Overview part one of two

I’m feeling the need to evaluate the project again as a whole. Interestingly, my limit before I want to do this seems to be 30 churches. I decided to re-read all my posts to find out what I’d forgotten about the visits, if anything. After visit #30 I came across the post about how I needed a break to contemplate the project. So that’s helpful, since I can now expect to make it to 90 then take another look back.

After reading through the blog I made notes as sort of a quick reference to each church or religious thought post. Here are the notes, in case you are interested:

Opening post: My rules have changed a lot.

1) Delmar Full Gosp, only negative I rember is pastor’s advice

I couldn’t find St Mikes service time

2) King’s Chapel, story of moon worshipped

3) Jehovah’s Witnesses, kinda scared

4) Glenmont Community, Abby, and friendly people who offer hugs

I reviewed Dogma.
I was so optimistic. What happened?

5) BCC- I was bored

6) Solid Rock actually were several positives here I have forgotten

7) Mount Moriah, wasn’t really that bad. Pastor Jesse seems fine. But the book- so wacky

8) I stayed so long at St Stephens
Also did I cause a dust up over atheists and article 13?

9) St. Thomas, extremely disappointing

10) I forgot how happy Delmar Reform made me. People there were so relaxed and chill.

11) Bethlehem Lutheran gave a null vibe

12) Parkview!

I got a little discouraged about prayer

13) St Mikes Chapel mentioned a fish carrying a sack symbol
* I drove by The Chapel recently only to discover they finally put up a sign listing mass time. Did I have anything to do with that?

Christianese was the beginning of my discovery into the origins of heaven/hell/purgatory
Christianese was also my first exposure to obviously wrong and bad theology: conceptually and scientifically impossible things

I make the most killer argument against condemning homosexuality!

14) First Methodist- Iona Dickinson- and I did get to hold a baby. High church but very friendly

Was already tired but still fairly optimistic about project outcomes

15) Delmar Presby was a nice first visit

16) Slingerlands UMC, wow, great sunny Methodist service about David’s Ducky. So much to write!

17) Christian Science pretty much just confuses me

18) New low- older membership at St Matts Lutheran church, pastor says when you feel you can give no more, STOP BEING SINFUL AND GIVE MORE

All interim pastors are named Bob

Remember the naked man in the gospels

19) 1st Reformed of Bethlehem in Selkirk, upstairs from food pantry- didn’t do much for me otherwise

I compare the myth of the perfect church to ‘one true love’ and monogamy

20) St Sophia’s was sensory glorious

21) Jerusalem Reformed had an outdoor service and I learned about Michal and David’s underwear

22) Great vibe over at First Congregational. Pastor seems very introspective.

Still fed up about prayer

Retreat with seekers is more of a self reflective baby-holdathon than informative

I was recognized quite a bit in those days, mostly in reform churches

Remember the woman in Ireland named Savita? I wrote about it

Joan of Ark…I crack me up

Santa and Christians rant

I wrote the most awesome stuff about being nice to atheists and everybody

Two posts on good and evil- can good exist in the absence of evil for comparison? If we made a paradise would forgetting evil make us revisit it?

Another pretty awesome piece about Scrooge only realizing his error when it was pointed out that has underpayment of Bob Cratchit sentenced a young innocent to death (Tiny Tim). Repentance of ignorance.

23) I expected great things from Journey UCC and was underwhelmed

24) Holy Spirit ELCA! I felt really welcomed

Freakin amazing Star Trek parallel. I’m on fire baby!

25) Immac Cathedral- how do these people fellowship?

26) Vincent de Paul is for families

27) Westminster Presby nice, church with hotel looking fellowship area. I stayed for after worship discussion of a book pastor is reading

I rambled on empathy

28) St Peters Episcopal- Carly and the five points of view to the prodigal son story

Lent- fasting in the desert, mourning Jesus

29) Cheesefare Sunday at the St George Orthodox Church

Superstar takeaway- we all have it in us to commit violence. We all kill Jesus.

30) Third Reformed- in which I wonder if Jesus ran out of ectoplasm before he could appear to everyone in the entire world. (We heard the story of Thomas)

So that’s notes on half #1 of the project. I was learning a lot along the lines of theologies. In retrospect, I was understanding Christianity as far more similar to itself than I now understand. I forgot several interesting or amusing things from the visits. It’s nice to revisit the different things I wrote and see the positives again.

Church #61, Mater Christi

Date: 7/20/14

Church name/type: Mater Christi, Roman Catholic Church- formed from the merger of St Teresa of Avila and St Catherine of Siena in 2009

Pastor: Father Kenneth Doyle

Style of worship: Short formally structured mass

Useful takeaways:
So this church is pretty full, and has a decent mix of ages and ethnicities. I think I see some Philipinos and (I think) some folks from Pakistan or India.

The sermon was on the parable of the wheat and the weeds (or tares). The priest took the usual interpretation of this story and related that it spoke of final judgement. The story describes the farmer collecting the wheat and tares then separating them after the harvest into a pile to save and a pile to be burnt. So those not accepted into heaven are relegated to fire in this metaphor. Father Doyle made a point of cautioning us not to see this story as a source of fear. He reasoned that God created us as a sort of project, hoping we would turn out successfully. If the project was a massive failure God could scrap it at any time. We therefore think most people do make it to heaven. We are always working to be good and when we do sin, we repent of that sin and keep trying.

Interestingly, this brings up something I mentioned in a past post. Repentance in certain Protestant churches is seen as a big one-time occurrence. It is supposed to be the massive life changing event of accepting Jesus. The Catholic idea of repentance seems to be simply the admission of wrongdoing- the equivalent of a confession. I find the Catholic version of repentance more realistic. I myself feel like I am continually working to not commit wrongs. Goodness doesn’t just flow from me via knowing Christ. I still yell, I still misjudge others, I still react in anger. I know I have to face that and continue trying to do better. That, to me, is repentance.

Problems/Improvements:
I was literally four minutes late and the mass was basically in full swing when I arrived. Seems like they could hold off five minutes because it’s summer and people run late.

Again no coffee hour to hang around and get to know anybody. Am I weird for wanting one?