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Alloyed blessings
Jan. 28th, 2007 03:27 pmWe went to a small UCC church today, and on the whole, it was great. Small, progressive and friendly, with a congregation that is diverse in race, age and sexuality. The sort of congregation where the passing of the peace is the longest part of the service because everyone has to greet everyone else and there are few enough people that it's possible. I liked the minister, who was a very nice middle-aged lesbian, and had a good conversation with her partner after church.
There are a number of parents with young children, which pleases me both because I chose to try that church instead of one downtown because I was hoping to meet fellow parents who live in our area, and because I've been to more than a few small (and larger) churches that can't sustain themselves because the average age of their congregation is 55. The presence of people of child-bearing age is a good sign for the health of a church. There were probably 15 children and 40 adults, which is a great ratio. There were also at least four under the age of two, which gave K some toddlers to run around with and me some potential people for playdates.
One of the drawbacks of small churches is that they often wind up meeting in rented spaces that are less than liturgical. But they have a lovely sanctuary in a building they own, and even an organ. I know the Spirit is present wherever believers meet together, but I find it easier to compose myself for worship in a pew in a sanctuary than in a folding chair in a community center. Part of this was the way I was raised: church to me means organ music and sitting in a pew.
There was just one gigantic drawback: no child care. It surprised us, since there are more than enough small children to warrant it. So we sat passing K back and forth, letting her walk a little between the pews and trying to keep her from exploring the back of the sanctuary. She wasn't really that bad, but what she was is distracting. It was hard to compose myself for prayer, keep up with the readings or focus on the speakers, who were talking about what the church's decision to become Open and Affirming meant to them.* It was hard to concentrate on anything, really, except trying to keep K happy and not disrupting the service.
So therein lies the problem. It's a great church, but is it worth going to if I don't get the chance to worship, which is the entire point of going to church?
*One man had a particularly hair-raising tale of growing up gay in an Evangelical church, where he was exorcised multiple times and heard a minister say from the pulpit that the only way gays would go to heaven is if they came up to the altar and said the Sinner's prayer, and then were immediately shot in the back of the head. Yeurgh. I've heard plenty of utterly appalling stories of how gay/lesbian/bi/trans people are treating by their churches, but this one represents a new low, as I hadn't yet heard of a minister actively advocating murder from the pulpit. Needless to say, this was what drove that man from his church.
Interestingly, I also discovered from this man that the UCC ad campaigns are the reason he decided to try going to church again. It's nice to know that they work, despite the fact that their message of a church that doesn't turn people away was apparently far too radical for the broadcast tv networks (part of me feels a bit suspicious that it's precisely because they are effective that the networks refused to show them).
There are a number of parents with young children, which pleases me both because I chose to try that church instead of one downtown because I was hoping to meet fellow parents who live in our area, and because I've been to more than a few small (and larger) churches that can't sustain themselves because the average age of their congregation is 55. The presence of people of child-bearing age is a good sign for the health of a church. There were probably 15 children and 40 adults, which is a great ratio. There were also at least four under the age of two, which gave K some toddlers to run around with and me some potential people for playdates.
One of the drawbacks of small churches is that they often wind up meeting in rented spaces that are less than liturgical. But they have a lovely sanctuary in a building they own, and even an organ. I know the Spirit is present wherever believers meet together, but I find it easier to compose myself for worship in a pew in a sanctuary than in a folding chair in a community center. Part of this was the way I was raised: church to me means organ music and sitting in a pew.
There was just one gigantic drawback: no child care. It surprised us, since there are more than enough small children to warrant it. So we sat passing K back and forth, letting her walk a little between the pews and trying to keep her from exploring the back of the sanctuary. She wasn't really that bad, but what she was is distracting. It was hard to compose myself for prayer, keep up with the readings or focus on the speakers, who were talking about what the church's decision to become Open and Affirming meant to them.* It was hard to concentrate on anything, really, except trying to keep K happy and not disrupting the service.
So therein lies the problem. It's a great church, but is it worth going to if I don't get the chance to worship, which is the entire point of going to church?
*One man had a particularly hair-raising tale of growing up gay in an Evangelical church, where he was exorcised multiple times and heard a minister say from the pulpit that the only way gays would go to heaven is if they came up to the altar and said the Sinner's prayer, and then were immediately shot in the back of the head. Yeurgh. I've heard plenty of utterly appalling stories of how gay/lesbian/bi/trans people are treating by their churches, but this one represents a new low, as I hadn't yet heard of a minister actively advocating murder from the pulpit. Needless to say, this was what drove that man from his church.
Interestingly, I also discovered from this man that the UCC ad campaigns are the reason he decided to try going to church again. It's nice to know that they work, despite the fact that their message of a church that doesn't turn people away was apparently far too radical for the broadcast tv networks (part of me feels a bit suspicious that it's precisely because they are effective that the networks refused to show them).
