University Temple United Methodist Church - Seattle, WA - October 27th, 2013

      The University Temple United Methodist Church is a church I've been meaning to go to for a while. It is a beautiful church I pass every time I visit University of Washington. The church sits right across the street from campus and on my visit up to Seattle I planned to go with a friend who I've done church visits with in the past.

      What I knew about the church before hand was that it was highly involved in social justice in the area. It hosts a needle exchange to help addicts recover, a thrift shop and coffee shop that is extremely cheap and made for those who have little, and at one point they hosted a GLBTQ Church in their building. Suffice to say I had a lot to admire going into this.

    Well I was not disappointed, though there were two things that turned me off from the good I experienced. The first was the greeters felt too eager. It was hard to really just have time to self and let everything sink in, since there is a lot to see in the church...most churches this big and this beautiful tend to be High Church churches like Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopal and Lutheran. Every greeter greeted me more than once and even asked if I could wear a name tag. For a guy who likes being anonymous during these kinds of things, that was not something that was all that comfortable. 

    The second factor was money. In the talk about the churches goal for what they needed to raise a main focus was on how generous the congregation was before most of the members went up to give their pledges, this does not include the basket being passed before the sermon. I know churches need money to support themselves, but they've never mixed very well to me. 

      There was a lot of positive though. The message was Christian while at the same time remaining universal. The premise is confronting the Burning Bush within yourself (Holy Spirit, confronting ego, etc.) you can be transformed and that it is difficult. He talked of his own experience with this doing street ministry for drunks and homeless and how God forced him to confront his prejudices and grow through them and become more Christ like in the process. I liked it because confronting the truth about ourselves is how we grow. Weather that is an outside being inside of us, or just us facing ourselves is beside the point, the outcome is the same when truth and honesty are involved. It was one of the best sermons I've heard since doing this blog. 

      Lastly, the music was beautiful...there were many songs that I knew from Handel's Messiah, to Our God you Called to Moses and Joyful, Joyful we Adore Thee. I do like all the good the church does, and it was an overall great experience with a wonderful friend. 

 

Eucharist Morning Service - Church of the Resurrection - Bellevue, WA - October 24th, 2013

       The Eucharistic service today was just what I needed for the panic that was to hit later in the day. As I write this I just dealt with my bank account being robbed for the first time, it is kind of hard to remain calm under such duress but the service today did help keep me calm all things considered.

    The service was meditative and it was small, I was one of the other two people there. It also was a bit of a history lesson since the lesson was around "Holy Men, Holy Women" which took examples of Saints and people who lived Christ like through history and incorporated them into the reading. The reading was about King Alfred who was able to save a lot of the history in England from the invasions and also commissioned the creation of schools in England. The readings had to do with wise kings, and he is seemed to fit that description for his time, according the reading.

     It was here I realized it much easier to meditate though when there is a large group. I right around the altar with the other person in the small pews nearby and at times it felt like the ritual of the prayers was overtaking the point of them. It was after the Eucharist that I had the chance to start letting everything sink in, before that there were chants and prayers that I've read in every mass, which were hard to think on during the process of because we simply would move on to the next part of the service.

   The Pastor was kind though, and I do plan on grabbing coffee with her at some point. The Church of the Resurrection is a beautiful Church.

     One thing I've noticed while doing these visits, they've helped me with expressing my own beliefs. As much I appreciate the High Church and the rituals of Christianity, I don't think I'll ever be a Christian. Knowing that God exists for one thing, and all the miracles of the book, not to mention seeing things in the older book as Good are steps I cannot take, for any leap I need more certainty than I've experienced, I need more proof for claims so great. If I had to define myself I would consider myself an Agnostic Humanist and definitely closest to the Unitarian Universalism faith that I grew up in through high school. It's ethics most match up to what I see as the closest we understand Good at the current time, though I do consider my experiences with Christianity and Buddhism to have also influenced my beliefs within humanism and mysticism.

Kingdom Praise Church - Issaquah, WA - October 23rd, 2013

     The Kingdom Praise Church is located on Tiger Mountain. It is a House Church (meaning it is located inside of a room set aside in the house for worship) and in a area with no lighting, well that is Tiger Mountain for you. I had tried getting there once before but to no avail, luckily this time I was successful.

