Part of the reason I started doing church reviews like the one that follows is because I find the fractured state of Christianity confusing. I think it speaks to something in us that disagreements inside the church tend to lead to new branches and factions. The church doesn't have a history of working disagreements out and remaining whole; they divide and become separated. On some level the church itself is responsible for that fracturing in all of us. The cross scoring system is a bit confusing, but just remember that five crosses in any category is the best possible score. This one goes out to my Uncle Bill.
Building Aesthetics: t t t. There is something that draws me to the simplicity of A-frame architecture. It is an elegant solution for our human need for shelter. It was this design element that first made me take note of this particular church. Aesthetics and design matter. True people of God understand this. Another nice thing about this church is that it sits back away from the street. It seems appropriate that a church should have some room to breathe on its lot. The inside of First Christian is nicely designed. Pews are wood and have simple, clean lines. Some have removable cushions while others do not. Are those who are suffering drawn to the cusionless pews? Natural light is brought into the santuary through stained glass on either side of the sanctuary. I really liked the choice of pastel colors in the glass. It reminded me of the chakra colors from the hindu yoga traditions. As always, I dislike the choice to use carpet, in this case an autumnal orange/brown. It is dirty and superfluous. One other deisgn choice I didn't quite understand is that the backdrop of the alter has a false wall that separates the space from the stained glass wall shown in the bottom photo. It seems to me that a wall of light would be a nice backdrop for the alter.
Truthful Eyes: t t t t. People here were nice and I enjoyed meeting congregants when made to do so during the service. After the service several people took the time to make more formal introductions and their motives in doing so seemed genuine. There wasn't a ton a diversity here, most congregants were older and white.
Religious Time Management: t t t. The service today featured two baptisms and communion which played havoc on the religious time management. The baptisms were for two teens and were done in a fairly theatrical display. I'm not kidding when I say theatrical: curtains parted behind the alter to reveal the pastor and a spiritual dunk tank. Baptism is a tradition that I think has lost its way. This ceremony used to be practiced in natural bodies of water and symbolized the cleansing of sins and the reunion of man with nature. Now it's practiced as more of a precaution or obligation. Traditions that loose their spirit need to be rethought. What if everyone planted a tree to symbolize the beginning of their spiritual journey. One thing I did like about the baptism was that the curtain also revealed a portrait of Jesus. Being able to look at it for only a short time was powerful and a happy accident of the ceremony. There is power in that brief time that a curtain allows us to see something. A glimpse behind it like in The Wizard of Oz may be all some need to start making important connections.
Poignancy of Sermon: t t t. The Pastor of this church hails from South Africa. I'm not aware of much of her story, but she seems to have an interesting one. The service today focused on a song and how the word "us" is sung in it. The message here was subtle: small things in life like whether we open up our mouths when we sing "us" matter. In the case of this song, not singing with an open mouth causes the word "us" to sound like hissing.
Misinformation: t t t. I'm thinking a lot these days about what aspects of religious practice cause the majority of Americans to miss the point. A big one is the anthropomorphizing of God, closely related to a phenomenon some sociologists call Disneyfication. Seeing human attributes in non-human things can both help and hinder how we see the world. This creative storytelling technique started out harmless enough but has turned into a huge barrier to understanding. It leads us to believe that everything sees the world through the lens of human consciousness. In church today the pastor mentioned the idea that God sent his only son to earth. To me this rings much more false than true. Stories can lead us down strange roads if they don't evolve with the mass of men.
Presence of God: t t t. For whatever reason, it is easier for me to see truth in suffering than in happiness. As Emily Dickinson said, "I like a look of agony because I know it's true." Several of the congregants wept during the service today and it reminded me how much people need faith to carry them through the dark times. Without faith in something, I'm not sure what pushes people through suffering. I also thought about the idea of worship today in church. There is something that isn't healthy about how many of us worship Jesus. It has alway felt unnatural to me to hold something up as beyond us. This thinking separates us. When I got home I looked up the word worship and discovered that worship has its root in old English and used to mean acknowledgment of worth. I think acknowledging the worth of Christ is healthy. Worshiping Jesus in the traditional sense of the word is dangerous. In doing so we forget his humanity.
Overall Inspiration (total score): t t t. I walked into this church today with no knowledge of this congregation or what distinguished them from other Protestant churches (ironically they branched off in order to encourage unity in the Christian church). The sermon was nuanced and I liked it's message. God danced in the pastor's words, but this subtlety perhaps fell short of some of the congregants. The most inspiration I got was in a conversation with one of the leaders of the church after the service. He is the Executive Director of an organization called Associated Ministries. Their mission is to bring different faiths together with a unified vision of building stronger communities. I'm always inspired by things that try to unite us.
