Can I do this?

[supernova]

I think I'm approaching a place in my life where I like different churches for different reasons.

I like my home church (PCUSA) because it is familiar and I like the people I grew up with.

I like other churches and am curious about the ones around here because:

* They are into more social justice work than my home church. In my church, you have to pretty much network and get to know someone until you find something. It's not obvious. I want to walk into a place that has stuff for you to do on the bulletin board.

* They are more open to people from all walks of life, gays included. As I get older I have more of a need to see and experience "life's rich pageant." I don't know. I've just always instinctively known that God loves all of us. And it puzzles me why we break down into groups that are just like ourselves. Anyway, the older I get, the more this irks and angers me.

* I'm bored with the liturgy at my home church for all of the reasons above and then some. It's not God. It's not that it's a religious service I have problems with. I feel like I'm not learning anything new. That I'm just reploughing the same old tired ground. I have a genuine need to explore and feel like I'm always learning something. I love learning new things that create a different perspective and shake me out of my too familiar thinking.

There are two things going on here:

1. It's more the sameness week after week. I know what the sermon will be; I know what the music will be (stuff I've sung a thousand times). I know that certain people will get up and make announcements. It's all a little too familiar and pat.
   
   
2. I want a service, whatever that means, that is more participatory. Sometimes I've been on retreat with other women and Sunday morning, the last morning, we always create our own service. I LOVE THAT! I wish I could do that on a weekly basis. But belonging to a church with lots of members, it's not possible. On this score I can well imagine why some people would want to be pagans or choose other paths to find something where you create the experience yourself. The closest I come to that is when we have communion.
   

Is there such a thing as a UU/UCC/Presby person? :shrug: I guess that's ok.

[More Than A Feeling]

1. Attending different services and identifying as just one denom is cool IMO

I am a Baptist who attends a vanilla Baptist church when I am at home, the glitzy, liturgical Episcopalian church down the road on sundays when I am at college, and a Bible study that is more leans Pentecostal and ecstatic on Tuesday nights at college.

You don't have to leave your home church to experience the other things you crave. Variety is the spice of life, man.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. A friend at my former church was discontented and went on what he

called "walkabout," exploring different churches in town. He eventually came back to our church, but it was a positive commitment, not just a habit.

I suggest going on "walkabout" yourself. Try the different denominations in town and see which one fits you best. I've found that in moving to a new town and trying out new churches, eventually one just has the right vibes.

You may find the right vibes at some other church in town, or you may decide that there's no place like home and come back, but with a new perspective.

Good luck on the journey!

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Don't forget you can be the catalyst. Start talking with others and see

if there is an interest in some of the changes you are looking for, esp the social justice projects. :hug: