Focaccia, pears, and the Congregational Church

Sunday's visit was to Central Congregational Church. Now... I have a small history with the Congregational church (also called the United Church of Christ). My great-grandmother attended a Congregational church in Waterville, Maine. I spent my childhood and teen summers in Waterville and although my Nana died when I was 3, my grandmother and I attended the CC Nana had attended when she was alive. The first Sunday of one if my Maine summers, my grandma and I got dressed up, got into her red minivan, and she shuttled me not to the CC, but to Pleasant Street Methodist Church. When I asked her why she made this switch, she said, "Oh, they started calling God a 'she' and I knew it was time to go." If she wanted a solidly patriarchal view of God, she should have switched to Baptist, but, that's besides the point.

I also have a very small history with the particular church I attended. Saturday morning, I rode my bike to the Farmer's Market to check out the end of the summer produce, crafts, and baked goods. As I passed each booth, checked out prices of corn, eyed the home-made jewelry, and scanned the crowd for people I potentially knew, I noticed that Central Congregational had a booth! So I made my way into their tent, picked a jalepeno focaccia, and as I paid, told the woman taking my cash that I was planning on attending their church the next day. "Oh wonderful!" she said. "Hey Sharon, did you hear this girl? She's coming to Central tomorrow!" Suddenly I was meeting the women of the Central Congregational Farmer's Market committee and they were making me promise to say hello to them when I came to their church. When I finally got out of the Central CC tent, focaccia in hand, I had to smile at their friendliness.

The slogan that the Congregational Church most uses to summarize its beliefs is: God is still speaking, (the comma being important, signifying that God is not done shedding light on us humans and that we can't claim to know it all, because the knowledge is still being imparted). A phrase that Central CC also uses is: Unapologetically Chrisitan, Unapologetically Progressive. Both of these point to the evolving, ever-changing, dynamic way that Congregationalists see God's work in the world and read his Word. Most of the people at the church I've been attending for years would point to Congregationalists' view of scripture and their take on issues like female leadership, homosexuality, the nature of God, and politics as liberal and heretical, to be frank. People with my church background might accuse them of shaping their theology around culture instead of holding steadfast to the "Truth" in spite of its unpopularity.

It feels good to be on the outside of that, simply viewing Congregationalists as Christians with different viewpoints (though, to be honest, I never felt certain of a lot of the issues on which some Christians take definitive stances). I've always had an especially hard time swallowing the idea that women shouldn't be pastors or leaders of men. The idea that something that is a very part of someone's identity, something she can't control (and shouldn't feel like she needs to) could be sinful. The idea that a loving God would cast people into an eternal hell. Etcetera. If I found there to be truth in the loving god part of Christianity, but could do away with those parts of the religion that my heart tells me are wrong, I would go to a more liberal, progressive church like a Congregational one. What's kept me from doing that in the past is the belief that the Bible really does teach that homosexuality is a sin, that those who are not saved will perish, that women should submit to their husbands. I felt the need to believe the Bible is without error for, if it had flaws, what kind of a god wouldn't intervene and keep his followers from believing lies?
Wow, I've gotten off track!

Central Congregational!

First thing I noticed: there were SO MANY WOMEN! Seriously, a 5:1 woman:man ratio. Maybe guys like being thought of as the rightful leaders. Or maybe it was just this church. There's already more women than men in most churches, but this was very, very noticeable.

Second thing I noticed: Everyone was super, super friendly. I obviously stuck out because people came to me before the service to greet me, introduce themselves, and ask what brought me there. They were very sweet.

We began the way most churches to: with some singing of hymns, a few scripture readings, and time for greetings. During the longer than what I thought was usual mingling time (though it probably felt long because I was all alone), people who hadn't had a chance to say hi before church started found me and introduced themselves. One adorable old codger named Dean even hugged me, held onto me, and all but made me promise to join the church after the service for coffee and treats. After the mingling, we got back to more singing, then the floor was open for people to share prayer requests and praises. This lasted for a while. When the pastor prayed for all of these requests, she also prayed for each and every person on the prayer bulletin (just said their name)- about 70 people!