    This Church was a great exploration of what I see as the pros and cons within the Evangelical tradition as well as the blind spots in Conservative Christianity as a whole, the greatest blind spot which is its view of homosexuality. I noticed this when the old man leading the service referred to his married brother as living the homosexual lifestyle, because the Bible was literal truth (and the reading was from the Old Testament) it didn't matter if God's laws were unethical and wrong in regards to the matter, because it was God's Law it was good by default. I think this nails why I prefer philosophy to religion as well when it comes to ethics...if someone said God did it and there is evidence in a book inspired by God, anything is permissible no matter how it may hurt others.

     The pros I noticed in the service were how each time there was an attempt to call back to not judge, that each persons experience and knowledge of God was personal and from their own exploration of the Bible, the man leading it even said that quickly after his judgement on his brother...which honestly gives me hope for him seeing the love in his brother's relationship someday. There was also passion and kindness, I was a complete stranger who only two of the people had met once at the Healing Rooms of Issaquah that I did in one of my past visits, but they respected me and the fact that I said I'd just come to listen and observe.

     The talk was mostly focused on Genesis and the ark and it was there some of the mystic tradition came out too. With Ego being man before the flood and enlightened man escaping on the ark, Jesus being the ark was not as much of the service until later in the service...before that time there was emphasis on God almost being metaphor of our greater selves, God living within us and us escaping our base nature. It would later take a turn of being read as an historical narrative, which changed that metaphorical view though...

   It was a fascinating experience, but one I don't plan on repeating. The places I plan to visit multiple times are those that line up with my humanistic values which I see as much closer to whatever the Good is (and are closer to Jesus lived) than the condemnation of innocent groups and allowing of wrong by God because the Word is seen as literal.

"Learning to Grieve with Hope" - Community Church of Issaquah - Issaquah, WA - October 20th, 2013

     Here is to those surprises when you find gems that line up with your schedule (whatever those gems are). The Community Church of Issaquah has a 1:30pm service that matched up perfectly with my schedule for a visit before later things in the day.

     Right now they are having services in the building that hosts the Issaquah Christian Church while their new building gets built. The main difference between the groups that I can gather from their websites is the Issaquah Christian Church is an Evangelical Church verses The Community Church of Issaquah who are Baptists.

    The first thing I noticed was the congregation, the congregation is old and small. There is a closeness among them too and everybody knows everyone. They are also kind to strangers as I experienced after the sermon.

   The Pastor looked the role of the Baptist preacher. He had a grey suit, tie, glasses and grey hair. He also had a lot of anecdotes during the course of the worship service. The service began talking about their missionary work in Myanmar and the volunteer doctors and nurses their (as well as their expansion) and after there was a prayer for all those sick, in surgery, going through cancer and a prayer for the country to elect virtuous leaders or for people to lead with virtue. Next were two songs praising God before the sermon began.

       The service was about "Learning to grieve with hope." The readings also had to do with the sermon as well were about Paul talking to his followers about how they had hope from Jesus rising from the Dead that they would rise again with him. The Pastor than talked about grief relating stories about what it was like to lose his grandparents and parents and his relationships to all of them.

     He then talked about how people choose not to believe. The reasons he believed people don't believe is from Intellectual barriers (he said Spiritual disability - which was the one thing I really took issue with during the sermon, since those intellectual issues are in fact valid, just look at all the questions asked throughout time not just in regards to Christianity but any religion and the proofs that are honestly needed, my appreciation for the philosophers grew after this sermon), or people who have been hurt by their community (which if a community does hurt a person they should leave, no one should stay in an abusive relationship with another person or community).

      Afterwords was the closing hymn and I briefly talked the pastor and one of the Bible Teachers, they both introduced themselves to me. I think I will drop by the Bible study sometime during the course of the blog. They are kind community and I'm curious to learn more about what they are all about and their intpretations and experiences.There were a few liberal bumper stickers (one said Obamacare in a positive light), which was something I did not expect. It just goes to show that there truly are such a wide range of political thoughts within any congregation and within the different congregations inside a denomination.

Cross of Christ Lutheran Church - Bellevue, WA - October 20th, 2013

 

      Cross of Christ Lutheran Church is located in one of the most beautiful areas in Bellevue for the location of a Church. The only one that compares is the Quaker Hall (which I will be visiting again, have not been there since High School) that is located on the other side of Bellevue. Both are completely surrounded by trees, and in the case of Cross of Christ, have the addition of a Garden. 

 

    What brought me to Cross of Christ? First and foremost it was to see my friend Kyle who is the organist at this Church (he was my friend who was married recently at Saint Mark's Cathedral). He was amazing per usual, it is always a pleasure to hear him play. The second was that I haven't visited a Lutheran Church for a while, and third was that it was a traditional service (reason for the Organ use). Traditional High Church services have always had a special place for me, I found they are good for thinking and are good at appreciating silence within a service. 

