Is there anything more joyful than the excited buzz of fellowship taking place at the opening of a Sunday morning worship service?

I generally start all of my Sunday morning worships with the same ritual.

I am ready and in place in the sanctuary when the early birds arrive for service so that I can greet as many of the parishioners as possible. Catch up with them, thank them for coming, and check in with my confirmation students on their weeks. All the stuff that makes pastoring so fulfilling!

With about 10 minutes until worship, I sit in the front pew, close my eyes and recite the same prayer each week: “Come Holy Spirit, come. Give me your strength for the coming service. And God please help me to deliver the message you want your people to hear.”

Simple, but it settles me and puts my heart and mind in the right place before beginning service.

By the time I’ve recited that prayer, our pianist generally has launched into his prelude, just a song or two. That’s when I open my eyes and let all of the morning’s sounds behind me wash over me as I feel the warmth of the Holy Spirit flood the space.

The soundtrack to all of this ritual is the buzz of the congregation as neighbor after neighbor, friend after friend, finds their way through the sanctuary’s double doors and into service. Some come in couples; some alone; and some as families.

As each new group files in, they are stopped by those already in their “assigned” seats, and these longtime fellow worshippers renew their connections after a week apart.

I generally don’t hear individual conversations, but rather the collective bunch of conversions, all taking place at the same time. A true hum of activity, that is often pierced by laughter or other audible reactions to this week’s news. But what is absolutely clear is that all of that general hubbub is an expression of joy over being together.

As I sit facing forward, concentrating on the statue of Jesus looking back from the altar, I think to myself: “This is faith; this is what Jesus was trying to teach us some 2,000 years ago. And it is beautiful!”

When the piano prelude quietly tapers off, I stand from my front row pew, face the altar and ask the Holy Spirit to come one more time, and then I turn to face my congregation.

Generally, there still is some settling in going on, and there are still conversations that are quietly tapering off. Friends enjoying themselves so much, they just want to go on talking!

And silently, as I observe them, I sometimes think it is a shame that I ever cut off this fellowship just to start the service. Amen.

Devlyn Brooks is the CEO of Churches United in Moorhead, Minn., and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com.