J Goes to Church...And Survives to Tell the Tale!

Every Sunday, M and I get ready and head out the door as close to 9:00am as humanly possible in order to get to our local farmer's market just as it opens. I like to arrive before the crowds and the heat. Arriving early also means I get first pick of all the fruits and veggies. K almost always stays at home with Z who still requires a morning nap. It is, I suspect, also an excuse for K to sleep in as he is most definitely NOT a morning person.

Today, after pondering it for some time, I decided if we were ever going to try the whole spiritual thing, it would probably be as a result of me taking the initial leap. K likes the idea of going to church and is most definitely a lot more into the whole God thing than I am. But he's a bit of a introvert. Frankly, neither of us likes social situations but I can probably bumble through them a bit better than he can.

So after we finished up at the farmer's market, M and I strapped ourselves back into the car and headed off to our local unitarian church. Services start at 10:30am so I figured I ought to arrive early-ish in order to have time for whatever it is that new church-goers are expected to do. We parked the car just across the street and I watched as folks began arriving. I had a moment where I decided I didn't really want to get out of the car...but M said, "Mommy! Let's go to church!" And off we went.

I won't give you a blow-by-blow of the entire experience. But suffice it to say it was mostly very positive. The unitiarian service is, for anyone who has ever gone to church in his/her life, rather comforting in its familiarity. There's some singing (check), lighting of candles (check), a blessing or two (check), the passing of the donation basket, and a very well put together sermon (check). I was a bit bemused by the hand-holding ritual towards the end of the service but it was so fast and harmless that I won't hold it against them. In particular, I enjoyed the guided meditation, the row of religious symbols across the top of the altar (a cross, a star of David, a crescent, a yin-yang, etc) and the fact that the minister was a) a woman and b) most certainly gay. Was it awkward? Yes. Isn't it always a bit strange to insert yourself into a tight-knit community of people? I spent the first half of the service hoping I could just blend in until I realized that I was one of the only ones with a name tag on. And then the sermon began and I was so impressed that I forgot to be concerned with my newbie status. But all in all, the folks were very nice (if a tad on the older side) and welcoming.

While I was attending the service, M was having a blast in the children's area. I have no idea what took place there but she was reluctant to leave when I came to pick her up. "Mommy?" she asked, "Can we go to church again?"

Next week's sermon is on the spirituality of money. Sounds interesting. I suspect we'll go. And maybe someday, after Z drops the damn morning nap, I can convince K to join us. Actually, I think he'd be happy to go...although when I got home today, he grilled me on the experience (I think he was shocked I'd actually gone at all) and he kept asking if it was like a Catholic service. I guess familiarity breeds a certain amount of comfort.

For those of you who might be concerned, I highly doubt I'm going to start carrying a bible around or getting some lame-o religious bumper sticker on my car. It was highly reassuring for me to see several Priuses in the parking lot and many with Obama/Biden stickers. Hell, if I'm going to go to church, I definitely want to be with folks I can relate to!