The Church
I never grew up going to church. It wasn’t that my Mom was against it; we lived on a farm and it just wasn’t something we did. However, after my Dad passed away the pastor from the Baptist church in town visited us and opened the door to church and faith in God. Over the years I attended church as a teen and into my adult years. It was my understanding of the “church” being believers who gathered together under one roof, with one common purpose, and belief in God. The teachings of the importance of gathering together and of supporting one another were always the fundamentals of church attendance. When I moved to the city to begin my teaching career I attended “church”. However, my experience was quite different and surprising from that of a small town. City churches were of course much larger which made them way more impersonal, harder to find genuine human connection, and their size required them to operate much like a business in a highly organized and structured way. The very things I had once appreciated about “church” seemed from difficult to impossible to find in a large church setting. Instead of having a sense of belonging and sharing a common purpose, it seemed that my weekly attendance became more dutiful than meaningful. I recently attended “church” in Nova Scotia. It wasn’t a typical church experience but the intention was the same as I had experienced in my small town church. Here people gathered together for fellowship, personal connection, friendship and a common faith – love of beer! You see…. the “church” was a brewery!!! I instantly felt that same feeling of belonging and intimacy I felt years ago in my small town church. The setting was quaint, welcoming, and everywhere I looked people were engaged with each other as they listened, shared, laughed, and enjoyed gathering together. I had found “church” again.This may not be the typical, “church” setting so many are familiar with. That’s fine! To me this was truly what “church” is meant to be. I left uplifted, encouraged, and immersed in the fellowship of like minded people. Cheers to “church”!!!! I’ll see you next Sunday and Saturday and Friday and Monday and…….
1 Comment
Leave your reply.