Splendid Sunday

Hello friends!

I wanted to tell you all about my Sunday adventures of church shopping.

First, we went to the mega church, Willow, downtown. It was in a gigantic theater, and hundreds of people were there. Willow is actually one of the largest churches in North America, and the average Sunday attendance in 2011 was 24,000!!!! I’m not sure how many campuses there are. I went into the service not really expecting to like it that much, but I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t really think that I would be able to connect with God in such a large and seemingly impersonal setting. However, I really enjoyed the message and found it relevant in my life. 

I was thinking about my preconceptions going into the service. I didn’t expect to encounter God in that space, and I’m so glad that I was able to despite that mindset. I feel like there’s a sort of stigma against large churches like that. People seem to think that at large settings you’re just a face in the crowd, a seat in the auditorium, just a floating person. Perhaps that is true to an extent in some cases, but I don’t think people would attend those gatherings if they didn’t feel valued by their pew-mates. I didn’t meet a lot of people there, but felt very welcome at the guest info table. 

I feel like sometimes we put God in a box. We look at mega churches and think, people can’t possibly feel an intimate spiritual connection at a place like that, but they do. I did. We forget that the Lord knows no bounds. He’s not just in our small town congregations and communities, He’s not just in the suburbs, He’s in the city. He’s at work in the lives of the homeless. He’s at work in the lives of people who work at convenience stores and fast food places. He’s at work in the people we flip off in the midst of our road rage (not that any of us have ever done that…). It gives me hope to remember that our God truly is with us everywhere, and it is never impossible to connect with Him.

After church, Megan and I walked over to Dairy Queen for my second DQ stop since being in the city. In case you didn’t know, I LOVE DQ. It’s my weakness and my strength. I think it’s genetic (Thanks, Dad!). After that, we walked over to the Buckingham Fountain since we were so close by. It’s really cool. The fountain sits near the shores of Lake Michigan and has an awesome view of the skyline. It was nice to sit out and enjoy the nice weather, people watch, and listen to the sound of the water.

We enjoyed a pretty lazy afternoon, and went over to the church next door for a reception for the pastoral installation. That was pretty fun, a great way to sit down and chat with people in the congregation. We also met a few kids that are our neighbors! I look forward to having a play date sometime soon. If we had a DQ in this neighborhood, I would totally spend 15% of my stipend on ice cream cones with those little guys. Nothing brings people together like ice cream, if you ask me.

Megan and I went to Soul City Church at 5, which is just a mile or two away (still like 30 minutes any way you slice it). It reminded me a lot of UCC, where I attended in Manhattan for a couple of years. The sermon was about letting God work through our pain. I thought it was really great, and I LOVED how he indirectly sited human development theories! FSHS for the win! (that’s was my major at KSU-Family Studies & Human Services) We got free coffee and a mug! 

One interesting point from that sermon came from an email the pastor received from a girl who visited several times and was always in tears after the service, remaining in her seat to collect herself before getting up. Apparently not one person ever asked if she was ok. The pastor did a great job approaching it and saying how that’s not ok. He said something about how God didn’t create us to walk by people who are hurting. And then I thought about how often we walk by homeless people begging for change. Sure, some of them probably just want the money for drugs; but I’m sure that many of them genuinely need help and would use it for food or whatever. I’m having a hard time discerning how to respond to those people that I encounter almost on a daily basis. I agree with the pastor at Soul City in that we are not called to walk on by those in pain, but how do we respond to those who are actually addicted to drugs? It’s easy to think things like “they deserve it” or “they brought it upon themselves” but I don’t know that anyone would wake up and say “I think I’ll become hopelessly addicted to crack today!”. We all make mistakes; and I’m sure it’s easier than we think to fall into those habits. Maybe I’m idealistic, but that’s where I’m at. Maybe someday I will be thoughtful enough to buy granola bars at the store and carry them around with me.

Another struggle I am facing is balancing my middle class background with the reality of this neighborhood. Whenever I go downtown or to a nicer part of town, it’s hard to resist little treats like ice cream or coffee or restaurants that aren’t available in my neighborhood. I feel like I’ve done ok with that so far. Don’t worry; I do know something about how far $100 will go each month. But every time I do that, I go back home and feel guilty for treating myself to these things when I know that many of my neighbors cannot afford “luxuries” like coffee. This is hard to balance, while also not developing a negative attitude toward those who live luxuriously. It’s easy to point fingers and say that people have too much money, but for all I know they could donate a lot of it to worthy causes, or they could use those luxuries to help others. I have to remember that those people are fighting their own battles, too. Actually, come to think of it, I know plenty of wealthy people who do great things with their blessings.

One last thing- as I mentioned, I’m church shopping. The two I went to on Sunday were both pretty cool, but I still want to at least look at a few others. I don’t really know what I’m looking for in a church. Maybe that sounds bad, but I think a lot of churches have amazing things to offer, and I just don’t know what to go after. Prayers for discernment and pursuing a church for all it’s worth. 

Prayers and encouragement are always appreciated. Thanks so much for all you’ve done so far!