The Church Search

I wish I was Catholic sometimes.  Not enough to put in the effort of converting, but almost every Catholic church is the same, so when you move and try out a new Catholic church, you know what you're getting into.  You already know when to sit, stand, and kneel, that the songs are going to be lame and won't rhyme and that there will be chanting of sorts.  Not so with Protestant churches, which is what Jon and I are looking for.  You never know if you're going to be the only white people in a church (NOT a racist comment, just saying it's hard to blend into a congregation if you're the only white person), if you won't know how to speak in tongues like everyone else, if you'll be disappointed because this church as 3 hour services or a praise band (hate them).

Jon and I are on the Great Church Search.  We started out last week going to a church in Swampscott that was pretty good.  Non-demonational, very pretty, with very nice people eager to look at Avery and ask about him.  Sparse population, but maybe because it was the holiday weekend.  There was some singing, some reading, and a sermon by a female British pastor.  I thought it was a 7 out of 10.  Jon thought it was a 5.  Although, Jon admits that he thinks a "seven is about as good as a church can be without them giving me money."  Yep, he's going to hell.

Week number two, and I think we found what works for us.  I thought it would take longer, but we went to a Unitarian Universalist Church in Salem and really liked it.  My friend's response was "was there any mention of religion at all during the service?" Ha ha.  This church, first, is in this amazing historic building, so I really love the whole vibe I get just from entering the church.  It's also right next to the "Witch House" in Salem.  Second, it's very much a "we don't care what you believe in" church that still teaches to love God and love each other.  It's nice because I've always been a big proponent in the idea that really every religion is the same, most just choose to call God different names and that we shouldn't judge others so much on their religion.  I also like this church because they read not only from the Scripture, but also from poems and literature that deals with the topic of the day and can show religious context in other writings than the Bible.  The church also has programs like a weekly luncheon meeting where people get together and discuss Islam and what it is and what it means.  Or a weekly series on "ias" and "isms" where they discuss how to stop bias and discrimination.  Everyone is welcome at the church, and we feel very welcome.

We've gone twice there, and we like it, especially since the 10:30 service fits in well to our schedules :-)  I'll update more if we change our mind, but I think, in our remaining time in Boston, we'll be attending this church.