posted
A reflective, quiet "church" experience (read: no amplifiers, no production techniques, no internal bickering and show-off-dom) that also has folks interested in social justice and helping out those in need.
As Mother Theresa is dead, and the nunnery is forbidden to me by virtue of being a mommy of a 10-year old (and the fact that I'm not Catholic, either), I'll take suggestions and ideas of what to investigate!
*Sits back and waits expectantly, hopefully, and full of good cheer*
posted
Actually, there are many churches that sponsor/staff food banks, shelters, etc. Worshiping in an active community like that can be very uplifting. There are also groups that work on social justice causes. Depends on where you are in the country, but I really can recommend some Methodist and some Catholic communities for that sort of thing. Not all are active, unfortunately, but you can usually find one if you look.
At least I've had good experiences with both of those.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
My old church was quite active, too, in all those areas plus lots of other local and world concerns. I just can't stand the attitude of it being a project. It's de-humanizing. The world's poor aren't projects. They're people with strengths and needs, just like everyone else.
Never tried a Methodist church, though . . . hmmmm.
*Scampers off to look in the phone book*
Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Shan, here's a link to their web site. Quaker.org It has an introductory pamphlet. Best of luck on your quest for a new spiritual home.
Posts: 4569 | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
production - one that installs a professional level sound system without the professional to run it and calls it a ministry . . . why? *shrugs* apparently, people want a rollicking good show in order for service to be worthwhile -
bickering - the disparity in taste as regards worship service, with the more "traditional" types being definitively shoved to the side for the sake of increasing expanded membership based on so called "contemporary" worship style -
As far as I can tell, the purpose of congregational gatherings and service has changed to primarily a social gathering - I could be entirely misinterpreting, and I could be really out of touch with so-called "modern day" church - I dunno -
I just happen to like the opportunity for quiet reflection, a sense of peaceful community, a place to gather strength and hope, and a safe haven to invite others into - it is probably all those things and more for many - not just me - and I'm sure I don't charaterize it impartially -
Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I f the free-form religious styles aren't for you, but you aren't Catholic, you could always try an Episcapalial church...basically it is Roman Catholic lite...
It has a lot of the same rituals that the RC Mass has, so I was comfortable with it form the start, but most of the things I didn't like about being RC has been chnged.....they have woman priests, and priest are allowed to marry ans have children.
They have a structured mass similar to the RC one, if that is your background, so there usually isn'a a lot of "flash and dash" to it, although a lot of them have wonderful traditional choirs or musical aspects to the worship.
posted
Shan, if you do find a place please tell them that part of what attracted you was the “quiet” worship style. Chances are they’d really appreciate the affirmation. The pressure to imitate the mega-churches with high-level sound systems and loud music, etc can be very wearying for little churches. It’s always good to hear that not everyone is looking for that.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
*sigh* I nearly got in an argument with Weightlifter Bob over this. He constantly has a "christian" music radio station on in his office. He called me in, to listen to a song, which sounded exactly like the Goo Goo Dolls. I said "it sounds like a Goo Goo Dolls wannabe" His response "You hate Christian Music don't you?" I contemplated singing Amazing Grace or something right there.
I actually hear more of the old well composed hymns on the classical music station. I love hymns. The newer "praise" songs, while some of them are good, many of them are shlocky pop knock offs.
posted
The Church of Christ was always pretty low key. I don't remember any infighting either.
AJ- I agree with you. Our church has all this new stuff which seems more about being popular than about actual worship. I miss my old hymns. I think hymns and praise songs are both okay, as long as the attitude is right. When my music minister starts performing, that's when we start coming in right before the sermon.
I was raised as a methodist, and didn't recognize the lack of constant pressure on me until I attended Baptist services for a few years. Since then I've gone back to Methodist services, mostly because they are low key, unpretentious, and they're priorities tend to be based on assisting the local community (Habitat for Humanity is very heavily supported by Methodist churches, as are many homeless shelted.)
Are you contemplating asking around about the various groups mentioned here and attending most of them? That'd be a pretty interesting read I suspect.
posted
Note: I don't hate all "praise" music, but it sooo depends on the taste of the person selecting the music.
A church my family attended for a while started having high burnout rates of the worship team. Yes they did an excellent job, and yes since we personally knew most of them their hearts were in the right place. But, when it gets to that extreme something is wrong, regardless of which style of music is chosen.
posted
*grin* The instant Shan said she was looking for quiet worship in an organization focused on community service, I thought of the Quakers. I mean, that's basically what they DO.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Well, as a Methodist, I'm not sure if you'd want to be in my church or not. It is not that quiet - there is a lot of music involved, such as choirs, bells, and so on. But it is also definitely not produced like a show... the goal is to worship through whatever talents people in the church have, not to draw a crowd. The first half tends to be somewhat more lively with singing, children's time, and various ceremonies that might vary from week to week, while the second half of service is usually prayer, collection, communion, and the sermon. (Our pastor is particularly lively in his sermons though - he has been known to call out for audience interaction, perform a little skit, make analogies to pop culture, or generally be interesting. I can't say this is the norm.)
Church funds and activities go a lot more towards helping the needy than attracting new members or showmanship. There's very little emphasis on converting people, and a lot of emphasis on service.
posted
What Tom said.... When I read the first post I though "perfect description of a Quaker church", and then read on down to see several others had already pointed that out.
posted
Shan, I went to an older ELCA Lutheran Church that fit that description to a T. Not all ELCA churches are like that (the one in Bloomington isn't, for example), but many are.
