![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Amy's turn to rant
Mar. 6th, 2003 01:40 pmAfter last night, I'm feeling particularly lucky regarding the choice I've made in attending the church I do. I also realized how spoiled I've been by this church in the last five years. I started going to the York Center Church of the Brethren five or six years ago when my sister, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pheret1 was hired to be their choir director. I instantly fell in love with what the church held as its values and what it taught. I was struck by the concept of what it means to be a Peace Church. I had been attending a Moravian Church in Minnesota for several months with divalibby76 before moving back home, which is also known as a Historic Peace Church- along with the Quakers, Mennonites and Amish (you can visit all five denominations by making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land). There is a huge commitment to not only the idea of peace, but social justice and human rights. Now this, I thought, is what going to church and being a Christian is all about. On top of this, when I took the youth group to National Youth Conference last summer, I was told that the IL/WI district, especially the Northern Illinois folks like us, were known across the denomination as radicals and troublemakers. Since the General Offices are here in Northern Illinois, I didn't think that was so much an insult as a left-handed compliment. (For the record- I may seem quiet and conservative, but I actually really enjoy being a radical and a troublemaker- and I like radical troublemakers too, which is why I have found my good buddies the Mennonite dustytm and the other Brethren roadkillmary) Anyway.... so what does this have to do with last night?
( read it-c'mon, I know you want to! )
I was going to tie this into the idea of "vertical prayer" vs. "horizontal prayer" that was originally posted by a friend ofevilhat and foxmagic, subsequently posted by them, and now posted by me. But my train of thought took another route. But I'd like to point out, as I did in a comment to foxmagic that it is interesting that this is being brought up now, because in most denominations, the Ash Wednesday Gospel reading was from the part in Matthew that talks about not praying or giving charity in public. "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.; Matthew 6:1.
Hmmm... anyway. I think I'm done. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go make myself pretty so I'll be presentable at the opera tonight. Hehe hehe.
pheret1 was hired to be their choir director. I instantly fell in love with what the church held as its values and what it taught. I was struck by the concept of what it means to be a Peace Church. I had been attending a Moravian Church in Minnesota for several months with divalibby76 before moving back home, which is also known as a Historic Peace Church- along with the Quakers, Mennonites and Amish (you can visit all five denominations by making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land). There is a huge commitment to not only the idea of peace, but social justice and human rights. Now this, I thought, is what going to church and being a Christian is all about. On top of this, when I took the youth group to National Youth Conference last summer, I was told that the IL/WI district, especially the Northern Illinois folks like us, were known across the denomination as radicals and troublemakers. Since the General Offices are here in Northern Illinois, I didn't think that was so much an insult as a left-handed compliment. (For the record- I may seem quiet and conservative, but I actually really enjoy being a radical and a troublemaker- and I like radical troublemakers too, which is why I have found my good buddies the Mennonite dustytm and the other Brethren roadkillmary) Anyway.... so what does this have to do with last night? ( read it-c'mon, I know you want to! )
I was going to tie this into the idea of "vertical prayer" vs. "horizontal prayer" that was originally posted by a friend of
evilhat and foxmagic, subsequently posted by them, and now posted by me. But my train of thought took another route. But I'd like to point out, as I did in a comment to foxmagic that it is interesting that this is being brought up now, because in most denominations, the Ash Wednesday Gospel reading was from the part in Matthew that talks about not praying or giving charity in public. "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.; Matthew 6:1.Hmmm... anyway. I think I'm done. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go make myself pretty so I'll be presentable at the opera tonight. Hehe hehe.
