Vanity and Churches
I have completed all of the "easy" to "medium" level of difficulty questions on the VCA application that I have been working on for what fees like eons, so before I tackle the horrible "hard" level questions, I want to write about the church that I went to today for Ash Wednesday services.
Ever since moving to Hopewell, I've had a very hard time finding a United Methodist church that I liked. I was too spoiled by Otterbein for all those years and now nothing seems to measure up. Let me give you my top 5 criteria for what I would define as a "good church:"
1) Has to be pretty and big. Yes, these are silly and vain reasons for liking a church, I know. But if I am going to church then I want it to be in a big, gorgeous space so that going to the place feels like an event in itself. I need stained glass windows. I need paintings. I need flowers. I need candles. I need wood carvings. And that's just how it is. I also need the people to dress up and not roll in in their dirty jeans or cargo shorts and flip flops.
2) Must have an organ and someone who can play it well.
3) Also must have choir that sounds decent; along the same lines, congregation should actually sing hymns instead of moaning along like zombies or singing so quietly that I can hear myself above everyone else.
4) Must be slightly liberal/intellectual/inclusive with no Bible thumping, constant fire and brimstone, or exclusivity. Also dislike choruses of "AMENS" and "PRAISES JESUS!" coming from random people in the congregation.
5) Must have a priest/minister/pastor who gives good sermons and has a nice speaking voice.
Ok, so those are my requirements. Most of the Methodist churches that I have gone to in Hopewell lack in areas 2 and 3 and are far more Bible-thumping that the United Methodist variety of my youth. The Catholic churches that I have gone to always lack area 2, 3, and 5. Besides, I'm not interested in becoming Catholic. Ok, I kind of lie because there is one Catholic church that meets all requirements (except for the fact that it's Catholic) and that is the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond.
Anyhow, so I haven't been going to church because I just can't find one that I like. Earlier this week I did a bit of research on St. Paul's Episcopal Church which is 2 blocks from my office. I can't remember why I got tipped off to the place - it may have been that I heard about its Lenten Lunch series on NPR or something. Anyhow, I decided last week that I would try to go to the Lenten Lunch Series this year and I would start out by going to Ash Wednesday service at Lunch today.
Let me just so WOW this church was fantastic. Allow me to elaborate according to my criteria:
1) The Vain Aspect. Gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS! We're talking white marble floors and altar, fluted Corinthian columns, plenty of plaster work, TIFFANY AND CO STAINED GLASS AND MOSAICS, beautiful wood carving, brass and gold. It was also a pretty decent size. Oh, and did I mention that the organ in itself was gorgeous, which brings me to...
2) The Organ. Gorgeous organ, gorgeous sounds. Not too loud, no wrong notes that I heard. Not quite as.... "robust" as Burt Young's playing at Otterbein, but it was still very nice.
3) The Singing. Hard to tell because the "choir" was only 6 people for this service, but they were singing some impressive 4-part harmonies for the offertory hymn. Congregation was a little unsteady at times, probably because a lot of the people were not church regulars and nervous about doing things right. But once we got started, we sang nicely. Would like to come back on a Sunday and hear it then.
4) Doctrine. The Episcopal Church definitely lines up with my own personal beliefs and this congregation is definitely on the more liberal side (based on the sermon today and the information on their website). Was greeted by some nice folks behind us who introduced themselves (inclusive!), they also provided a full print out of the service including directions on when to kneel, stand, talk, etc (inclusive and participatory!).
5) Minister/Reverend. Youngish (prob late 30s?) man with bald head who reminded me a lot of the RSO's former music Director Mark Russell Smith. Slight and gentle Southern accent and very nice speaking voice. Not nasal, not too deep. Nice medium, soothing tone. Loved his sermon, which helped compared God's love for his people to the love that you feel for your pet. Nice way of putting it, when you think about it. Your pets certainly do things that you don't like and you get angry at them, but you always still love them. Same comparison can be said for parents and their children, but the owner/pet thing hit me right since I don't have kids.
Only snafu/uncomfortable moment was communion. I wasn't sure how they were doing it exactly (they use wafers and drink from the cup which I am definitely not used to - bread cubes and little glasses of grape juice at your seat at Otterbein) and apparently you are supposed to grab the bottom of the cup and help the person with it and I didn't know that and she goes, "Can you help me with it!" kind of sternly and I felt chided and bad. Oops.
Otherwise, wow this church was fabulous. I delved into their website a bit more and read up on the history and the programming. I even read a bit of the Minister's (I don't know if that's the right term!) daily blog and I liked it a lot. It's really too bad that the church is all the way in Richmond, which would make for a long Sunday morning commute. I am going to go to the Lenten series, most definitely, and maybe come up here for Easter service and see what it's like when they are "putting on the Ritz." Not sure how I feel about possibly converting to Episcopalian, not because of any problems with their doctrine, but just because I love being United Methodist and would feel like I'm betraying my beloved Otterbein.
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So enough church talk. Last night Jason and I ate a gluttonous meal of Pizza Hut Pan Crust pizza with sausage and mushrooms on it. It was delicious, but I am feeling the impact today. I don't feel like going for my run after work, but have to.
I am back to the "wake up every hour" routine when it comes to sleeping. I took an Advil PM last night to try to prevent it, but no such luck. I STILL woke up at least 3 times during the course of the night. My right arm/elbow is also killing me lately. AND I had to order a "metatarsal shield" for my left foot because I'm getting old and already getting a "bunionette" behind my left pinky toe. Getting old absolutely sucks in so many ways.