    Now for the service proper. It began with the confession from the congregation (which made me realize, if someone hadn't done anything bad would they still need to confess? This goes for confessional within Orthodox and Catholicism and other Christian sects too).

     Next was the reading, the readings were focused on good listening and and answering prayers. For Old Testament the story was told about Elijah verses the Baals and how Elijah's God was able to call down fire while theirs were not. The pastor spoke next, he reminded me a bit of Santa Claus, but skinnier, his speech patterns also reminded me of Santa. He was a large and kind gentlemen and used the example of God wants us to pray so he can listen to us because he loves us and he commands it. He used the example of calling his grandchildren to him.

    The question I had (since the service didn't really mean any room for God as part of us, it was very much God be an entity outside of us), why have the miracles stopped? How do you know when God is talking? How does prayer communicate verses just thinking a desire wish or an intention? 

    This was followed by greetings, the congregation was very kind to me. They were an older congregation and I do hope to visit again. This lead to Thanksgiving and Communion:

 "If you believe God is in the bread and wine come and take of communion." This was after the blessing upon both. I don't so I stayed seated. This brought forth more questions too, I think this tradition might have risen out of focus on the first part and not the second part of what Jesus said, "This is my body and blood" rather than "Eat this in memory of me." The items don't actually transform, so it seems much more fitting as a memorial...remembering a wise teacher or person who spoke for something greater. At least that is the greater meaning I have been able to find in communion when I've been invited to take it by different Christian traditions. 

     After communion was the final blessing and announcements. The one social justice thing was shoes for foster children, and they might have more programs but I wish I'd heard about or seen more. Regardless it was an interesting and good experience. I do plan on catching Vespers here sometime in the future.

Evening Mass - Saint Joseph's Catholic Church - Issaquah, WA - October 19th, 2013

   
     After a long day at work and a car limited to the Issaquah/Bellevue area I decided to do an impromptu to Church visit. First thing I got to say is, if I had a lot of free time and transportation I would probably be visiting a lot of Catholic Churches for this blog. Most have daily mass at 9am and they are in almost every city or town I've been in (can't say the same for a lot of other denominations and religions I've visited). Each experience is different too, some are more conservative congregations, while others are more liberal...the aesthetics also vary depending on the Church.I've been to Saint Joseph's before and it is close to my work so I decided to drop in since I wouldn't miss too much of the service.

    As for the substance of the Mass, today was a good day that actually tied into my own philosophy and depending on how you do it can be very practical. The moral of the sermon was if you become like a child and depend on God then you will find peace and grow. Luke was used as the example and the reading was about how a widow was persistent for a corrupt judge to rule in her favor and how he eventually relented because of her persistence, the moral was "If a corrupt person will relent, what about someone Good like God?"

     I saw how this could be applied to "The Way" in Taoism or even Buddhism. I haven't found any good evidence that anyone has physically met Jesus post death, or anyone who has died...but from when people describe prayer to me and the times I've prayed in the past it is a reflective process. It forces you to look at yourself and desires. From that place it is much easier to get rid of Ego, whether God is the reason or seeking Enlightenment or following "The Way" the end product can make you unselfish, and if you seek that place like a child or the idea of child (Innocence) than you will find some part of it and grow.

     That is what I got out of the experience of Mass today and the sermon.

   Also, the new responses the congregation does are a bit hard to remember. What was once "And also with you" when the priest says "Peace be with you." Is now "And with your spirit." Which also seems a bit more vague...the definitions of spirit(s) range all over the place versus "and you" which is very clearly talking about the person and wishing them well.

     That's all on that, tomorrow I plan on visiting some more Churches and continuing the adventure.  

Grandma Claire's Funeral - Butler 33rd Ward Church of Latter Day Saints - Salt Lake City, UT - October 12th, 2013

     Today was the day of the funeral. This is the third funeral I have ever attended, and each one was different in type of grief and memories with it. A funeral should capture who a person was and meant to people. The greatest way to honor someone is with the truth and remembering and appreciating the person as all of who they were. Across all religious and non-religious boundaries this what I've learned.

     The funeral began with a prayer by my Uncle Todd and than the closing of the casket. The room was full of pictures from the viewing. All of us cousins with pictures of Grandma, including the picture from her house where all of us gave her thumbs up breast surgery for the cancer she was going through. The prayer honored her faith and after we made our way into the chapel for the service.

