Experience # 6

Yesterday I attended "A Church For All," which is a part of the Metropolitan Community Churches. There were a couple of things on the back of the bulletin that will give you an idea of what they are about. First it said, "At a Church For All, you are welcome without regard for your religious or political affiliation, race, creed, sexual orientation, gender identification, socioeconomic status, or abilities. You are loved and accepted just the way you are." Below that it said, "Vision: Charged with the task of building bridges and filling gaps, we seek to develop a spiritual community that is intentionally radically inclusive." This was an afternoon service that was held in the sanctuary of another church. The congregation was small, probably 40 or 50 people. One of the things I noticed right away, was how diverse the congregation was. They were old, young, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, gay, straight, men, and women. That was pretty cool considering the size of the congregation. The service started with music. The music was more contemporary than the hymns I grew up with, but not as contemporary as some of the places I've been. I'm not sure that explains it very well, but I don't really have another frame of reference. I will note, that there were no printed lyrics, so the 4 singers just sang, and then people would join in on the chorus. The songs were kind of repetitive, so after a few minutes, you could sing along. People were really moving to the music. I was diggin' it. At the beginning of the service, a woman spoke. She asked everyone to close their eyes and meditate. She asked us to take some deep breaths and center ourselves. I thought this was a little strange, but actually found it to be helpful in focusing and being present in the moment. Then she talked a little about lent. I really enjoyed this, because what she said basically, was why do we give up things like soda, or sugar, or cigarettes? Why don't we give up the things that really make a negative impact on our life, like self doubt, and fear? Poignant! After this, there was a prayer. Next, there was a greeting similar to what I have experienced at other churches. This is where they would normally shake hands with their neighbor, etc. The difference here, was that they have everyone come to the center aisle, and people hug one another. Obviously, you aren't required to hug people, but if you want to you can...and most people did. It was actually wonderful. You could actually feel the love in the room. It was powerful! After all of the warm fuzzy love, we went back to our seats for some scripture readings. The readings were excerpts fro Isaiah 55. As it happens, this was not the average Sunday service. I swear, I have some amazing knack for going to churches on days when they have something different happening. It just so happens that this was Communion Sunday. This church has "open communion," so anyone is welcome to partake. They had 3 communion stations, which I thought was odd considering that there were only about 40 people there. LOL I soon realized that it was because they pray with everyone individually. Now this is something that I would normally avoid. It is really uncomfortable for me, but a) I didn't realize it until I was already standing in line, and b) this entire journey is about stepping out of my comfort zone and being open minded...but mostly a) :-) When it was my turn to take communion, I took the bread, dipped it in the juice, and popped it in my mouth. ( I always loved communion growing up. Mrs.May made the best bread ever!!) Anyway, after taking communion the lady who gave it to me asked if there was anything specific that I wanted her to pray for. I said, "No. Not really." (Profound, I know) She said that she would just pray for me in general. At this point she kind of hugged me and began to pray quietly. She was talking right in my ear, so I could hear her, but it was a whisper. It seemed like she was praying for 15 minutes. lol I think it was probably more like a couple of minutes, but it seemed much longer. It was nice. This was a really big deal for me, because honestly, this kind of thing usually sends me running, but for some reason, it didn't seem that strange. It was a little emotional. After I sat back down, I could see other people walking back to their seats. Almost every person was misty eyed. I have no idea what other people's experiences were like, but mine was good. It was a reassuring, peaceful feeling. After communion, there was a sermon. Most likely because I was in attendance, the regular minister was not there. There was a guest minister. The sermon went along with the readings from Isaiah. The main message, as I understood it, was that we must put faith into action. My overall impression of this church was wonderful. It really felt, to me, like what a church should be. It was full of love and acceptance. I am definitely interested in checking this place out again sometime. Thank you Joy, for meeting me there!

