On joining a church

I, the confirmed Episcopalian snob/pagan wannabee who was baptized Lutheran, raised Presbyterian, attended the Unitarian Universalist church in the 70's,  and decided outright by the time I was 38 that I was not only pagan, but Dianic Wiccan -- I, who have longed for spirituality but have failed to find salience in organized religion throughout my adult life, have decided that I want to join a church. That's right - me - belonging to a church - a Christian church. Why?

Although nothing will ever change the fact that I believe in the Threefold Law, karma and reincarnation, I have received only hurt, rejection and lack of connection from the pagan communities here in Rockford and in Madison, Wisconsin for the last couple of decades, and the pain in my heart from these experiences have led me to seek another community with which to express my spirituality. I am on my way back to my Protestant roots, to explore what has become of organized religion since I left it, and if there is anything there for me today. I feel connected to the traditional religions because they are part of my history, my childhood, my upbringing, my database. So, I begin.
                                                                                                                                                 
On the corner of Spring Brook and Spring Creek Road, very close to where I live, sits Spring Creek United Church of Christ. I drive by it every day. It used to be our polling place. It is a simple, unpretentious building; there are no magnificent stained-glass windows and there is no pipe organ. No pipe organ! That's right. They have a Rodgers classical electronic organ. It is what my friends and I, back at NIU in the 70s, used to call an "electronic appliance." 

Me, the organ minor, wants to join a church with a Rodgers non-pipe organ. 

And yes, although they sing hymns, they also have non-traditional music. They might even have contemporary praise music, which I have said I can't stomach. But what is the point of going to church if all you want is theater?  Isn't that rather shallow? And times have changed. Here is a blurb from their website about their music program:

I could play my dulcimer and guitar there.

I could join their choir.

                                                       This is a picture of their organ:

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Guest Organist Brian Voss

I left the pastor a voice mail this morning, and he phoned me back within 20 minutes. He is welcoming and he answered my questions. He told me that just from listening to what I had to say, I sounded like someone who would fit in and feel right at home there. And it is near my home, as I said - I could walk there if necessary.

                                                    This is their statement of belief:

This is what they do NOT believe:

Here are a few more snips from their website:

This is how to join, per their site:

Their Sunday service is not at the crack of dawn.

Back to my musical concerns--and as I sit here ruminating about my lifelong insistence that any church I might attend would HAVE to have a pipe organ and sing only traditional hymns;  in fact, one reason I left the Episcopal Church is that they stopped using the 1940 Hymnal, the Healey Willan Mass and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer--this is where I am right now. Musical snob me - I came across this link on youtube:

The Ruppe Sisters singing "It Is Well" in the rotunda of the 

American Music Theater in Lancaster, PA

and I immediately found a recording of it on an CD they made entitled A Cappella. Again, as I have never been a fan of contemporary praise music,  I don't like most of the other cuts. But It Is Well is a standard hymn, probably more known to Methodists than to Episcopalians or Presbyterians. I downloaded the MP3 and uploaded it to my phone and set my alarm to it, so now I hear it every morning when I wake up. And it makes me feel wonderful.

I also discovered a song called Oceans, which I think is beautiful.  I found it on youtube - and guess what? It is contemporary praise music.

And I love it.

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) - Lyric Video HD

So - I'm not turning into a holy roller. And yes, I still have strong pagan leanings. But my upbringing was Christian, and that is the default of my spiritual database. 

I also believe that the right-wing hate groups have ruined the term "Christian" in a reprehensible manner. Unfortunately, to me, the word "Christian" is almost too damaged to use now.

As for my beliefs right now:

• I don't know, and I don't care, whether Jesus was divine.
• With regard to Christianity: I believe in a church of LOVE, not a church of LAW. Gay, Episcopalian Bruce Bawer writes about this in his book Stealing Jesus, and I agree with him, wholeheartedly.
• I don't have any strong feelings about the Trinity, although I know it is part of UCC doctrine. I can take it or leave it.
• I believe in a higher power - and for lack of a better word, I use the word God.
• I do not assign a gender to God.
• I know that no matter what church you join, there will be things with which you'll disagree. That is the nature of life. To quote from AA: the point is that I am trying to live my life along spiritual lines. 

So there you have it. I'll post again after I've visited the church. The non-traditional aspect of their music notwithstanding, I don't expect a lot of swinging and swaying. I think I'm going to find people who are intelligent, open-minded and thoughtful. And that is the kind of community I want. I hope it will resonate with me.