So many times I have believed simply because someone told me to do so. I became a United Methodist because my stepdad was; after he and my mom married, we began attending his church. When I was in college, I attended the local Disciples of Christ Church. Was this a familial tie, my attendance urged on because my great-grandfather had been the minister of this adorable church in the middle of northeastern, rural Ohio? No. I attended because this church was within walking distance of our residence halls. The former reason sounds so romantic and honorable; the reality was that I was just lazy. Fast forward to present day, and you will find that we attend our local United Methodist Church in Tennessee. Habitual preference was the real motivation for attending this church when we moved from Ohio to Tennessee. Also, the close proximity to both Publix and Krogers was key, as we could buy popcorn chicken and chips about five minutes after service was over.
My husband, raised as a Roman Catholic, attended the Methodist Church with me because he didn't really care too much one way or the other. At the time, he felt Jesus and God could be found at any church. Over the past few months however, he has found that he misses his roots. He misses the rituals of the faith within which he was raised. He also, at age 40, just survived open heart surgery and is doing really well. If there was any "come to Jesus moment," that would have to rank fairly high up on the scale. So, he now attends Catholic Mass on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m., just like his family did when he was growing up. The only aspect missing of his ritual would be the after-Mass pizza. If you could somehow transplant Sunrise Inn Pizza from Warren, Ohio down to Tennessee, he would be amazingly happy-- service and pizza, a duo made for the religiously faithful.
Sunday mornings, we have attended our local Methodist Church. While I have enjoyed the friendships we have made over the years, I just have this feeling like we aren't at the right place; my husband has the same opinion. So, we are now trying to blend this beautiful family of ours into supporting one religion, one church that will meet all of our needs. This is a blog of our journey toward authentically living and month one focuses on Religion. Should be a "piece of cake," right?
Sunday in January local Lutheran Church
We dress and ready ourselves for church. This is no easy feat, considering our 4-yr. old son considers "dressing up" to mean sweatpants in lieu of his traditional t-shirt and shorts attire. He is Mr. Casual and Comfortable. Any slightly annoying tag on his shirt will make him so mad, his cowlick will stand straight up in indignation. So, after our hour of wrangling the three children into semi-presentable churchwear, we decide to visit our local Lutheran Church. One of the main reasons is that there is a service is at 10:30 a.m., a respectable hour in the morning, later than the usual 9:30 a.m. service we attend at the Methodist Church, and not as late as the 11:00 a.m. service at the Catholic Church ( I don't even mention the 8:30 a.m. services offered at all three locations because you will never see a McAllister there at that crazy-early hour in the morning). Also, some of our good friends have migrated to this church; we like these friends, so it reasons that we would like their church.
We enter the sanctuary and are surprised by how small the area is, at least half the size of other churches we have frequented. Somber, funereal music is playing and families are sitting quietly in their pews. I notice that the congregation is filled with mostly older adults, with just a few children. I have heard that the Lutheran Church has similarities to the Catholic Church, so I am curious if this might just be the perfect match.
Fast-forward thirty minutes ahead, and we are headed back out to our dependable van, ready to go home and call it a day. After reciting verses as a congregation about fornication, after kneeling and having confessed as a congregation that we are sinners in the world, and after hearing the pastor constantly weave political views into the sermon, we are done. All this work to come to service and we are disappointed. Maybe we came on a dud Sunday. Maybe the services are in general more light-hearted. All I know is that at one point our youngest leaned over and whispered, "Where are all of our friends?" Out of the mouths of babes, my friends. He hit the nail on the head. We felt out of sorts not only because we didn't align ourselves with such a conservative, somewhat depressing service; we felt out of sorts because we didn't feel exactly welcome either. Our friends attend the early service so we will never see them. Yes, we can make new friends (somewhat the point of communing with fellow believers), but this first introduction didn't bode so well. We will see.
What am I looking for? I need to define what we can offer to a church and what we are searching for in a church. This is an exciting process but not a quick process I am realizing!
~Amy 1/27/12
