Amy's turn to rant
Mar. 6th, 2003 01:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
violachicAfter 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?
Well, before I was Brethren, I was a Lutheran-Episcopal sandwich (not including the times I was seriously considering converting to Judaism). I spent my high school years in the Lutheran church, and was really involved in a lot of the youth stuff. The church we attended was the one where I spent my formative years- that is, birth to age six- before we went Episcopalian. There are still very many people there that I have known since I was a baby and really care about. So since Brethren aren't a liturgical church and don't normally recognize Ash Wednesday, I decided last night to go to the Lutheran church. There, I would get a little dose of liturgy, some ashes dusted on my head, and I could say hi to some people I haven't seen in a long time (oh yeah, and I handed out some fliers for some anti-war activities coming up in the area). The service was nice and mellow, and even though I didn't exactly go out of my way to see people, I did get to say hi to a few.
Ok, ok, I'm getting to my point. And here it is: Most of my friends know my political and social leanings. They also know, as a qualification, that no matter what my leanings are, I try really hard not to judge someone else on theirs. Anyway, I guess what surprised me last night was that the fact that we're probably going to war with Iraq was never mentioned during the service. Except for two lines during the prayers- one asking that the leaders of the world be led in the way to "remove the obstacles to peacemaking", and one asking for protection and guidance of our military- there was NOT ONE MENTION in the entire hour and a half. Not a drop or a word in the sermon. Nothing. Nada. Now, I'm hardly just expecting to walk in places and have them be spouting things that will please my ears. I didn't expect to be there and hear a fiery sermon denouncing Bush, or the evils of warfare. But I guess that the conclusion I've come to about being a Christian is that there is and outside world, and we affect it, and are affected by it. You have to do something. Anything. It frustrated me that during the litany of confession, it talked about "we confess to you...our self-indulgent ways and our exploitation of other people" and "we repent....for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty..." etc.... yet nothing else in the service ever mentioned a thing about those issues. The whole sermon centered on how we need to return to God, and how our hearts etc etc. It seemed so freaking self-centered! I'm so used to sermons at my church being about our responsibility to others and to the world and standing up for what's right and stuff like that. So I'm frustrated. I mean, even if they had said something like "we're going to war and we need to support our president and our military" I would have been happy. At least they are acknowledging that its there. I'm sure this whole thing comes off to the reader as really judgemental, and I'm sure I've become biased and all. But I'm baffled. Really and truly. Its just that this is not what I think being at church is all about. That's why I feel so lucky about being Brethren right now. On the off chance I actually end up married and have kids, I'm definitely bringing them up Brethren because it stands for some really good things. Actually, if it weren't for finding this church, I probably wouldn't still be Christian. So I feel blessed. 'K. I'm done.
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? Well, before I was Brethren, I was a Lutheran-Episcopal sandwich (not including the times I was seriously considering converting to Judaism). I spent my high school years in the Lutheran church, and was really involved in a lot of the youth stuff. The church we attended was the one where I spent my formative years- that is, birth to age six- before we went Episcopalian. There are still very many people there that I have known since I was a baby and really care about. So since Brethren aren't a liturgical church and don't normally recognize Ash Wednesday, I decided last night to go to the Lutheran church. There, I would get a little dose of liturgy, some ashes dusted on my head, and I could say hi to some people I haven't seen in a long time (oh yeah, and I handed out some fliers for some anti-war activities coming up in the area). The service was nice and mellow, and even though I didn't exactly go out of my way to see people, I did get to say hi to a few.
Ok, ok, I'm getting to my point. And here it is: Most of my friends know my political and social leanings. They also know, as a qualification, that no matter what my leanings are, I try really hard not to judge someone else on theirs. Anyway, I guess what surprised me last night was that the fact that we're probably going to war with Iraq was never mentioned during the service. Except for two lines during the prayers- one asking that the leaders of the world be led in the way to "remove the obstacles to peacemaking", and one asking for protection and guidance of our military- there was NOT ONE MENTION in the entire hour and a half. Not a drop or a word in the sermon. Nothing. Nada. Now, I'm hardly just expecting to walk in places and have them be spouting things that will please my ears. I didn't expect to be there and hear a fiery sermon denouncing Bush, or the evils of warfare. But I guess that the conclusion I've come to about being a Christian is that there is and outside world, and we affect it, and are affected by it. You have to do something. Anything. It frustrated me that during the litany of confession, it talked about "we confess to you...our self-indulgent ways and our exploitation of other people" and "we repent....for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty..." etc.... yet nothing else in the service ever mentioned a thing about those issues. The whole sermon centered on how we need to return to God, and how our hearts etc etc. It seemed so freaking self-centered! I'm so used to sermons at my church being about our responsibility to others and to the world and standing up for what's right and stuff like that. So I'm frustrated. I mean, even if they had said something like "we're going to war and we need to support our president and our military" I would have been happy. At least they are acknowledging that its there. I'm sure this whole thing comes off to the reader as really judgemental, and I'm sure I've become biased and all. But I'm baffled. Really and truly. Its just that this is not what I think being at church is all about. That's why I feel so lucky about being Brethren right now. On the off chance I actually end up married and have kids, I'm definitely bringing them up Brethren because it stands for some really good things. Actually, if it weren't for finding this church, I probably wouldn't still be Christian. So I feel blessed. 'K. I'm done.
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.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-03-06 01:01 pm (UTC)You probably started going there seven years ago... or longer...
Re:
Date: 2003-03-07 12:19 am (UTC)no subject
Re:
Date: 2003-03-07 12:13 am (UTC)The mind boggles....
hehe hehe hehe
no subject
Date: 2003-03-07 05:31 am (UTC)Of course, it's so far from the truth in so many different ways, but I've always been a big fan of comedic irony.
I always thought "Mennonite Troublemakers" would make a good band name, too. Kind of like "The Hostile Amish."
Re:
Date: 2003-03-07 07:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-03-07 07:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-03-07 10:44 am (UTC)