In Between Experiences

I actually have an experience for this week, but I just wanted to mention a couple of things I did in between. First of all, I read a book called "Buddhist Bootcamp." It was really interesting and I will discuss it in more detail later. I am planning to have a little book discussion about it with a couple people who identify themselves as Buddhist. I'll keep you posted on that. Secondly, I worked with a friend as a vendor at the Western District Pentecostal Ladies' Conference. If you know me personally, I'll let that sink in for a minute... Also, I had to dress appropriately for the occasion. :-) I won't spend too much time on that since I didn't actually attend any services or anything, but everyone was very nice, and I think I blended in fairly well. lol

Experience # 5

This morning I attended Real Life Church, which is affiliated with the Assemblies of God. It was a mid-sized church, located in a warehouse space. When I arrived, there were people walking around chatting with one another. It seemed like most of the people knew one another. Everyone I met was very friendly. I had a number of people introduce themselves to me, and welcome me to the church. As I looked over the bulletin, I was struck by how many things this church has going on. There are groups, events, studies, and services every day. When the service began, it began with music. As I've stated before in my previous posts, I am not always a fan of contemporary Christian music, but let me tell you something. This music was funky...in a good way! (Double points for funk) They were awesome. People were dancing. It was very energizing. This week's service was a "mission" service. I'm not sure how I keep ending up at churches on the days that they're doing something special, but hey, who cares? Because it was a "mission" service, they spent a large portion of the time talking about the missionaries that they support in different parts the world. They spoke about some upcoming mission trips that were available for people to go on. There were two members of the congregation from Africa that spoke about the difference that missionaries made in their lives. It was very touching. The woman's father died when she was young, and she subsequently ended up being a victim of trafficking. She now holds a PhD. Pretty inspiring. After a little more missionary talk, the pastor began today's sermon/lesson. The reading was from 2 Kings 4:1-7. What I took away from it was that when you say you have nothing to give, what you are doing is closing yourself off from God. Basically, you need to make yourself available. I really liked this lesson, because I think it really relates to almost everything in life. If you constantly say that you can't, or you don't have time, or you don't have anything to give, then you are also keeping yourself from being able to receive. Overall, I enjoyed my experience, although I'll admit, it was a little more "tame" than I was expecting. :-) I would like to go back for a regular service sometime. Thank you Rebecca and Adrian, for bringing me along.

Experience # 4

Today I visited Westminster Presbyterian Church. Let me start by saying that this was not their regular Sunday service. This was Mardi Gras Sunday!! If you know me, you know that they had me at "Mardi Gras." I actually heard about it on the radio and thought, I MUST GO. :-) I'm not really sure I even knew what to expect. I was slightly familiar with the Presbyterians, and I was very familiar with Mardi Gras , but I couldn't quite put the two together mentally. I know that Mardi Gras is technically a holiday that is directly related to Ash Wednesday, and the season of lent, but Mardi Gras, as it is typically celebrated, is not very "Christian." lol I always kind of think of it as the last hurrah, before six weeks of penance. I digress. Anyway, when I arrived they had people standing at the entrance to greet you and hand you a bulletin, etc. Get this! They were handing out Mardi Gras beads too! I love it! I found a seat close to the back. It was a mid-sized church. I'm guessing maybe 150 people. As I'm walking in, there is a fantastic Dixeland jazz band playing. It just keeps getting better. So, the band is playing some fabulous Dixieland tunes, including "Basin Street Blues," and people are coming in and getting seated. It was a pretty good mix of people, young and old. As the service begins, the band starts playing, and a parade of people, led by the pastor start walking down the aisles. Some have parasols, some have masks, and some have feather boas. There are young and old, and seem to be having a fantastic time. I was too! We started the service by singing "When the Saints Go Marching In." I'll admit, I was shaking it a little bit. :-) There was a reading from Exodus, in old testament. It was about Moses' face glowing after speaking with God on Mount Sinai. We sang some more Dixieland tunes and there was a second reading. This time it was from Luke, in the new testament. This was about Jesus glowing after speaking with God. The name of the sermon was, "Relax and Enjoy." The basic idea was to enjoy the moment, because we are only here for a short time. The best part is coming up. :-) During the sermon, the pastor says that all week he had been trying to figure a way to tie in the sermon and the readings with the Mardi Gras theme. He said that he was listening to his ipod while washing dishes, and Liza Minelli started singing "Cabaret." When he heard it, he thought, "That's it!" Then he quoted to us from the song lyrics. He talked about celebrating life(the cabaret) He even said, "when I go, I'm going like Elsie." I would have died happy, if I would have died right then and there, in what culminated as a church service designed just for me. A Mardi Gras service with quotes from "Cabaret" as part of the sermon. Hallelujah!! Down side, No Food. ;-) Thanks for going with me Kristy!

