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?

Not a New Year's Resolution

So, I decided that I really wanted to learn about different people's religious/ spiritual beliefs. I sent out a message to people I knew and asked that they invite me along to their place of worship, or any other activity in which they practice their beliefs. I'm open to anything. I have resolved to be open minded and respectful of everyone. My plan is to blog about my experiences. Hopefully I'll get lots of invitations. :-) I will probably go to some places on my own, but I prefer to go with someone so that I can discuss my experiences with them. I will keep you all posted!!