Grandma Claire's viewing and the family prayer - Salt Lake City, UT - October 11th, 2013

   There seem to be 3 things that bring a family together (outside of reunions which tend to be special and rare events) birth, marriage and death. The event today showed just how much a part of people's lives my Grandma Claire was.

     For the past few days since I heard about her death I've been keeping myself busy. She was a part of my life for so long and mattered so much, that expressing how much she means leaves me at a loss for words. Today I was able to find some of those words and accept her death the part of my life and others' lives who she was.

    The viewing began and a few uncles, cousins and family members from my Grandma's generation were there, as well as her friends. Eventually more of the cousins arrived and I tried socializing and on that found that myself and everyone else were in different stages of grief and acceptance so it was more of a recognition and gratitude for someone being there than in deep conversation, those happened later with the cousins who I am closest too who I hadn't seen for a while.

   In between that time I visited the open casket. After her body has been given dignity (when a person dies death doesn't grant much dignity in how it lets go), she looked as if she was asleep. I must have walked at least twice just to say hello, letting the fact that she dead sink in. That she wasn't asleep. In between those times I hugged and was there for family as they were there for me. That gave peace...

     Next when I was with the cousins I grew up with around my age and who I hadn't seen for a while we talked events still going on in life, what are plans were and where we were going and in that also talking about Grandma.

   It was after that I took time for myself just to think about her. When I was young and in elementary school my family would visit Grandma every Sunday. It was there we would hang out with her and also play SEGA in the basement, and Christmas meetups and bowling on Thanksgiving. Later memories were of Bear Lake and talking to Grandma at the beach and her Condo, I'm glad I made her a part of the short story inspired by that place, I plan to make it mostly in her honor.

     Later after I left the Mormon Church it didn't effect our relationship. When I'd visit from Washington we'd talk about her and her childhood. I learned about her growing up in Europe after World War 2 and as I got older saw how big of a part she was of her community. She was the reason for all the big family events, she brought all of us together.

   For me that was the prayer showed. My Uncle who was a bishop in the Church said the prayer and it did emphasize how important Grandma's belief in the Church was but also her legacy and her humility, kindness and humor even in the face of terminal cancer.

   Tomorrow is the funeral, and more of my thoughts then about my Grandma and the event. For now, after the funeral I met up with the cousins around my age group and their wives, picked up my brother at the airport and connected, remembered, lived and found humor and joy. It was a beautiful end of the day to honoring a beautiful and amazing woman.

Healing Rooms of Issaquah - Issaquah, WA - October 2nd, 2013

 


       What an interesting experience today. This is one of the few places where you have to be in it and there isn't observation. When I arrived the leader of the Healing Rooms gave me a form to fill out with who I wanted to pray for. My Grandma has been on my mind lately and how bad her cancer has gotten, so I wrote that down and after included refugees, those who have been furloughed by the government shutdown, and those who have lost loved ones.

   While the men looked over the prayer and the form I filled out I talked to the Pastor of the Bread of Life Church, which is a Chinese Christian Church. We talked about Nanjing for a while since I'd taught in Jiangsu Province last year and I learned they have a seminary there as well as one the Bible Printing centers so whenever someone in their church goes to Nanjing they get them there for cheap. He was a really nice guy and great to talk too.

  After they'd gone over the form I was invited in and the main guy who was the oldest in the group talked about how Christ is like the King the world and all healing happens through him and they are simply ambassadors. After that they anointed me with oil on the forehead and prayed for me and my Grandma.

  It was a powerful experience, at a few places I've been too (including Peru, and some of the Buddhist Temples in China) I've had the experience of vertigo during my time taking place in an event. It is something that always fascinates me because I can never predict it except it is always tied to experiences like this one regardless of the religion it comes from.

   After the prayer the pastor gave me a Bible passage to help ("The Word of God is our food and guide you must live in it to be guided,") he and the guy who was leading said in their own ways. The passage was Isaiah 30:19 - "People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you."

   After the leader said to read the Bible, believe in Jesus as God and to be a part of a community of believers. I don't think I'll ever be able to any fully, the possibility sure, but not when there are so many other possibilities out there, some that are much more probable giving me more reasons to doubt than to believe.

   My Grandmother is a believer, one of the strongest believers in Christ I know, so today this really was to honor her. I was grateful for the kindness of the people there and the experience that occurred. I don't see myself ever being a part of that world, my doubt towards all supernatural things is pretty strong, no matter how open I may be to the possibility. Today the possibility is still enough to give a prayer for all those suffering both family and otherwise.