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baronsabato
Posts:78
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| 06/26/2006 11:39 PM |
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| When this community first formed, there were a lot of people writing about trying out the local UCC for the first time. I know that many of them have already discussed some of their experiences, but it's been a while since I've read about how these churches have worked out for all these new friends and members. So now that you've have a few months or weeks to get used to a new church, a new UCC- how has it been? Any expectations that weren't fulfilled? Anything that you found surprising or comforting? |
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"the whole irreducible point of the faith,
God thrown in human waste, submerged and shining.
We have grown used to beauty without horror.
We have grown used to useless beauty." |
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joemg7777
Posts:2
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| 06/29/2006 12:03 PM |
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So now that you've have a few months or weeks to get used to a new church, a new UCC- how has it been? Any expectations that weren't fulfilled? Anything that you found surprising or comforting?
I'm still checking out different congregations. There are about five or so and I wanted to see what each was like given that I had read there can be big differences across congregations. However, there is one that I have visited the most. It is a lot like I had expected: very relaxed and welcoming. I noticed that those churches that were most involved with the ad compaign (with the banners and flyers) were most aware when I visited. 
I did attend one membership/new comer's group. I was surprised how easy it was to join. They said I could join pretty much anytime I wanted even though I had only attended a few times. That seemed odd to me. |
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bmrathbun
Posts:54
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| 06/30/2006 2:03 PM |
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Any old time is exactly the right time to join. I encourage you to pay attention not only to your brain, but also to your heart. Allow yourself to "feel" the right time to join--not worrying about the rules and regulations you'll find with so many joining-organizations, but rather walking in an open door to a welcoming, safe, challenging, exciting, loving place. We won't chain you to the pew; we'll more likely offer you cookies and ask you what committee you feel called to help in the community's mission to share the Good News with all the world. If you haven't ever belonged to a church before, you might find the expectations unusual. I recommend you put aside preconceived notions about how somebody else does it, and allow the experience to carry you along. You'll give and receive more blessings this way than if you try to plan what's going to happen. If somebody invites you to join the choir, say yes; you can always decline later. If someone asks you to make phone calls reminding people of a mission event, or invites you to help serve coffee before worship, say yes. You can always say "no, thanks" the second time. Starting out in a new church is like starting out in a new town. Say "yes" to all invitations, see what you're comfortable with, and choose the ones you're most interested in and have time for. You'll be glad you tried them all!
Pastor Barbara, i-guide for Opening the Bible |
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David Holt
Posts:6
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| 07/14/2006 1:01 PM |
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I just joined my local UCC here in Santa Cruz, California. I feel so blessed to have found this congregation!! I've never received such an open and warm welcome as I have here. The new associate pastors are a married lesbian couple and the congregation is deeply committed to the civil rights movement and social justice. I grew up devoutly Jehovah's Witness up in rural Southern Oregon and was excommunicated when I was 19 years old after the JW congregation discovered I was gay. My friends quickly shunned me following that and my family stopped speaking to me for nearly 8 years. Because of this I have a lot of anger and resentment towards religion and never felt that I could trust a church again. I guess I've gotten to the point in my life now where I am able to make the next step and join a church officially. I'm still not sure what type of "Christian" I am at this point but I'm very excited that I've found a church to help me in this spiritual journey.
The process for joining the UCC was VERY easy and simple. I attended a brief meeting with the senior pastor and he arranged for my partner and I to join the congregation the following Sunday. We got up during the service, recited a pledge of sorts, and lit a white candle representing our entry into the church. I am now arranging to get baptised on the beach this October!! |
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Conquer the angry man by love.
Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness.
Conquer the miser with generosity.
Conquer the liar with truth. |
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iucc
Posts:265
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| 07/14/2006 2:11 PM |
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Dave, thanks for letting us know about your new church home! It's very encouraging!
I hope you'll continue to visit us in our virtual community and share your experiences with us. We'd hate to lose you! :) |
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Andy Lang
Minister for Web Community and Communication
Local Church Ministries
United Church of Christ |
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bmrathbun
Posts:54
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| 07/21/2006 3:37 PM |
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Welcome to the UCC, David! May you find a home among us, where you can learn and share your gifts and graces, and where God speaks to you in ways too deep for words. We're glad you're here.
Pastor Barbara, i guide for Opening the Bible |
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richrthr
Posts:102
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| 07/13/2007 6:35 AM |
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One of the major deciding factors why our (predominantly gay) church joined the UCC was the same-gender marriage equality decision that the UCC made 2 years ago. It spoke to the christian values that many in our congregation were craving. Since we have joined the UCC (and dis-associated with MCC), we have not been disappointed. The UCC constantly strives to live the values they teach - despite disagreement in their own ranks.
