So I've started going to church...I know...SHOCKING!
Let me prerace this post by saying that I have lived all of my 37 years as a non-church goer. I was raised in a household where spirituality (in all it's forms) was discussed regularly. I was always encouraged to think for myself and to find my own path in my own spiritual journey if you will, but organized religion was not something I ever experienced on a regulary or even frequent basis.
That being said I have always been very interested in world religions and spirituality in general and have been an avid reader of many religious texts and academic commentaries on said texts over the years. This summer I had a few discussions with a couple of friends who are devout Catholics that really got me kind of fired up to delve into my own personal beliefs even more. Now, before you think I have turned into a moony or am contemplating becoming a nun, fear not! I decided that I wanted to start going to church but I didn't want to go to a church that felt stiffling or pretentious. I wanted to go to a church that was more in line with my personal beliefs-social and spiritual.
I checked out some information online looking for "inclusive" churches in my area because I felt that would be the best place to start. I came across the website of the local Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and read up a bit about the chuch itself and it's history. I was intrigued. Unitarian Universalism is all about letting people find their own path to spirituality. They accept congregants from all other faith traditions, don't require you to believe in God, Jesus or the Trinity and have a history of social activism that I liked. Additionally, The Universalist Church (which later merged with the Unitarian Church) was the first to ordaine women back in the mid 1800's and the UU church has a long history of respecting the rights of GLBT members through ordination and the affirmation of same-sex marriage since 1996.
I decided to go check out the church about a month ago and found that it was such a friendly, welcoming place that I went back the next week, and the next. I've also taken a neighbor with me the last two weeks-a good friend who has struggled for a long time with the fact that she doesn't really believe in God. She told me she had never felt so confortable in a church before.
So, I'm enjoying meeting a lot of new people who have social and spiritual views like mine and while many of them are Democrats and I am more of a middle of the road Republican (I guess really I'm more of an independent but my voter registration card says Republican) it hasn't stopped me from enjoying the experience. As hard as it is to believe I don't even mind getting up early on Sunday morning!
So, I'm enjoying my first foray into organized religion (if you can really call UU that?...lol)and I am really looking forward to getting more involved with some of the volunteer opportunities and activities the church offers.
Anway, I just thought I'd slap down some thoughts on this since I realized I had not posted anything in my journal in over a month. I have been a slack ass, but what with church and doing the weekly baby-sitting gig for my nephew and of course reading the tons and tons of slash I must consume weekly to survive posting in my journal fell by the wayside.
That being said I have always been very interested in world religions and spirituality in general and have been an avid reader of many religious texts and academic commentaries on said texts over the years. This summer I had a few discussions with a couple of friends who are devout Catholics that really got me kind of fired up to delve into my own personal beliefs even more. Now, before you think I have turned into a moony or am contemplating becoming a nun, fear not! I decided that I wanted to start going to church but I didn't want to go to a church that felt stiffling or pretentious. I wanted to go to a church that was more in line with my personal beliefs-social and spiritual.
I checked out some information online looking for "inclusive" churches in my area because I felt that would be the best place to start. I came across the website of the local Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and read up a bit about the chuch itself and it's history. I was intrigued. Unitarian Universalism is all about letting people find their own path to spirituality. They accept congregants from all other faith traditions, don't require you to believe in God, Jesus or the Trinity and have a history of social activism that I liked. Additionally, The Universalist Church (which later merged with the Unitarian Church) was the first to ordaine women back in the mid 1800's and the UU church has a long history of respecting the rights of GLBT members through ordination and the affirmation of same-sex marriage since 1996.
I decided to go check out the church about a month ago and found that it was such a friendly, welcoming place that I went back the next week, and the next. I've also taken a neighbor with me the last two weeks-a good friend who has struggled for a long time with the fact that she doesn't really believe in God. She told me she had never felt so confortable in a church before.
So, I'm enjoying meeting a lot of new people who have social and spiritual views like mine and while many of them are Democrats and I am more of a middle of the road Republican (I guess really I'm more of an independent but my voter registration card says Republican) it hasn't stopped me from enjoying the experience. As hard as it is to believe I don't even mind getting up early on Sunday morning!
So, I'm enjoying my first foray into organized religion (if you can really call UU that?...lol)and I am really looking forward to getting more involved with some of the volunteer opportunities and activities the church offers.
Anway, I just thought I'd slap down some thoughts on this since I realized I had not posted anything in my journal in over a month. I have been a slack ass, but what with church and doing the weekly baby-sitting gig for my nephew and of course reading the tons and tons of slash I must consume weekly to survive posting in my journal fell by the wayside.