Next came the sermon, "Harvest Time," a discussion of Matthew 9:35-38 ("The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few").

To be more specific:

³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Instead of pounding the congregation over the head with a guilt-tripping message of the importance and urgency of evangelism, she looked at the passage in a light I never had. She emphasized the nurturing, loving, comforting parts of Jesus, not the part of Him that makes people evangelize. She read through Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd...") a few times. The sermon had a very warming affect. It made me wish that I believed in that kind of a God.

Something the pastor said, which I think explains the warm/fuzziness of the Congregational beliefs that God's love triumphs over his righteousness and accepts all people for just what they are:

"I believe God cares for me, I believe God cares for you, I believe God cares for everyone."

Oh, after the service, I did join Dean, Sharon, and the gang for coffee and treats. I stuck around for about 15 minutes and was treated so well. Someone made me take a bag full of home-grown pears on my way out. I have to say that this visit has been my favorite so far!

I'll post the pastor's response to my questions soon. Next week, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, where I will most likely be the only white person in the congregation :)

Father's response

Yay! I got a response to the email I sent to the Catholic Priest. I asked him for a personal testimony: both why he is Christian and why Catholic...

"Thanks for your email. I'm glad that you came to visit our parish. We gather on Sunday, the day of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, to worship God and give thanks to God.

I became a Christian through baptism as a baby. As Catholic Christians we emphasize that it is God who first chooses us. St. John says that it is not we who first love God but God who first loves us. St. Peter tells us "baptism saves you now." (1 Pet 3:20) Through the waters of baptism our sin is washed away and we are born again into God's family. Jesus tells us you must be born again by water and Holy Spirit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (John 3)

God then wants our response to the gift of salvation given to us in baptism. Through prayer, the sacramental life, and works of charity we cooperate with God's grace and allow it to bear fruit in our lives.

Faith is a gift - it is like a muscle. The more we practice and exercise it the stronger it will grow. I take time each day to pray - to enter into conversation with God. I offer each day up to God and ask for his guidance and blessings on my day.

Why Catholicism? We can trace our roots back to Christ himself. The bishops of the Catholic Church can trace apostolic succession (the laying on of hands) back to the apostles of Jesus. Another big reason I'm Catholic is the Eucharist or Holy Communion. Jesus says, "My flesh is real food and my blood is true drink." (John 6) As Catholics we can accept Christ into our lives every day of the year through Holy Communion at Mass. We have a living encounter with our Savior.

I forwarded your e-mail also to Fr. Shawn who is the other priest at our parish. Either one of us will be happy to meet with you. We also offer classes on Wednesday night from 7 - 8:30 pm on the Catholic Faith. They begin Sept. 8th. You are welcome to come simply as an inquirer to learn more about what we believe as Catholics.

Thank you for being open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I will pray for you and please don't hesitate to e-mail of call if you have questions or ever want to meet. May God bless you,

Fr. Brian"

He sounded very nice and I'm glad he took the time to reply. I'm really grateful that there are people like Fr. Brian who will respond to my questions and give me insight as to why people believe, and not just believe, but actually believe strongly enough to make a profession out of their faith.

Why he became a Christian- because his parents baptized him... so not a conscious choice. God chose Him... I know that Catholics believe much more strongly in the power of baptism than many protestants. In my upbringing, baptizing has been thought of as a way that a believer can profess her belief to others. The idea that parents choosing to sprinkle their babies with water can keep those babies from going to hell, basically doing all of the work for the babies (and since I used that word 'work,' the idea that we can do something to earn our way to heaven- something other than just believing) - well, it doesn't add up.

Why he's Catholic- because it's most like Jesus? Uh? Next point, because of the Eucharist of Communion. Okay, I can see that. If you really thought that that was communion with Jesus- his true blood and body- yeah, I could see why you'd want that more often and would go with Catholicism.

