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Pretty sure they're not looking for a chef to prepare meals for the homeless


July 22
Congregational (UCC)
Nope. Nopity nope nope. Not this one.
In my research into denominations that I thought worth checking into, this one showed up frequently. It’s the denomination of my favorite recent ex-president, and I like their stance on many social issues.
But no.
It’s a gorgeous church building, with a pale blue and white sanctuary, a rose window, and a pipe organ. The musicians for the morning included a classical bassist, who played at several points throughout the service, sometimes in concert with the piano or the pipe organ. There was no “old church” smell here as in our first church—but there was a smell. It smelled of privilege, not my favorite fragrance.
It’s funny. These good people were for the most part middle-aged, white, and well-to-do. While that’s a description that could easily apply to me, these are not my people. They make me itch. Their activities for the next few weeks include a jazz festival. Congregants are being urged to give extra in order to renovate their (already gorgeous) building. They’re looking for a chef. A flippin’ chef.
My awkward feeling was heightened when, just before the bassist started in on Bach’s Gigue from Suite No. 3, our local representative to Congress came in and sat just in front of me. This is the same man to whose office I marched just a few weeks ago, chanting and carrying a sign with a picture of a shackled Statue of Liberty, and wearing a shirt that proclaimed “Families Belong Together." 
          Trudging forward.

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  1. SilverbirchJuly 28, 2018 at 7:49 PM

    Just wondering... was this church in St. Joe?
    We visited a Moravian Church. I don't know if you remember the story of John Wesley coming to America to convert the Indians in 1736. During a storm on the voyage, Wesley was impressed with a group of Moravians who were praying and singing hymns while the Methodists were screaming in fear. He often worshiped with the Moravians in Georgia. When he returned to London, feeling his mission in America had failed, he attended a Moravian Bible study where he felt his heart "strangely warmed". After that night, Wesley realized that faith was not mere intellectual assent but needed to be heart-felt. So I expected the Moravian church to be warm and faith-filled. It was not. There was NO energy in the room. People were unresponsive to the sermon and unmoved by the service which was well-planned. I have visited churches where I was not greeted but I have never been to a service that was so cold and still. If we go back, it will only be because the pastor is a friend of mine. So sad.

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