The UCC is an eclectic mix, some churches can be rather conservative, others very liberal. The national office is much on the liberal side, but they don't have power, strictly speaking, over individual churches. I grew up in a liberal, yet old-fashioned liturgy, church. Many churches have both modern and traditional services.
posted
The ELCA church I go to does both- they have two quiet, reflective services and two contempoary services. So they appeal to all types.
Also no real bickering, we are very service oriented and there people of a wide range of viewpoints serving side by side.
Posts: 1021 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
How do you know if there is bickering anyway? Maybe I just haven't been part of a church with bickering, but wouldn't that mainly go on behind the scenes?
Posts: 2432 | Registered: Feb 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Shan, there's a very nice quiet reflective church in the Queen Anne area. My sister in law goes there, and she likes it very much. My brother who is not a Christian (though is name *is* Christian, how's that for irony?) likes this church, particularly the pastor. We went to the Midnight Christmas Eve service last year and it was lovely and quiet, though it's not really my taste. Let me know if you're interested and I'll give her a call to find out the name and address of the church.
(And Shan, not all large churches with sound systems are purely "social gatherings". If you'd be willing to try one, I'd love to invite you to my church. www.cornwallchurch.com )
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Wow! Thanks folks, for the thoughts, insight, suggestions and ideas. I am going to try out different places and groups, including spending time just being quiet and reading different spiritual writings and find some other ways to plug into social justice sorts of activities. And for once in my life, I'm going to take my time and go really slow. I have Nathan's needs to consider, too, and he's been feeling out of sorts at our old congregation as well, so it will be interesting to try out some different things.
For November, I am planning to attend the Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration, and I will be taking a one-day class at St. Placid's Priory on using gregorian chant for meditation. Nathan is interested in getting involved with an environmental "stream team" organization, so we are going to investigate that possibility for family community service.
This is actually feeling exciting and freeing for me - I like it!
Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Mercy! I said I'd go slow and take my time, and yet I am not sure I meant "snail's pace."
As I suspected, keeping Nathan plugged in while I check stuff out is going to be dificult - although he really liked Sunday School at the Episcopal church we attended. I really liked the fact that they both taught ASL plus they had the kids sign with no sound! I like the mid-week Holden Evening Service. (grin) A very small, peaceful sort of compline service.
What else - spent a day at St. Placid's Priory learning some Gregorian Chant - that was simply divine! Very meditative.
The Thanksgiving Celebration was NOT child friendly and Nathan was a real trooper all the way through it . . .
And I read "Father Joe Saved My Soul" by Tony Hendra which was a wonderful read - rather like a male Annie Lamont with British humor . . . I highly recommend it.
What is most interesting is the actual "calming down" of myself and restored/greater interest in things "churchly" of Nathan . . . it will be interesting to see where it all leads . . .
Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
That's amazing, Shan. You're a wonderful example.
After attending Catholic mass after several years hiatus, I was incredibly disappointed. It led to a pretty neat discussion with my mom about what she enjoys about the "traditions," though and I was very grateful for her understanding that those rituals weren't what I was looking for.
I've been looking into the quaker church myself, but am a bit intimidated by just attending a church that I don't know.
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I would be interested in Tom's perspective on his experiences with the Baha'i. It was my understanding that they were pretty progressive.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I have grown up in the Episcopalian church and I think it is wonderful. It has all of the traditions that make it seem like a real church( I cannot take a church seriously when it has a band and a TV in the chapel) and all of the updated values that I agree with.
Posts: 1015 | Registered: Aug 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
The Baha'i Faith is made up of many progressive people beholden to an increasingly deceitful and conservative church leadership. IMO, the Faith will soon implode due to the fact that its policies and politics actually dissuade people of intellectual and spiritual curiosity from becoming involved with its structure.
That said, its doctrines are still at heart very fascinating ones. I wouldn't mind discussing them, although I'm far from a believer nowadays.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
So, Nathan lobbied for St. John's being the new church home. He's actually enjoying Sunday School again, which is nice. The adult ed was rather instructive and fascinating - with lots of good discussion from a wide variety of viewpoints. The focus of the sermon was on service to others in concrete, meaningful ways. They are actually having a six-week potential new member series start up in February, so I'll attend those . . .
The mid-week Holden Evening Service setting is so beautiful in that little side chapel, a peaceful respite from the week.
posted
One thing that I enjoy which is not strictly speaking a service, is to spend time with the eucharist. I think officially it is called "Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament." It's a very peaceful and meditative time, but if you aren't Catholic or Anglican, it probably isn't the thing for you. (Not trying to be exclusive, but most protestants don't seem to care for it.)
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I once had a Professor who said that one sign that there is no God in church is that there is too much damn noise. If people really believed, they would be struck dumb by His awesome presence.
Posts: 5600 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
"One thing that I enjoy which is not strictly speaking a service, is to spend time with the eucharist."
God may strike me down for saying this, but I had this image of you sitting down at one of those tiny little toy teasets with the delicate, doily-covered table and all the stuffed animals, a giant wafer in a giant cup occupying the teensy chair opposite.
And then it segued into one of those film montages, with you and the eucharist flying kites, riding the Staten Island Ferry, and buying hot dogs.
(Please forgive me. There's just something really funny about the eucharist "holding" a hot dog. In my mental montage, it likes sauerkraut.)
posted
I'm interested because I know nothing about it, but it's not really relevant to the thread, and I don't want you to spend half an hour typing something, unless *you* want to, just for me to in all probability say 'cool, thanks'. Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I've heard of that EL - some Protestants actually DO do that sort of thing - but usually only on Easter Eve. (grin)
Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