Getting back to his reasons for belief in both the religion and the denomination, is being born into a religious family really enough to make one believe in something so strongly that he would give up the chance of getting married (and it's guys we're talking about- the chance to have sex!) because of it? That's one of my biggest hang-ups about Catholicism. The fact that priests can't get their sexual needs met, which causes a disproportionately high number of them to abuse children.

Anyway, some answers from the priest. Excellent. I thought it was nice of him to invite me to learn more... but I won't be. I must move on in my sojourn.

Mater Dei Catholic Church

Again, an interesting Sunday morning...

I attended Mater Dei Catholic Church today. Unlike many people who have been raised in the Protestant tradition, I have never found Catholics to be wrong in their interpretation of the Bible. I really hate the chasm that lies between Catholics and Protestants. My Dad was raised Catholic and although he attends a nondenominational Protestant church, he is still very loyal to his Catholic roots. Perhaps this is part of why I've always been pretty open to Catholicism.

Even with entering the beautiful sanctuary with an open mind, I knew from the entrance that this service would be much different than what I'm used to (and especially different than last week!) I did not want to look as out of place as I felt, so I attempted to fit in. The couple heading into the church in front of me stopped by the front door, dipped their fingers in a cup of water, and did the sign of the cross. I did the same, feeling very phony, but trying to really experience the Catholic service in all its senses. After doing this routine, I quickly made my way to an empty pew and plunked down. I didn't realize until I sat down and was observing others that everyone else was kneeling by the pew for half a second, rising, then making their way to their seats. I asked my dad later about this and he said it's called genuflection and is an act of reverence. I had to laugh later on in the service when a family was running about 20 minutes late. They rushed down the aisle, then each had to genuflect quickly before sitting down.

In most churches I've been to, the minutes preceding the service are filled with chatter, greetings, smiles, laughter, church-friendly gossip... here, it was dead quiet. Some people were kneeling and praying, others were just sitting quietly, some were smiling at others and waving, even mouthing things like "How are you?," like they wished they went to a noisier church where pre-service speaking was acceptable. It's clear that the Catholics take time in the House of God seriously and approach His presence with reverence and awe.

The service began with a Prayer to Mary, which the pastor said was in the back of one of the books in the pew (I can't believe I didn't take down the name! It was like a hymnal in that it contained all of the songs we sang, but more than that, it had each of the 52 Sundays' scheduled readings, prayers, and more... I'll refer to it henceforth [yes, I did just use that word] as the Program Book, because that's what it was like.) It provided each word the priest would pray, each response we were expected to say, the songs we sang, directions on when to sit, kneel, or stand, etc. To get back to Mary's prayer, I could not for the life of my find it in the back of the PB, but after a while of searching frustratingly, I just listened to the prayer. At the end of this prayer, a woman 2 rows behind me said "It's on the back of the book!" I was looking in the book... and I'd been caught. Catholic newbie, right here.

Last week, I was able to jot down notes, catch crazy quotes, and reflect on the service. This Sunday, my time was so filled with trying to keep up with what everyone else was doing that I didn't write much down. Whether it was searching frantically for the page in the PB that told the congregation (and the pastor) what to say; standing up, sitting down, or kneeling; or flipping to the hymn we were about to sing, I was kept busy! The Catholic church is so filled with tradition and rituals that, for an outsider, it's hard to follow along.

Notes:

Everything really is quite scripted. In some ways, this is nice. It's beautiful to think that every Catholic church in the world is reading the same scripture that morning and praying the same prayers. What a picture of unity. If LOTW was more scripted and less "led by the Spirit," the sermon may have made some sense. At the same time, this standardization takes away from clergy being able to excitedly share what they have been reading on their own time. Pastors have little ability to shape the message they have to deliver. Hierarchy in the church is a strange idea for me, but of course this is required in the unity the Catholic Church has achieved.