That assessment is was reaffirmed this year at General Synod. I just recieved CALLED OUT, a newsletter from the UCC that discusses GLBT concerns. Of course, I knew there were churches that disagreed with the decision two years ago, and I also knew that efforts were being made by some of those churches to reverse the decision made two years ago. But UCC stuck to their principle, as evidenced by this excerpt from CALLED OUT:
"Two years after becoming the first major denomination to support same-gender marriage equality, the UCC General Synod took no action on Tuesday, June 26, on a pair of resolutions meant to revisit, and in one case overturn, the original action. In hearings prior to the decision, Ginger Brasher Cunningham of the Massachusetts Conference said a majority of her committee assigned to review the measures "could not affirm" the actions. The churches that initially proposed the two actions in the Indiana-Kentucky Conference, have now either left the denomination or are divided about their intentions of remaining with the UCC. The Conference refused to take action on the measures at their annual meeting and no member of the Conference delegation wished to be associated with the resolutions. In taking "no action," Synod delegates declined to discuss the resolutions. To find out more about what happened at General Synod 26, go to www.ucc.org. "
I am sorry that churches are leaving over this decision, but of course it was inevitable - in any true democracy, there are disagreements - the test is whether those disagreements get a fair hearing. I believe that UCC handled it with responsibility and fairness - and still made the right decision.
I know that thousands and thousands of gays and lesbians everywhere are finding that they can be christian after all, through the UCC - but of course there is a lot of healing to do first. The UCC, by making the right choices, stands to gain a strong partnership with many wonderful people in a community that has been hurting (via discrimination and rejection) for far too long.
Of course, my church was always gay-friendly - but the denomination we belonged to was not very straight-friendly - and over the years more and more of us became increasingly uncomfortable with such hypocrisy. In our case, when we became Open and Affirming through the UCC, it meant quite the opposite of what it meant to the traditional UCC-er.
After all, heterosexuals are people too. |
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Richard Kiraly
Garden of Grace UCC
http://www.gogucc.com |
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Kara McKay
Posts:15
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| 07/15/2007 11:13 PM |
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I introduced myself yesterday, and someone asked me to report on how my first visit to church went today.
As I suspected, the congregation here in my little, rural patch of Ohio is very small. Small can be very good, though; people don't miss anything or anyone in a church wherein everyone knows everyone by face and name. At first, I felt a little overwhelmed by the warm welcome -- as I said in my intro, I haven't been to any church in five years, and I haven't attended regularly in closer to eight. As a matter of fact, I'm one of those mole-like internet creatures who almost never sees the light of day, and so being in a large room with a couple dozen people who wanted to say hello and ask me to come back was a bit disorienting. It was also nice, though, and I definitely think I could get used to it.
I took my little boy with me, and that made things interesting. He's almost five, and visits to Sunday School on the rare occasions that he spends the night with his grandma are the limit of his church experience. I carefully briefed him on how we behave in church, and he nodded somber understanding before we went inside. For fifteen minutes, he sat beside me like a proper little gentleman, and then he turned to me and said -- not in his quiet voice -- "Mommy, when is that lady going to stop talking?" I thought I was going to sink through the floor.
Fortunately, people seemed to find it amusing rather than offensive, and the pastor wasn't put out in the slightest by Doodle's commentary.
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richrthr
Posts:102
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| 07/16/2007 9:29 AM |
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| I am glad to hear it all went well! I hope you find it a gratifying spiritual home! Best Wishes! |
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Richard Kiraly
Garden of Grace UCC
http://www.gogucc.com |
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ProudDog
Posts:511
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| 07/16/2007 3:29 PM |
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Posted By Kara McKay on 07/15/2007 11:13 PM
"Mommy, when is that lady going to stop talking?"
I'm going to be laughing all week with that comment -- and I think it would make a great title for a book about pastors who think everything they have to say is the most important thing ever . . .
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-Kirk Moore |
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Kara McKay
Posts:15
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| 07/17/2007 10:20 PM |
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Yeah, little people sometimes have a knack for cutting right to the heart of the matter, though in this case, I think it's just that an hour is a very long time for a little guy to sit still and quiet. Tomorrow we're going down to the church office to talk to "that lady," and I think he'll be able to deal better with an environment in which he can ask some questions instead of having to just sit and listen.
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Kara McKay
Posts:15
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| 07/17/2007 10:23 PM |
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Thanks, Richard!
By the way, I'm an LJ person rather than a forum person, and I'm not sure what the etiquette to replying in this format is. Do most people receive notification of replies to their posts by e-mail, thereby making it appropriate to reply to each and every post that replies to something I've posted, or is that spamming that could be avoided with a simple post within the thread that replies to everyone at once?
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Don NIederfrank
Posts:42
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| 07/17/2007 11:21 PM |
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Kara,
It's probably simpler to respond here than to emails. I get them just to let me know that there's something going on.
