avanta7 | Cross that one off my list, at last

I thought I'd give First UMC in Marysville another shot before giving up on the local Methodist congregations entirely, so I attended services this morning. And the service was nice, if nothing special: we sang some hymns I really like; we had the usual congregational prayers; we had a good attempt at a student trumpet solo for special music; and then the minister began his sermon. Our biblical texts were the story of the tower of Babel in Genesis 11; and Elijah's whirlwind ride to heaven in 2 Kings 2. How these texts ended up being the basis for a sermon on how the studies of science and sociology lead people away from God I'm not quite sure, especially since today is the birthday of Charles Darwin, and several hundred churches across the U.S. are commemorating that fact with messages on the compatibility of faith and science. What I am quite sure of is I won't be going back.

And is it really so much to ask that the organist/keyboard player actually know how to play well?

Here comes the tough part: Do I abandon the Methodist church altogether because there isn't a compatible congregation in my immediate area? Not that there's anything wrong with switching to Lutheran, Presbyterian or Episcopal, but I love the Methodist church. Or do I stick with the denomination I love and travel an hour or so a couple of times a week to a congregation in Sacramento?

I guess I can't really answer that question until I attend Presbyterian, Lutheran and Episcopal services here.

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And is it really so much to ask that the organist/keyboard player actually know how to play well?

Given the budgets of most small-to-mid-sized churches and the cost for a trained professional musician....Yes.

You beat me to it. Some places, it's too much to ask that they have something more than a Yamaha electric keyboard and a teenager.

*hangs head*
I am appropriately chastened.
[selfish whining]But, damn it, I want a good music program at the church of my choice![/selfish whining]

Understandable. And I didn't mean to make you feel bad. It's just one of the facts of church life....You hope that you have a member with musical talent who would like to head up your music program. Or you have to work it into the budget. Or you don't have one.

Them's the breaks.

[cranky]If science leads people away from God, then either it wasn't a very strong faith or it wasn't a very strong god in the first place.[/cranky]

My thoughts exactly.

How these texts ended up being the basis for a sermon on how the studies of science and sociology lead people away from God I'm not quite sure

Yow! That sounds more like something that came out of a Deep South Pentacostal church than any Methodist I've ever heard of. You're right, you definitely don't belong there.

I'd still try the others before making a decision. As one who knows, having a place of worship that's convenient to get to increases the odds that you'll actually go as often as you want to; and isn't that the whole point?

To be fair, that wasn't the sole topic covered by the sermon (the pastor also talked about pride and man's attempts not only to reach God but to be God), but that's the part I remember.

...can I ask if the trip to Sacremento is an onerous task. I appreciate it is over an hour, which I guess means it is over an hour back too (science over religion again). Is it a trip you would make alone ?

But it seems to me that if the trip is simply long, but not onerous in terms of other commitments, a dangerous road, taking you to a place you abhor, etc then there may be a possibility of making your weekly trips there into something really special. If the congregation there really clicks with you spirtiually and you can make the trip itself an event - time in the car to contemplate, a nice tea or lunch afterwards maybe with Sacremento friends you don't see everyday, etc then it might be worth it to stay with the Methodists but go to Sacremento. If it is a trip you wold make alone then it might become a ritual to set that part of Sunday aside for yourself.

Maybe not going every week is an option as a way of offsetting the travel time or some of its impacts? If it is really nurishing to you to go there, alternating a Sunday there with a Sunday in mediation or contemplation nearer to home might also work.

I rather like this perspective, Bill.

It's not a difficult drive at all. Spouse is not a church-goer, so I'd make the drive alone; however, the road between here and there is a major highway, well-traveled but not congested on weekends. It gets thick with fog at certain times of the year, but nothing I can't handle. (Growing up near the ocean plus making frequent trips to the San Joaquin Valley taught me well.) I have a couple of friends who live in Sacramento, so lunch once a month with each of them is a possibility, and there's always lunch with people from church once I get to know people. The prospect of a little quiet contemplation there and back is appealing, or I could tune in the local NPR affiliate and listen to classical music on the way and Lake Wobegon coming home, or some combination thereof.

The main thing that concerns me about getting involved in a congregation in Sacramento is the time commitment and fuel for the car. When I join a church, I join a church. I sing in the choir; I participate in an adult Bible study and often teach one; I go to the concerts and spaghetti dinners and fundraisers. I haven't gone so far as to serve on committees or organize Vacation Bible School, although I'm sure that task will come if/when spouse and I acquire children. All this requires a couple of trips a week at a minimum. A two-hour round trip that frequently gives me pause. Plus, gasoline isn't cheap and my husband is still unemployed.

Still, I could limit my usual "jumping in with both feet" and see what happens. Spouse and I will more than likely move to Sacramento at some point in the next few years, perhaps sooner depending on job circumstances. Then I could increase my participation to its normal level.

Thanks for providing a different angle, friend. It's well worth considering.

Cross that one off my list, at last

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Before you switch....

Hmm...