Communion takes place each Sunday. Of course, Catholics believe that the wafer and the wine (wine, not grape juice!) become the real blood and body of Jesus. They take communion very seriously. I didn't realize that I wasn't supposed to take communion since I'm not really Catholic (my dad told me this later), but I think if I'd have sat it out, I would have been more noticeable than I already was. As I got closer in line to the front where the pastor and some assistants were, I made mental notes: 'bow before putting your hands out... right hand over left hand... nod after the priest says whatever he says up there... drink out of the same cup as everyone else- not a big gulp!' And then, as quickly as ever, I had successfully partaken in the body and blood of Christ and was back in my seat, kneeling. Okay, didn't know I was supposed to kneel, but I'll go with it.

There is a much more serious feel in the Catholic church than in other churches I've been to. Although the pastor did crack a pastor joke! The worship music is not performed by a band upfront, but rather (at this church) by a single soprano voice and an organ. The pastor is not wearing khakis and a polo, he is wearing a robe. There were 3 children whose sole job during the entire service was to assist the pastor, sometimes by lighting candles, sometimes by getting things for him, sometimes by even holding the huge Bible he was reading from for him, like small human desks or note holders. And of course the children were wearing long white robes. It was all very churchy. I think a lot of churches have made efforts to do away with anything churchy, but definitely not the Catholic church.

The service was only about 50 minutes! After I left, the lady who assisted me early on in the service asked me if this was my first visit to Mater Dei. Caught! I nodded and smiled. She said, "Well we'd love to have you back!" which I thought was nice. That was my Catholic Sunday! Next week, Congregationalist!

ps. I cannot find an email address for the pastor and am deciding about whether or not I should phone him. I haven't yet heard back from LOTW clergy and don't really want to send another email...

Light of the World

My first stop was definitely interesting. And uncomfortable. Both things I was looking for when I decided to do this.

The first thing that struck me about this church was how much of an effort the greeter at the front door made to make me feel welcome. I saw him when I was a good 50 yards away from the door and he was already smiling at me and waving. I'm sure his intentions were good, but it made it a little awkward. Once we shook hands and completed the long greeting, I made it into the sanctuary. I was struck by how dark it was (there were no windows?) and the absence of a cross. In every church I remember going to, there has been a cross prominently displayed at the front of the sanctuary, but not here. Strange.

Anyway, I was a little early, so I sat down and watched people trickle in. It was a weird thing to not have my usual group of people with whom I could sit and chat to before the service. I observed the groups of people: the families, the young married couples, the few righteous young men, the misfits. I was impressed with the amount of black people. It's a sad thing that Sunday mornings are the most segregated time of the week, but it's true. The church I've attended for the past 8 years has a very small handful of black people, which is sad to me. This congregation was about 1/5 or 1/6 black. The fact that that ration impressed me is sad, because it's still small, but it was more than I expected to see.

So, the service began with singing. Even though I don't know if I believe right now that there is a God who hears our praises, I sang the songs anyway. I've always loved to sing, plus I don't want to stick out too much. After each song, the worship band and some of the congregation would break out into what I think was maybe supposed to be speaking in tongues. To me, it just sounded like mumbling. It would only last for about 5 or 10 seconds at the end of each song and would be interspersed with "Alleluia" and "Praise you Jesus" and "Amen" and such. I just observed, trying not to look too wide-eyed. I noticed the people who weren't "speaking in tongues." They looked sort of uncomfortable, embarrassed, and maybe guilty. I can imagine that if I was attending a church where that was considered normal, and if I wasn't feeling the Holy Spirit prompting me to do that, I would feel bad and weird. I guess when I was a solid Christian, I was pretty open to the idea of pentecostal practices of faith: healing, speaking in tongues, worshipping in whatever way you needed to (falling to your knees, lifting your hands, whatever it took to make you feel closer to God), so I wasn't too taken aback with anything. It's just that now, from a kind of agnostic point of view, the speaking in tongues seemed to be phony, the lifting of hands was compulsory (the preacher even at one point told everyone to lift their hands... more on that.) and it all seemed to be part of a competition to look the holiest, or to fit into the definition of what constituted a good, holy person at this church.



Onto the sermon. The preacher was a little bit televangelist-y with his light gray suit and southern accent. I wouldn't have counted that against him, I just thought it was amusingly stereotypical. His preaching was ALL over the place. I couldn't follow his line of thought at all. After a long rampage on the evils of living wordly (smoking cigars, drinking alcohol, playing poker were actual examples used), he apologized for how chopped up his sermon had been, but not really: "I don't mean to get off on some of these things, but I'm following the Holy Ghost." Wow, blaming bad speaking skills on the Holy Spirit moving inside of him... I wouldn't be so cynical, but from my time as a Christian, I felt pretty positively sure that God isn't fighting against alcohol or poker or cigars the way that this guy seemed to think He was, so I couldn't trust that his message had any validation, so it was not from the Holy Spirit.

I was shocked and upset about the number of times that televangelist preacher put down other churches. I believe he made about 6 comments that implied that Light of the World was the best church around and that churches that didn't support speaking in tongues, healing, and other offbeat charismatic practices were heretical. The closed mindedness and certainty that their interpretation of the Bible was the only right interpretation was very bad.

Some quotes from the service that I jotted down:

"God doesn't want us to have long faces"- um, I thought that God delighted in a contrite heart and broken spirit? There's a lot to be honestly sad about, a lot to be broken about...

During the worship: "Make your arms like a funnel and draw in the presence of the Lord... if you need healing, let Him in. If you need financial miracles, ask Him for that." So if I don't put my hands in the air, God can't move into me? And financial miracles? Now you're sounding like Joel Osteen with his name it and claim it crap.

"A lot of churches don't know about the power of God and stuff." Well put.

"There are churches that have the spirit of the world in them more than the spirit of faith in them, and you have to be careful if you get too close to those churches."

"If you're wondering 'Can I look like the world, talk like the world, be like the world, and still be tight with Jesus?' the answer's 'No'." The Christian aversion to worldly things makes many of the hardcore, out in left field, true Bible-believing Christians bad politicians, bad teachers, bad writers... bad at giving back to the world in tangible ways because they're too caught up in another world. I'm seeing this from another side now.

"I don't want to go to a cool church- I want one that's on fire!"

"I've found that if a 6 year old can't do it, then it's not good for adults either." Um, what about sex?

My favorite (on the evils of drinking): "You're looking for a buzz and you're supposed to get your buzz from the Holy Ghost!" So, God's going to make me feel intoxicated and incoherent? Why would a God of wisdom and discernment do that?

So, that was Light of the World. A bit cooky, a bit intolerant of different walks of even Christian faith, often made me squirm in my seat. Definitely a kick-start to this journey.

(I didn't ask the preacher those questions I originally talked about because the service was about 2 hours long and I had to run... I may send an email.)

ICHE

That's right: ICHE, or Intentional Church Hopping Experience. This is something I thought of and planned out last summer, but didn't get around to. Basically, I will be going to a different, carefully chosen because of its uniqueness, church each week and making note of the music, the order of the service, interesting notes, and any conversations I have with the members or clergy. I also want to contact clergy members (in person or through email) and get their testimony and what they think are the hallmarks of their church, the things that make them unique from other churches and denominations.

Now is a good time to do this because it will be good to get a view of the Christian church as a whole, not just the part that I'm familiar with (a nondenominational Bible church), but also the corners of Christianity I've only heard about. I want to understand better the ways that different people perceive God and the Bible. (I know that right now I'm not really believing in anything, but I can't help but capitalize those words.) I'm also excited about conversing with clergy members- people who are so serious about their faith they've made it their career (or were serious in the past)- and find out why they started believing in God and why they still do. Honestly, another reason I'm doing it is to avoid my church for a while. It's been hard to go there (I can't not or my friends would be onto me), but this gives me an excuse to be away.

I'm about to leave for my first church, a big church in my community called Light of the World. It is nondenominational, but from what I hear from others and from the website, I know that it is more charasmatic than what I'm used to, and that there will be speaking in tongues.... I'm kind of nervous, but I think it should be interesting and a good start to my project. I'll be back with more details.