Okay, so the Unitarian thing didn’t work out. It might have been the email I received, inviting me to the Heathen Hoopla, where I was to dress as the god, goddess or demon of my choice and bring something to beat on as I dance around the campfire — in the middle of summer!
When we went the first Sunday, we were asked by the greeters to not judge them too quickly on just one service. That should have been a clue. I gave them three services. So when I suggested to my wife that this may not be right for us, she was greatly relieved because she felt the same.
I was trying to pinpoint what was so uncomfortable about my brief Unitarian Universalist experience. While we were encouraged (in their literature) to share what we believe, we found that no one there was sharing what they believed. They seemed to almost bend over backward in their political correctness with regard to religious tolerance.
I know what I believe. God, Jesus, Holy Spirit. These were being replaced with Mother Earth, heathen hoopla and humanism. While I applaud their emphasis on human kindness and expressions of love, the concentrated effort to avoid references to God, Jesus and Holy Spirit were uncomfortable.
So back we go to the last church we attended before we experimented with UU. The Methodist pastor has just been reinstated for one more year, and she is the living image of Christ’s spirit and teaching. And this time we’ll try Sunday School, church dinners and maybe a few other programs that would give us an opportunity to know people.
Our grandson visited and honestly remarked that he felt that he had been dropped in the middle of a nursing home. Yes, they have a lot of old people. But we’re old, so what? There may not be enough young people, but we reminded him that this is the summer vacation period, and most of those old people must have some grandkids.
So, what about our unusual take on the fundamental doctrines of Christianity? (You may want to read previous posts to find out.) We’ll see how tolerant the Methodists are. I have no intention of turning Methodist minds to my way of thinking. But it will be interesting when they hear my views in the course of casual conversation.
Previous sermons there have centered on the love of Christ and going about doing good. That’s good. That’s what we believe. And the fact that we are open to the truth, even though it might turn out to be the very fundamentalist doctrine we don’t currently understand or agree with, should put us in good standing with others who think that they might know the truth. We’re perfectly willing for God to sort that out for us in this life and the next.
Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Question with boldness even the existence of God; because if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.”
Of all of the Christian denominations the Methodists seem to be the most tolerant, and this church, at least, shows a desire for love and community outreach.
So here we go.
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