The location of Upsala Presbyterian Church suggests its identity as a house of prayer in the midst and at the intersection of the life of hustle-and-bustle.  Our location for the past 130 years (since 1891) declares that we are a "serious house on serious earth," a house whose very presence transcends its place, a place that is holy not because we say it is holy but because, in the words of I Kings 8:29, "My name shall be there."  This place is holy because it has been consecrated by generations of prayers and praises.  God has been sought and found here, and extraordinary transactions have transpired.  As Jacob said of his encounter with a space not all that dissimilar to this one, "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." (Gen. 28)  Upsala Presbyterian Church is the place where we have permission to meet God and God has an invitation to meet us, and certainly that can happen anywhere, but it must and does happen here. We express this conviction in our worship, which is our chief work every day and especially on Sunday, for worship is not what we do while we are waiting to do more important things--- worship is the most important thing that we can do. And that is why we work so hard at it, and take it so seriously.