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 :)
"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."
ReplyDeleteI find this odd. Christianity from the get go shaped its theology - and especially its calendar - around culture. Granted it was mostly in the name of "Whatever it takes to make these heathens to join our church and submit to our way of thinking," but nevertheless...
In my art room we have a question posted on the wall that reads, "How does what we create reflect who we are?" Mostly it's related to art and music and literature, but surely there's personal and social implications in the science and math we create/discover, or religions we practice (I would say "religions we create" as there are so many religions in the world and only one of them CAN be Truth, although the possibility that none of them are is certainly large, but someone out there is bound to find the "religions we create" phrase to be entirely offensive). Why and how did it come about, these beliefs we have, these complex systems of myths? (Again, potentially very, very offensive, but Joseph Campell rocks the definition of myth and it more means "story" than "fiction.")
OR, if we are trying to find [G]-d(s) (haha, awkward yet all-inclusive), can we use the "How does what we create reflect who we are?" question to define our specific beliefs in a higher being? Or is it this question that in the end denies any existence of him/her/them?
(I digress.)
Can't wait for the next update!
Teresa,
ReplyDeleteYou sure you shouldn't start your own blog? :)
I love your comment. I'm still so focused on the "what is not true?" question that I haven't thought much about the origins of, or, the people who created these religions. (Right now you're the only one reading this, so don't worry about offending anyone).
How has culture affected Christianity as we know it? Well, I think it depends largely on the denomination. The Amish, for example, take pride in withdrawing from "this world," so are not as affected by the changes in common morality or culture. The pastor at Light of the World spoke for about half an hour about "the evils of this world" and tried to guilt the congregation into avoiding things that are pretty normal for most people today- alcohol, R-rated movies, cuss words, pre-marital sex... you were at my church when the college sunday school pastor broke down Biblical verses on homosexuality and sexual immorality to make the point that, according to the Bible, being gay is a sin. You were there for the sermon on the coming of the "End Times," which definitely is a Biblical concept, not one that scientists have come up with (speculation on an apocalypse due to environmental catastrophe or nuclear warfare doesn't count). These churches- and many, many Christians- pride themselves on tossing wordly reasoning out the window and believing in an entirely different set of morals, histories, and idea of a future than people who don't share their religious beliefs.
Then there's the Congregational churches, the Lutheran churches, the Presbyterian churches- a little more intellectual. Maybe less reliant on the wacko Bible verses that nobody really wants to hear and more about a common morality, goodness, and love. These churches look more like the world than the backwoodsy denominations that refuse to listen to psychiatrists, scientists, and historians, which may or may not be a good thing. Good for the world (THIS world needs people who will make a difference, not people who will just focus on the next [?] world), maybe a bit diluting of Christianity.
Still, all of Christianity that we see here has been affected by culture, even those Amish. As you said, this religion has been affected by the people who first came up with it (ahh! It does scare me to type that), the scribes who wrote it down, the men who decided which books made it into the canon, the time and culture that affects where we're coming from when we're reading the passages today, the translators who continue to put out new editions of the work, the politicians who fly their religion flags high, etc.
Wow. I also liked your last paragraph. Good points! Crazy to ponder.
Love you madly :)
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