I can't believe I just used the word "bunionette" in an LJ entry.
/sigh
Ever since moving to Hopewell, I've had a very hard time finding a United Methodist church that I liked. I was too spoiled by Otterbein for all those years and now nothing seems to measure up. Let me give you my top 5 criteria for what I would define as a "good church:"
1) Has to be pretty and big. Yes, these are silly and vain reasons for liking a church, I know. But if I am going to church then I want it to be in a big, gorgeous space so that going to the place feels like an event in itself. I need stained glass windows. I need paintings. I need flowers. I need candles. I need wood carvings. And that's just how it is. I also need the people to dress up and not roll in in their dirty jeans or cargo shorts and flip flops.
2) Must have an organ and someone who can play it well.
3) Also must have choir that sounds decent; along the same lines, congregation should actually sing hymns instead of moaning along like zombies or singing so quietly that I can hear myself above everyone else.
4) Must be slightly liberal/intellectual/inclusive with no Bible thumping, constant fire and brimstone, or exclusivity. Also dislike choruses of "AMENS" and "PRAISES JESUS!" coming from random people in the congregation.
5) Must have a priest/minister/pastor who gives good sermons and has a nice speaking voice.
Ok, so those are my requirements. Most of the Methodist churches that I have gone to in Hopewell lack in areas 2 and 3 and are far more Bible-thumping that the United Methodist variety of my youth. The Catholic churches that I have gone to always lack area 2, 3, and 5. Besides, I'm not interested in becoming Catholic. Ok, I kind of lie because there is one Catholic church that meets all requirements (except for the fact that it's Catholic) and that is the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond.
Anyhow, so I haven't been going to church because I just can't find one that I like. Earlier this week I did a bit of research on St. Paul's Episcopal Church which is 2 blocks from my office. I can't remember why I got tipped off to the place - it may have been that I heard about its Lenten Lunch series on NPR or something. Anyhow, I decided last week that I would try to go to the Lenten Lunch Series this year and I would start out by going to Ash Wednesday service at Lunch today.
Let me just so WOW this church was fantastic. Allow me to elaborate according to my criteria:
1) The Vain Aspect. Gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS! We're talking white marble floors and altar, fluted Corinthian columns, plenty of plaster work, TIFFANY AND CO STAINED GLASS AND MOSAICS, beautiful wood carving, brass and gold. It was also a pretty decent size. Oh, and did I mention that the organ in itself was gorgeous, which brings me to...
2) The Organ. Gorgeous organ, gorgeous sounds. Not too loud, no wrong notes that I heard. Not quite as.... "robust" as Burt Young's playing at Otterbein, but it was still very nice.
3) The Singing. Hard to tell because the "choir" was only 6 people for this service, but they were singing some impressive 4-part harmonies for the offertory hymn. Congregation was a little unsteady at times, probably because a lot of the people were not church regulars and nervous about doing things right. But once we got started, we sang nicely. Would like to come back on a Sunday and hear it then.
4) Doctrine. The Episcopal Church definitely lines up with my own personal beliefs and this congregation is definitely on the more liberal side (based on the sermon today and the information on their website). Was greeted by some nice folks behind us who introduced themselves (inclusive!), they also provided a full print out of the service including directions on when to kneel, stand, talk, etc (inclusive and participatory!).
5) Minister/Reverend. Youngish (prob late 30s?) man with bald head who reminded me a lot of the RSO's former music Director Mark Russell Smith. Slight and gentle Southern accent and very nice speaking voice. Not nasal, not too deep. Nice medium, soothing tone. Loved his sermon, which helped compared God's love for his people to the love that you feel for your pet. Nice way of putting it, when you think about it. Your pets certainly do things that you don't like and you get angry at them, but you always still love them. Same comparison can be said for parents and their children, but the owner/pet thing hit me right since I don't have kids.
Only snafu/uncomfortable moment was communion. I wasn't sure how they were doing it exactly (they use wafers and drink from the cup which I am definitely not used to - bread cubes and little glasses of grape juice at your seat at Otterbein) and apparently you are supposed to grab the bottom of the cup and help the person with it and I didn't know that and she goes, "Can you help me with it!" kind of sternly and I felt chided and bad. Oops.
Otherwise, wow this church was fabulous. I delved into their website a bit more and read up on the history and the programming. I even read a bit of the Minister's (I don't know if that's the right term!) daily blog and I liked it a lot. It's really too bad that the church is all the way in Richmond, which would make for a long Sunday morning commute. I am going to go to the Lenten series, most definitely, and maybe come up here for Easter service and see what it's like when they are "putting on the Ritz." Not sure how I feel about possibly converting to Episcopalian, not because of any problems with their doctrine, but just because I love being United Methodist and would feel like I'm betraying my beloved Otterbein.
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So enough church talk. Last night Jason and I ate a gluttonous meal of Pizza Hut Pan Crust pizza with sausage and mushrooms on it. It was delicious, but I am feeling the impact today. I don't feel like going for my run after work, but have to.
I am back to the "wake up every hour" routine when it comes to sleeping. I took an Advil PM last night to try to prevent it, but no such luck. I STILL woke up at least 3 times during the course of the night. My right arm/elbow is also killing me lately. AND I had to order a "metatarsal shield" for my left foot because I'm getting old and already getting a "bunionette" behind my left pinky toe. Getting old absolutely sucks in so many ways.
I can't believe I just used the word "bunionette" in an LJ entry.
/sigh