song, regardless of whether you know it
  • Listen to scripture and the sermon as if God might say something to you
  • Take a notebook and write down one thing you sense God is saying
  • Stay five minutes after to connect

For your Grace Group: Share one moment from worship this week that stood out, even if you can't say why.

Scripture: Hebrews 10:24-25
Wesleyan means of grace: Public prayer and searching the scriptures (instituted), a Work of Piety

Receiving Communion

Communion is not a memorial we observe. It is a meal where Christ meets us. Methodists practice an open table, which means everyone is welcome regardless of membership, baptism, or background. The grace of communion is given, not earned.

Ways to try it:

  • Come forward instead of staying in the pew if you're able
  • Take a moment of silence between receiving the bread and walking back
  • Examine yourself before coming: where do you need forgiveness, healing, grace?
  • Bring a friend who has never received before
  • Carry communion into the week as a memory you live from

For your Grace Group: Share what you brought to the table this month and what you carried away.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Wesleyan means of grace: The Lord's Supper (instituted), a Work of Piety

Keeping Sabbath

Sabbath is a weekly day of rest, grounded in God's command and God's example. After six days of creating, God rested on the seventh. Sabbath is a practice of trusting that the world will keep turning without your effort and that you are loved for who you are, not what you produce.

Ways to try it:

  • Pick a 24-hour window each week and protect it; it does not have to be Sunday
  • Decide ahead of time what counts as work and what counts as rest
  • Build in worship, a slow meal, time outside, and something that delights you
  • Start with four hours instead of a whole day if 24 feels impossible
  • Tell the people who depend on you that you'll be off so they don't expect you

For your Grace Group: Share what your Sabbath looked like this week and what it taught you.

Scripture: Exodus 20:8-11
Wesleyan means of grace: A particular discipline (prudential), a Work of Piety

Grace Group Itself

The Grace Group is itself a means of grace. Showing up week after week with the same handful of people, asking the three questions, telling the truth about your soul: that is a spiritual practice. Wesley said the early Methodist movement spread through these small groups more than through anything else.

Ways to try it:

  • Commit to a season (about 12 weeks) of meeting weekly
  • Make confidentiality explicit at the first meeting
  • Pray for each member of the group by name during the week
  • Show up even when you don't feel like it
  • Offer to lead one when you're invited

For your Grace Group: This is the group. The practice is showing up.

Scripture: James 5:16
Wesleyan means of grace: Christian conference (instituted) and class meeting (prudential), a Work of Piety

Hospitality

Hospitality is welcoming others the way God welcomes us. It is not the same as entertaining. Entertaining is about impressing people; hospitality is about receiving them. The food does not have to be fancy. The house does not have to be spotless. The point is presence.

Ways to try it:

  • Notice who is new, alone, or on the edge of a room and walk over
  • Invite someone over for a simple meal, even leftovers
  • Open your home for a Grace Group, a Sunday afternoon, or a holiday for someone with nowhere else to go
  • Use people's names when they tell you and ask questions about their lives
  • Send people with a blessing and pray for them after they leave

For your Grace Group: Share one person you welcomed this week and one person you sense God is asking you to welcome next.

Scripture: Romans 12:13
Wesleyan means of grace: Works of mercy (prudential), a Work of Mercy

Continue Exploring the Practices

This is one of five sets of practices at McPherson First, each tied to one of the membership promises.

  • Prayers: daily conversation with God
  • Presence (you're here)
  • Gifts: giving financially in trust and joy
  • Service: finding where you're called to serve
  • Witness: sharing your faith through words and actions

The most fruitful way to walk these practices is in a Grace Group, a small group of six to ten people meeting weekly for a season. Grace Groups walk the practices together, share what's stirring, and pray for each other through the week.