Experience # 3

Last night I attended a SacFAN meeting. SacFAN stands for Sacramento Freethinkers Atheists and Nonbelievers. The meeting was held in a private room at a local coffee shop. Before the meeting started, people just hung out and talked. Quite a few of the people seemed to know each other, so there was a lot of conversation. The rest of the people seemed to come in groups. There were little groups of people here and there talking. I sat at a large table with my friend. A few more people joined us, and everyone was very friendly. This particular meeting was a "newcomers" meeting, so a lot of the people were there for the first time. The meeting was lead by a gentleman, who I assume is the group's "president" or something. lol I'm not sure if he has a title. As I mentioned, this was a newcomers meeting, so basically, he talked about all of the events and meetings that take place. One of the things he did talk about, which I found interesting, was the fact that a lot of these meetings basically take the place of "church." What I mean is, Church usually involves a lot of fellowship as well as social activities where you can get to know people who have common beliefs and interests. In that way, these SacFAN meetings are very similar. A lot of people who attend, are people who at some point, were a part of a church. These meetings are like a fellowship, without God. SacFAN is a group that falls under an umbrella group called the Sacramento Coalition of Reason. There are many other groups that are part of this coalition, and all of them have slightly different interests. There are "Humanists" groups, which focus on human's relationship with nature, each other and society. (this is my understanding of it) There are skeptic groups, which promote skepticism in relation to religion, alternative medicine, creationism, psychic fraud, etc. Pretty much anything you can be skeptical about. lol There are numerous other groups, but the main theme seems to be scientific facts over mysticism. There are also a few groups that are more political in nature, and focus more on separation of church and state, and freedom from religion. My overall experience was pretty neutral. Everyone was friendly and welcoming, but there was no clear belief, goal, agenda, etc. This was a newcomer's meeting, so that may explain some, as it was just an overview. I believe that I should probably check out one of the more specific groups to get a better idea of what it's all about. My understanding of it, at this point, is that it is more of a social club for people who are nonbelievers. I will add, since my friend mentioned that I always talk about food and music in my blogs, that the food at the coffee shop was fantastic, and at one point during the meeting, a guy's phone started playing some cool 80s tunes. :-) Thank you Florence, for taking me along.

