A Little Churching Up

I went to church today.

I haven't been to church since I moved here. Before that, I think it must have been my visit to Nez Perce with Granny and Gramps. I don't know how much is some sort of ingrained Lutheran Pastor's Kid sense for needing to feel like I'm a good boy. I don't know how much is just my need for a sense of community. Perhaps it's even more basic than either of these. Maybe it's just the need to something other than school. Truth is, I think I have always felt a sense of longing for church when I'm in period of transition.

I got it when I lived in Seattle. I got it more in Bozeman. I have it even more in just the short time I've been here in Knoxville. The past few Sundays, I've simply opted for late sleeping, strong coffee, and the New York Times. While this CAN be a spiritual experience (especially on the mornings Maureen Dowd is really on fire), it's different from sitting in a big old beautiful church, singing songs, and giving thanks to God with fellow human beings. I woke up this morning, and just felt the need to go. So, I went.

In classic fashion, I forgot exactly where the church was and got mildly lost (which is hilarious when you consider how large St. John's Lutheran Church is). I showed up right as the service was starting, and was somewhat surprised to find the pews more or less packed. I had to ask a sweet old lady with her cane hanging off the pew if she would be willing to let me sit next to her. She sweetly smiled and let me in. She even gave me a hug at the sharing of the peace.

I debated whether to go to the Unitarian Universalist (the hippest, most liberal, and furthest option), the Episcopal (the closest), or the ELCA Lutheran (the most familiar and most beautiful building). After getting up at the last possible second and thinking that really I'd like to feel some sense of familiarity with the service, songs, and people- I went to St. John's.

So after finding my place next to the sweet old lady, I jumped in with the prayers, hymns (mostly familiar- but classically written in keys that only real singers can read), and just enjoyed being in a holy place. Today was a cloudless, bright, beautiful Fall day, and this meant that the huge stained glass windows in the church were in full splendor. The imagery with Jesus and the lambs and that still creeps me out a little. But I think stained glass is beautiful. The pastor was a woman whose accent seemed to place her locally (I'm still learning how to distinguish between Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, etc.). She preached on what it means to be good stewards. Its quality was about on par with what I think of as the general quality of Lutheran potluck cuisine- mostly filling, fairly satisfying, just nothing spectacular. And for today, that was all I really needed.

I enjoyed the simplicity of prayer. I connected with my need for a sense of community. In the words of Garrison Keilor- "once you're Lutheran, you're never not Lutheran." Something like that anyway. Anyhow- I thought about staying afterward for coffee and fellowship and then as my memories of potlucks and the questionable quality of both food and conversation, I rode home.

I still don't know exactly where I stand with all this church stuff, other'n I do feel the need to spend time in church now and again. I think I'll try out a few more churches here. Who knows, maybe there are some real good potlucks out here!?