FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, COLORADO SPRINGS

Building Aesthetics: t t t t. Before todays service, I had never even heard of congregational churches. Apparently they are a fairly liberal christian religion with no central leadership like the Catholics or Protestant sects. Their church is a kind of squat-heavy stone building with an imposing orangish/red shingled steeple. I really liked the interior, which was set up in a half-moon orientation, and it made you feel like you were part of the action, where everyone was on equal footing.  A few rays of light strategically fell right on the lectern.  I was told that the church recently spent a ton of money restoring their organ, and it was really beautiful. I just wish organ music was more pleasant to the ear. 

Creepy Glazed Eyes: t t t t. People today were very nice and seemed thoughtful. I had a long chat with the woman sitting next to me after the service and really liked her. She was a private music instructor at nearby Colorado College. The minister forced us to interact twice during the service, and at the time, I was really annoyed by it. The second time I almost left the service. "Turn to your neighbor and discuss a superpower you would like to have," he said. It was too early in the morning for this bull-shit I thought. I was so uncomfortable that the only superpower I could think of was to be invisible. But later I reflected that it was nice to be pushed outside my comfort zone. And I learned a few things from the woman, like that skin hydration starts from the inside.  

Hassled by Members: t t t t. People were nice and there was no pressure to join. They did do the thing where they asked people at this church for the first time to stand up. I chose to remain seated. People who stood were recognized and given applause, although awkwardly the woman who stood near me was overlooked by the minister. Whoops! No applause for you! To date this church had the most diversity with many African Americans, Hispanics, gays, and people of all ages. 

Religious Time Management: t t t. The service was generally well laid out with a bit too much time wasted on ritual and religious pledges. The minister, though well spoken and thoughful, came across as  a bit too eager, and at times, insincere.  In addition to giving the sermon, he sang in the choir and led a song with his guitar. My hokey meter went crazy when we were asked to make a small box with our hands and whisper a concern into it. Next we were told to lift our concern laden hand box over our heads and slowly let it go. Unfortunately for me, my concern that I was investing too much time in hokey ritual landed right on my head! The sermon revolved around one line in the bible concerning having the faith of a mustard seed, which, if I understand it correctly, means that having only a spec of faith could be all we need. And understanding that faith is really just hope and optimism to the extreme degree, I don't think you could argue that one. That is of course unless we are being asked to have faith that the end of the world is nigh. I also kind of wish that the writers of the bible might have foreseen our future shift from agrarian life and used the more universally understood "sand" as the metaphor. 

Misinformation: t t t t. "Jesus was sent here to unite us". I think this statement begs the question: How well did he do at this? I think any dogma that implies if you don't believe in it, bad things will happen to you is sure to divide not unite. Not being an expert in religion though, I don't know if this is the fault of Jesus or with how others have interpreted his teachings. Surely Jesus wouldn't have thought that his predecessor Buddha was spending his afterlife in hell.   

Presence of God: t t t. At one point the minister recognized an older man in the choir who would soon be allowed to legally marry his partner of 38 years. It almost brought me to tears. The happiness and joy in his eyes as the congregation applauded was quite beautiful. I found out from the woman I was forced to talk to that the church actually changed its policy concerning gays during the 90's and began a new policy of acceptance. I really admire that decision, which I'm sure angered some in the congregation. But that feeling that everyone was welcome was palpable in the santuary. It also reminded me that people and institutions do in fact change. 

Overall Inspiration (total score): t t t. Though not at the time, with hindsight I appreciated the church pushing me out of my comfort zone by forcing me to talk to my neighbor. I suppose if anything good is ever going to happen on this planet it will start by strangers having meaningful conversations with each other.