Experience # 2

Today I visited the Cordova Church of the Nazarene. I went early to attend Sunday school. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I got there and the name of the class was "Celebrate Recovery." The class basically takes a 12 step recovery program and relates it to the bible. I have a lot of experience with the 12 steps, so it was very interesting to me. After Sunday school, they have a 30 minute fellowship before the church service starts. They had coffee and food. (bonus points) The one thing that struck me about the fellowship, was how friendly everyone was. Numerous people came up and introduced themselves to me. They shook my hand, they gave me hugs. It was very nice. This was a very small church, so it was much more familiar to me. It was a very family like fellowship. Everyone seemed to know everyone, but they were also very welcoming. After 30 minutes, we were off to church. The first thing I noticed, was how small everything was. As I mentioned before, I grew up in a small church, but this place was tiny. The church I grew up in had about 80 people in the congregation on any given Sunday. There were probably 30 or so in this service. I'll interject here to say that somewhere, during the course of my life, I got the idea in my head that the Nazarenes were holy rollers. By holy rollers, I mean like "falling out," speaking in tongues, running up and down the aisles, etc. I have no idea where this notion came from, but I learned today that this notion is not correct. lol I guess this is a prime example of why I'm doing this. I'm sure I have plenty of other misconceptions rolling around in my head. They started off the service with announcements and prayer requests. During the prayer requests a girl announced that she had just been diagnosed with cancer. Once the requests were done, the pastor said that he wanted to anoint her with oil and pray over her.(This is not something that I am accustomed to.) He asked that anyone who wanted to, come up and pray with him. About twenty people went up to the front and put there hands on her while the pastor prayed. It was an interesting experience for me. After this we began the service by singing a few songs. This was kind of awesome, because the pastor picked up an electric guitar and started playing. lol The music was ok. I've heard better, I've heard worse, but considering that there were only about 30 people in there, it was pretty darn good. Today's service had a guest speaker instead of the regular pastor. The speaker was a woman that runs some Christian counseling programs. Today's lesson was titled, "Sanctity of Human Life." As soon as she read the title, I knew where we were headed with this. lol I will interject here to say that I am adamantly pro-choice, so I tried very hard not to close myself off to the lesson. This is also part of my learning curve. I am trying very hard to let go of my preconceived notions and be open to all experiences. Basically, as I alluded to, the lesson was about abortion. There were lots of statistics and references to the slippery slope that we have been on ever since Roe vs Wade. What really stuck out for me though, was that she said repeatedly that all people, including those women who have had abortions, or who are considering having an abortion, should be treated with love and respect. She stated that violent protests were never the answer, and that judging people and ostracizing them was never the answer. I really appreciated that. Regardless of how my beliefs differ from someone else's, we all deserve love and respect. Overall, I really enjoyed the service. I didn't completely agree with the lesson, but I was moved by the fact that part of the lesson included loving people regardless of whether or not you agree with their choices. I want to thank Rosalie and Bob for inviting me, and helping me along my journey.

Religious Experience # 1

I've been debating about whether or not I should start by explaining my beliefs going into this experience or not. I think what I will do is just explain my beliefs as I go, and as they relate to each experience that I have. In other words, I'm just gonna wing it. :-) # 1 Bridgeway Christian Church This was a large non-denominational Christian church. A friend of mine invited me to attend this service with her. I really had no idea what kind of church it was when I accepted the invitation, so I didn't really know if I should be scared or not. Ha! On the way, she explained to me that it was a very large church, and a little about how the service was structured. I will interject here to say that big churches scare me. I grew up in a very small church, and I just feel a little overwhelmed in large churches. I also grew up in a very structured, old fashioned church, so I am also a little uncomfortable in contemporary services, but hey! That's what this whole process is about, right? I'm learning new things and stepping out of my comfort zone. So, we arrive and go into a reception area. They have coffee and other drinks available. (extra points for the coffee bar) We made our way into the sanctuary. It felt kind of like a concert venue. It was a large open room with a stage in front. There were musical instruments, microphones, stage lights, etc. I'm just guessing, but I would say there were probably 1000 seats. (the average attendance at my church growing up, was about 80) The service started with music. There was a band, which was fantastic! I'll admit, I was skeptical. I am not a big fan of contemporary Christian music, and I have been to contemporary services before where the music was not good. I was impressed! The musicians were great, and the singers were too. (more points for good music) After the music, they had some church announcements. During this segment, they announced a plan for a new, larger church location to accommodate everyone. I will interject here to say that the moment churches start talking money, I get nervous. I understand that churches need money to operate, it just makes me uncomfortable. Long story short, The church needs to raise 25 million dollars in the next three years. Pardon the expression, but Holy Shit! That's a lot of money! It took me a few minutes to stop reeling from that one. Ha! Anyway, on to the actual lesson, which was from the book of Isaiah. I'm not sure why, but I was surprised that the lesson was from the old testament. hmmmm What I really liked about the way the lesson was taught, was that the pastor read the scripture, and then broke it down into sections and explained it in layman's terms. The preaching was a little more "firey" than I am accustomed to, and I did tell my friend afterword, that I was a little scared because my beliefs sounded similar to the way he described the "evil, pagan, Assyirians." lol Overall, I enjoyed the service. It was quite a bit outside of my comfort zone, but the experience was nice. I was also relieved that I didn't have to sign anything, or get asked to stand up and be recognized. I don't think anybody followed me home. ;-) Thank you Erin, for letting me tag along today. Who knows, maybe I'll go back with you sometime?