Looking for new church home?

[FireDragon76]

I am thinking of leaving my Lutheran congregation. I met with the pastor in a final bid to protest the policies at my congregation that were aimed at deterring the homeless, and the pastor basically said that it's my job to get involved in the church more and persuade people to see my point of view. However, I doubt people will change based on any kind of argument I would present, as they seem quite stubborn and sure what they are doing is right, not matter how much I gently try to get them to see another perspective. They seem to be stuck in their ways and conventional thinking, that the homeless are a problem to manage and deter. An attitude I consider wrong, and against which my conscience is bound.

The only problem is... I don't know any churches to go to that would present anything like the religion I am accustomed to. The local Episcopalians are all conservative Evangelicals, and the only parish that isn't dominated by this kind of religion is further away and would cost alot to get to every week. They are the only parish in the diocese authorized to perform same-sex blessings, and their vicar is from California originally, and is broad church in her orientation. The other churches in the area prohibit same-sex blessings, have participated in the past in supporting "reparative therapy" and other anti-LGBT activities, and many of the clergy in this diocese are and were involved in GAFCON and other anti-TEC activities in the past and present.

I talked to the local Congregationalist pastor, who is part of the UCC, and her church only provides monthly communion and she said this is the norm in her denomination. She suggested the local Disciple of Christ as another option for liberal mainline denominations that have weekly communion, but I pointed out to her that they wouldn't accept my baptism and that re-baptism wasn't an option for me. I really like the local Congregationalists, but the once per month communion service is disheartening, and I don't think it's justified except "it's traditional", despite all the other liturgical reforms the UCC has gone through as a denomination. I am not into overly cerebral or emotional worship, and I value some kind of physical or embodied experience in my church service, being a former Orthodox Christian. I just want to participate in the "ancient disciplines", as Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it: prayer and the sacraments.

There are some Methodist churches nearby, but I doubt they have weekly communion. I also don't know their attitude towards LGBT persons. I prefer to associate with churches that are at least more LGBT welcoming, if not outright affirming.

 

[hedrick]

I have am thinking of leaving my Lutheran congregation. I met with the pastor in a final bid to protest the policies at my congregation that were aimed at deterring the homeless, and the pastor basically said that it's my job to get involved in the church more and persuade people to see my point of view. However, I doubt people will change based on any kind of argument I would present, as they seem quite stubborn and sure what they are doing is right, not matter how much I gently try to get them to see another perspective. They seem to be stuck in their ways and conventional thinking, that the homeless are a problem to manage and deter. An attitude I consider wrong, and against which my conscience is bound.

The only problem is... I don't know any churches to go to that would present anything like the religion I am accustomed to. The local Episcopalians are all conservative Evangelicals, and the only parish that isn't dominated by this kind of religion is further away and would cost alot to get to every week. They are the only parish in the diocese authorized to perform same-sex blessings, and their vicar is from California originally, and is broad church in her orientation. The other churches in the area prohibit same-sex blessings, have participated in the past in supporting "reparative therapy" and other anti-LGBT activities, and many of the clergy in this diocese are and were involved in GAFCON and other anti-TEC activities in the past and present.

I talked to the local Congregationalist pastor, who is part of the UCC, and her church only provides monthly communion and she said this is the norm in her denomination. She suggested the local Disciple of Christ as another option for liberal mainline denominations that have weekly communion, but I pointed out to her that they wouldn't accept my baptism and that re-baptism wasn't an option for me. I really like the local Congregationalists, but the once per month communion service is disheartening, and I don't think it's justified except "it's traditional", despite all the other liturgical reforms the UCC has gone through as a denomination. I am not into overly cerebral or emotional worship, and I value some kind of physical or embodied experience in my church service, being a former Orthodox Christian. I just want to participate in the "ancient disciplines", as Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it: prayer and the sacraments.

There are some Methodist churches nearby, but I doubt they have weekly communion. I also don't know their attitude towards LGBT persons. I prefer to associate with churches that are at least more LGBT welcoming, if not outright affirming.

Both this page from a specific Disciples church Baptism – Providence Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Wikipedia article Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) - Wikipedia say that they only baptize adults but accept all forms of baptism. Since they are in full communion with the UCC, they would have to accept all UCC baptisms.

 

[PloverWing]

I wish I could say "the Episcopal church welcomes you". I'm sorry your local parishes have taken the GAFCON path.

You probably already know about these resources for finding affirming churches, but just in case, here are some church-finding web sites:

Find an Affirming Church - GayChurch.org

www.gaychurch.org

Find a church - Believe Out Loud

More and more churches and religious institutions are opening their doors and...

www.believeoutloud.com

 

[FireDragon76]

I wish I could say "the Episcopal church welcomes you". I'm sorry your local parishes have taken the GAFCON path.

Yeah, I've not got alot of enthusiasm for that type of religion in general, or what they tried to do to the Episcopal Church.

There's alot I prefer about the UCC: their statement of faith is broad enough to include alot of different Christian theologies and biblical interpretations. The creeds aren't used normally as part of the service. Which I prefer, as I believe faith can't be reduced to a proposition, and I'm all too aware of their use in history. The UCC also offer Holy Communion to anybody that comes forward, they just don't traditionally offer it every week.

Now I am mostly interested in an experiential or mystical approach to Christianity, and less on the doctrinaire type religion. I have been watching lots of Richard Rohr and Cynthia Bourgeault on Youtube.

You probably already know about these resources for finding affirming churches, but just in case, here are some church-finding web sites:

Find an Affirming Church - GayChurch.org

www.gaychurch.org

Find a church - Believe Out Loud

More and more churches and religious institutions are opening their doors and...

www.believeoutloud.com

I will look into that, too. That website does list the local UCC church, but I believe there is a Methodist church downtown that could also be on that list, but it hasn't been listed (so I may research that and add that to the list). The church doesn't have to be officially LGBT affirming necessarily, but I prefer it. At the very least, it should be a place that allows affirming viewpoints without recrimination or contempt. I have found too often in the Episcopal Church down here, there is alot of heat associated with the issue. St. Richard's is the only Episcopal church down here allowed to have a welcoming and affirming attitude, because so many of their parishoners demand it (It's in a liberal part of town, Winter Park, full of wealthy people from the northeast, and college proffessors - Mr. Rogers actually went to college there). However, it's a long bus ride away from us.