I like your style...

For the record, still agnostic, but I might be a reverent agnostic. (ala AJ Jacobs)
I went to two Easter services (a Saturday night easter vigil and a Sunday morning service.) They were both at Episcopal churches and I have to say, "Episcopals, I like your style." I know all the reasons Adventists reject such ceremony, but I have to say you loose some of the reverence when you take out the ceremony. (and substitute it with cheesy CCM and 70's style sanctuaries.)

I've been thinking about joining a church again. I miss that feeling of being part of a larger community with potlucks, families, music (not CCM) all about me. The last "church" we were apart of was full of really good people and some forward thinking pastors, but it was the whole "Jesus is my Boyfriend" music that I couldn't get into. I feel like the old hymns leave room for some unknowing wonder in their lyrics. I've also noticed that a lot of liberal churches have traditional services while many conservative churches have embraced a contemporary service. I wonder why this is???

Anyway, I'm not sure where I am going with all this. We'll see if I even get around to waking up early enough on the weekends to go anywhere.

Later...

Comments

Grad Student said…
I'm totally in the same boat! We'd love to join a church, but we live in a small town with mainly fundamentalist churches. Further, the Adventist church is basically a gussied up house.
April 15, 2010 at 4:53 PM
Ann said…
@Grad Student. Yeah, after we moved to the big city we found too many options. Before I started graduate school I was going to a liberal SDA church Saturday mornings, to a Meditation center Sunday mornings and to an experimental Emergent church Sunday nights.
Is there a UU church in your area or an Episcopal church?
April 15, 2010 at 5:06 PM
Grad Student said…
Unfortunately there aren't any churches like that, we really do live in a small area. We've visited two different UU churches and frankly we weren't very impressed (I describe why here: http://wordsandnumbers.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/church-an-agnostic-christian-perspective/)

Anyway, good luck (or blessings?) in finding a church family.
April 15, 2010 at 8:49 PM
h2ovapor said…
Ann, thank you for sharing your journey. I am interested to see where it takes you. I was beginning to wonder when you had posts that made it sound like you didn't believe there was a God while at the same time questioning why God was so hard on Job. I was confused about which stance you were taking. Both can't be true, you know what I mean? I feel like in this particular post you're questioning some of the inconsistencies that are in the Christian church & I think you should, but I'm secretly hoping you don't throw the baby out with the dirty bath water.

You are seeking & you will find. It is a promise!
April 15, 2010 at 9:02 PM
Ann said…
@Alilia, I really don't see an inconsistency. From the agnostic viewpoint I would say that I simply don't know what "God" means, not that there is or isn't one. If I look at the Bible for some kind of answers I find this God in Job who is all...""Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much....punk." (The "punk" is own personal translation) Job is the one book of the Bible where God really starts to talk about the creation of the cosmos, but instead of inviting Job into it's mystery he seems to be bragging about his superior abilities to create it. Lately I've really enjoyed learning about astrophysics, but I don't think the God of Job would approve. He'd be "all up in my face", mocking the limits of my human understanding. To sum it all up, I am really interested in science now that I don't have to fear having my faith destroyed by studying it. The God as we see portrayed in Job would rather we just crumble in his presence than ask scientific questions. I think it's sad Job doesn't portray another view of God. I'd be open to a view of God that allowed for scientific questioning.
April 16, 2010 at 1:35 PM
Cassandra said…
I don't like the Jesus is my boyfriend music either. :) When we start singing like that, we lose reverence for the awesome God we are at church to worship.
May 16, 2010 at 8:04 PM
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