There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.I have been searching for a church. I'm very liberal. I'm Lutheran. I'm not a morning person and I tend to work on weekends. So sometimes just finding a church has to do with the time of the service and location. But there is also another issue. There seems to be no place for single people between the ages of 25 to 40 in the Lutheran church (here in the West). I've given up looking for a church to 'join' and am just looking for a service that I can get something out of. The search is getting frustrating.
- Galatians 3:28
I have also tried other churches, too, not just Lutheran ones. One I tried was a very large church and the congregation seem to be in my demographic. There were some things I liked about the service but then there were other things. The preacher mentioned the statistic that in Seattle there are more dogs than children - and isn't that horrible? There seemed to be this importance of marriage and reproducing. While I'm not against these things, I don't think it's the end all and be all. Then a few weeks later I read an article about him and his church. He doesn't believe women should preach. That confirmed it for me. I would never return.
I thought I had found a church that I would settle on. Part of the trouble is that it is north of me and a third of the time I have to be at a theatre that is south-east of me. And I only liked one of the two pastors. Now he is leaving. My search continues.
A couple of weeks ago I was walking on Capitol Hill and happened to pass a Lutheran church. I looked at the sign to see if this is one I would like. One of the pastors names was female. There was a rainbow flag sticker and under it 'open & welcome.' And the service was at 11:00. Definitely a place to try.
That Sunday I walked in and looked for a seat towards the back - I had to leave by noon to get to the theatre on time. As I look for a seat I see this large white afro wig - a person in drag. This seems more my pace. The bulletin read 'an open and affirming congregation.' The kids did a little skit - that appeared to have no real point. It was set 50 years in the future and them remembering things they did at church. Then they all sat in the pew right behind me. And chatted through everything, including the sermon. So I feel like I can't judge the sermon since I only heard half of it. Apparently it was a guest pastor. Between having a baptism and a Sunday School presentation all in one service, I had to leave right before communion (I was only two minutes late to work). I think this is a church I'll have to try a few more times.
4 comments:
Leave it to the PK to have a resource for looking for a church. http://www.elca.org/
And trust me, it's not just in the west that there is no single demographic our age, it's everywhere. That's because people our age don't decide to go to church until they have children. Unlike us dedicated few who it is actually important to....
It's not that I can't find the churches themselves. (I've used the web and phone book) I just can't find one to suit me. One of them I went to was nothing but gray-haired ladies.
That last one sounds promising. Keep us posted on how it goes.
Have you tried any UU churches?
I haven't tried the UU yet, but am curious to give them a try, too.
ELCA has been fine on the liberal front and I like the liturgy since it is what I grew up with - a nice sense of familiarity. I don't know if I was clear on that in the original post.
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