BTW, though I've just skimmed, I like/honor your Rediscovery writings. |
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Dios habla todavia |
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subear
Posts:774
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| 07/18/2007 12:48 PM |
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Besides, it more like community when we get to read what everybody else writes.
That way we get to know each other. |
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"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
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Kara McKay
Posts:15
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| 07/18/2007 10:05 PM |
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Thanks, Don, for your explanation of the reply function and for the compliment on my website. As to the first... well, I've been using the same blog and blog comm format for close to five years now, and so it'll take me a bit to get used to doing something new. New is good, though! As to the second, I'm never sure from one day to the next whether I ought to be proud of or embarrassed by my website, so it's always nice to hear that someone likes it.
And, yeah, I agree with you, Subear, that it's nice to have a sense of community. |
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richrthr
Posts:102
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| 07/19/2007 6:59 AM |
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| I'm always glad for the "conversations" that occur out of posting replies to the topic, instead of posting replies to the individual (or at least by making individual replies visible to the board). Sometimes the best content comes out of that "conversation!" |
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Richard Kiraly
Garden of Grace UCC
http://www.gogucc.com |
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Kara McKay
Posts:15
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| 07/19/2007 6:39 PM |
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Yeah, I see what you're saying, Richard. Sometimes I feel a little dumb, though, when I want to reply to the OP, but I see that the general discussion has already moved on along. I think the problem probably is just that I worry a little too much about minor things.
By the way, I saw elsewhere on the boards that you're a former Catholic, too. How long does it take before one doesn't have to consciously remind oneself NOT to genuflect before sitting down? My best friend, who is Methodist, got a real laugh at my description of all the things I had to remember not to do at church last Sunday. It's funny how, even when you think you've been away so long that you hardly remember anything, some things still stick with you. |
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richrthr
Posts:102
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| 07/20/2007 5:34 AM |
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| oh sure, I still look for the Holy Water coming in the door. I also am sometimes guilt-ridden for wearing shorts or sandals - and so much more. It's been an adjustment. Fortunately, the people make me feel more at home! |
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Richard Kiraly
Garden of Grace UCC
http://www.gogucc.com |
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Don NIederfrank
Posts:42
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| 07/20/2007 9:12 AM |
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Kara,
FWIW, if you feel genuflecting is authentic to who you are, do it. There's no rule against genuflecting in any UCC church I know of, certainly not ours, and many of your fellow parishioners are former RC's. Maybe it's something UCC'ers could learn!
I worship with Episcopalians occasionally who cross themselves at different times during the eucharist not out of empty ritual but out of honor/respect and gratitude to Jesus Christ. Sounds like a worthy thing to do.
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Dios habla todavia |
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subear
Posts:774
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| 07/20/2007 10:35 AM |
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Kara wrote: "By the way, I'm an LJ person . . ."
What's an "LJ" person?
-susannah |
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"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
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Pastorbogy
Posts:121
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| 07/20/2007 12:00 PM |
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| Kara, going back to your statement that an hour is a long time for a child to sit still, it is a physical impossibility. A child's muscles cannot remain still for that long without pain. Of course, mine can't either. At least my joints can't. That's why I'm the preacher, and why I don't use a pulpit. My arthritic knees do much better when I keep moving around that if I have to sit or stand in one place. There might be other reasons why I am a preacher, but thats one of them. |
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tacenogeno
Posts:111
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| 07/20/2007 8:41 PM |
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| Peace be with you. |
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I'M ONLY VISITING THIS PLANET! |
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Kara McKay
Posts:15
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| 07/20/2007 10:22 PM |
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I still can't wrap my mind around the idea of going to church in shorts and sandals, but that has more to do with my ma than with my old church. St. Michael's was very laid-back, and there were lots of people who attended in shorts and T-shirts. My ma thought that indicated that young people lacked respect, and so I wasn't allowed to wear shorts. That's stuck with me, and while I don't think much about what other people are wearing, I always feel like I should be wearing either jeans or a skirt.
The local congregation is quite bit more formal than what I've experienced in the past -- I felt downright under dressed in jeans and a blouse last week. I took Doodle shopping for dress clothes, so this week we'll be a little more prepared.
For me, the big Catholic carry-over is the sign of the cross, which I still do while praying at home. I'm used to it, and for me, making the sign of the cross puts me in the right mental space; it's like a way of saying, "Okay, we're turning everything off for a little while because now it's prayer time." It creates a sort of permeable spiritual border for me, I guess you could say, and I really like that structured perspective shift.
Along those same lines, I kind of miss having a general congregation response at the end of services, though admittedly, I've always thought the conclusion to Mass is accidentally comical. The priest says "Mass has ended," and the congregation says, "Thanks be to God!"
Thanks for the info, Pastorbogy. I'd always thought that children can't sit still because of their short attention spans and comprehension levels, and that it's just a matter of mentally growing into those things. I had no idea that they literally, physically couldn't sit still!
Susannah, LJ is a blogging community wherein users keep personal journals or join communities that operate kind of like forums. Users friend other users, and then they can keep up with each other by reading each other's journals on their friends pages. It's a nice alternative for those of us who like to blither on for page after page, because it's fairly easy to pick and choose what one wants to read. So, rambling endlessly without the guilt!
Kara |
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richrthr
Posts:102
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| 07/21/2007 8:19 AM |
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Certainly, I did not mean to imply that anyone in the UCC would make me feel uncomfortable if I chose to revert to my old Catholic ways (i.e. genuflection, sign of the cross, etc). My congregation comes from many diverse religious backgrounds, and none of them would judge me for being ex-Catholic!
There are things that occur in the various UCC services that I find novelty in, still, because of my Catholic upbringing.
For example: in the Catholic Church I grew up in, you spoke in hushed tones in God's house, if you spoke at all. In the UCC, people are filled with laughter and excitment and camaraderie - a welcome change, but a novelty compared to the Catholic Church!
Another example: in the Catholic Church, much training was involved before you could get up in front of the church and read a first or second reading (deacons), and extensive training and practice led up to assisting the priest with mass (altar acolytes), and the priest sometimes had assistance from people called Eucharistic Ministers, people who also had undergone significant training in preparation for those duties. The separation of men and women was very evident, too - never was there a female priest - there was a Nun or two, of course, but females were seemingly barred from the priesthood or "bishophood" or "popehood" - a blatant unfairness that always perturbed me (and seemed to have no biblical basis or modern accomodation) - although it never seemed to bother the nuns themselves - they did valuable things in the worship service and on the church grounds, church functions, etc. But, in most of these cases, the people "officiating" in the mass held those positions for a looooong time, and so the faces seldom changed.
In the UCC, one of the things I have come to love is that many people are involved in the service, from assisting with the communion to reading (and writing) portions of the service, to prayer and to the various tasks of the worship service. In my mind, this participation by the congregation makes the UCC truly a people's church, and makes for a far more interesting worship service - just because of the sheer diversity evident.
One final difference, and probably my favorite: In the UCC, the shouts of "amen" and other affirmations of joy, appreciation or enlightment from the people of that body of faith - the evidence that the spirit was moving within them - that never happened in the Catholic Church - people never got excited (visibly) by what that priest was saying (for that matter, I never saw a Catholic Priest get excited).
There is much merit in the way Catholics do things - their services strive to achieve a meditative, prayerful, respectful state of mind and spirit - a deferential attitude towards God - and sometimes that's where my soul wants to be. Their predictability and ritual offer comfort and familiarity, important when times are rough.
Unfortunately, it seemed to me that these characteristics of the Catholic Church always seemed to quell a sense of real community - a sense of belonging - it was God's House, and visiting God's House was a little like going to a funeral or someone's house you barely know with your parents - you behave, you look, you don't touch, and don't speak unless you are spoken to - ("sit quietly and don't embarass me!").
By contrast, the UCC inspires me to be friendly, outgoing, charitable, involved, neighborly - through the encouragement of participation and interaction. The UCC moves my spirit - through its people! |
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Richard Kiraly
Garden of Grace UCC
http://www.gogucc.com |
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Don NIederfrank
Posts:42
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| 07/21/2007 8:44 AM |
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Richard,
I gotta tell ya, not all of our congregations are as joy-filled as Garden of Grace! St. John's, Random Lake is quieter with less lay involvement. BUT thanks for the encouragement/inspiration.
I also miss (from my Episcopalian friends) the "The Word of the Lord--Thanks be to God" response to the reading of Scripture. I think we will add it. And though I think it's a good tradition, I don't think I'm going to get people to stand for the reading of the gospel.
Kara,
I hear you about dress and crossing oneself. There are things we do externally that change us internally, even slightly. I never liked my Sunday shoes as a kid but wearing them did tell me that going to church was important.
Don Niederfrank |
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Dios habla todavia |
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 UCC 101
Learn more about the UCC's past and present, and the future of our "united and uniting church" which we hope will include you! We've got blogs, videos and a discussion space where you can ask questions about the church—and about this online community. UCC members are also welcome! Opening the Bible
We believe that when you explore the Bible, you don't have to check your mind at the door—or your curiosity. Scripture can do great harm when used as a weapon, but it also opens a door to the story of God's loving relationship with humanity. Spirit Café
We invite you to an interactive space for spiritual inquiry and exploration. Learn about new and ancient spiritual practices, and share your spiritual journey with others on a quest like yours. Prayer Chapel
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