On Doubting Thomas - Evening Mass - Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church - Sandy, UT - April 26th, 2014

       I would say that I generally have had a good experience at evening masses...this one was mixed. But before I get into why, I want to describe the Church. The Blessed Sacrament Church also has a school that is pretty large attached to it as well as a few statues and flowers growing around the premises. It is quite a lovely area.

      Inside the Church is very similar. It actually reminds me of Saint Thomas More Catholic Church, but the actual Church feels bigger, though it may not be. It certianly has more information. When I arrived early I walked around...seeing the Tombstone Memorial the Unborn (also have seen one of these at Saint Joseph's in Salem) and has information on the memorial Mass for the Sanctification of John Paul II and John XXIII. It also had their brief biographies.

    There were tons of posters, notices and free information for anyone who was visiting. As someone who had arrived to the Mass early it was perfect for me in exploring the Church. After it got closer I made my way into the main Chapel.

      The chapel is beautiful. The tapestries were white and had Thomas touching the risen Jesus with the quote, "My Lord, My God." and the quote "Blessed are those who have not seen and believe." This was the focus of the sermon, which I enjoyed.

   Now for why it was mixed, besides the Tombstone...the music and the fact the Church is connected to the radio. The songs were just Christian Rock songs on the radio in the worst artificial way...beautiful, but no soul and turning words into lyrics for no other reason then for there to be singing...the congregation was quite on all the responses because the singer dominated...there wasn't much of a congregation it felt like even though the Chapel was full.

    This is one reason I'm grateful for the sermon...the sermon tied to the belief after the readings (all of which were New Testament Readings) on belief and being saved and finally tying it into Thomas's doubt. I might have covered this in a past post but I think Thomas is the minimum that someone like me could ask for. When Supernatural claims are made (someone raised from the dead) I need more than people who lost a friend...if not it is in all probability just inspiration.

  That is one reason I find Jesus's quote hollow...St. Paul asked people to think but then assumed to trust authority and his word regardless...if that's the starting point, how can one start clearly doubting and seeking the truth?

    The priest had a great quote about questioning with an agenda (and tying it to the media as wrong) and I agree with him...but can't the same be applied? Would you apply the same doubt to you and your own beliefs as you would apply to another religion? To another supernatural event?

    For me as an agnostic this is huge. If there is something that I can know for certain about what I can find beyond my senses...you can bet I would like to know. It would change the way I perceive the world beyond the very real human relationships and ethics of this one. The thing is, I haven't had a way to test that...I've had experiences but nothing so certain as touching the holes in a risen corpse and the wound in his side.

    For any religion, any supernatural thing...I would want that. To know the world as more than what I've known so far. Knowledge is power and with an ethical mind that power can change us for the better, and it is sure as hell a lot better than ignorance.

Easter Day - Community of Grace Presbyterian Church - Sandy, UT - April 20th, 2014

       What an amazing way to spend Easter day, and it wasn't even purposeful. I had meant to take a bus downtown to catch First Presbyterian Church and First United Methodist Church in downtown Salt Lake City, but it turns out the busses aren't running today. I did manage to get back to my car before 11am though and looked up a service that would be occurring around that time from a Church I hadn't attended (or denomination I hadn't visited yet for Holy Week).

 

      Community of Grace Presbyterian Church is a medium sized congregation who has a lot of energy. One of the first things I noticed when the service began was how common call and responses were...it was the most outward passion I've seen in a Christian community in a long time. 

    As for the look of the church, the theme today was purple. Which is ironic a bit since Purple was the royalty of Rome but Christianity came to adopt as the nobility for Jesus. As far as I know it has no historical basis in Judaism, it comes directly from the world that ended up adopting the religion from the small sect of Jews who founded Christianity.

      The sermon itself had aspects of the High Church (which is shown in the colors throughout the Church too...I've never seen High Church symbolism adopted by the newer Christian sects only those that came out of the Reformation). The big difference that separated it, since the hymns were traditional hymns that are in any Traditional service with some modern hymns thrown in for good measure was the call and response. After the confession of sins and was the forgiveness of sins spoken by the pastor in Jesus's name. The beginning was beautiful since through the music and confession there were moments of silence taken which allowed great time for reflection. It didn't feel rushed.

      The sermon itself was "Rejoicing in the Graveyard" which was the story of Mary in John and how Jesus found her when she was mourning for him missing from the tomb. This was tied into the Christian theme of God finding us. He told the story of a baby his friend a fellow pastor had found who the mother had entrusted to the church since she was an addict. It was a powerful story but chance and the action or lack of action in regards to love...and our desire to be loved and safe.

     Given that I have no idea of Jesus was/is literal God for me the power in the story was that by being present with ourselves where we are the good and right action will come to us. When we allow ourselves to not be consumed but aware...our mind will lead us to right action if we give it the chance.

    The story of Easter reminds me of the power those who have died has on us too. I've heard stories of people seeing or hearing loved ones who have died. Whether it actually happened or not is beside the point, but many times it inspires the person to action. Just like it did with Mary and Apostles. Sadly, many times it takes someone dieing to realize how significant they were in our lives. I don't believe in any person or persons as God(s) but I do believe in the power we have to inspire one another and the power that sacrafice has in peoples' lives.

     The service ended with collection, three prayers...one beautifully sung by the pastor, one silent prayer and one where people called out communities and people in their thoughts. Finally it ended with the Lord's prayer and all the congregation holding hands with a call to live Christlike. It was powerful, and I do think I'll visit here again. 

     Have a very Happy Easter.

Good Friday - Friday of Holy Week - Grace Lutheran Church and School - Sandy, UT - April 18th, 2014

       Today was the day I visited the Lutherans. Specifically Lutherans of the Missouri Synod which is the more conservative branch of the Lutheran Church in America...and it showed. The speakers and pastors were all men, though it did look like at least some women were in leadership positions though sadly not in leading the service type of ways.

    The Church itself is connected to a school and the Chapel is beautiful. The colors today were black, rather than the White of Yesterday and the Red of Tuesday. The High Church or Churches connected to the High Church are good in regards to using the traditional colors to represent where and what should be felt during Holy Week. Black covered the empty cross, a smaller cross with a figurine of Jesus on it (which you generally don't see in Lutheran Churches), and the podium.

      After I arrived the first hymn was sung...and they have an organ! This is one small detail I've loved about all the Lutheran churches I've attended. Organs are great at creating a good somber ambiance and are lovely when played.

      It opened with variation on the Nicene Creed where the pastor said Christ did this, and congregation replied "To do this for us." With details relating to atonement and resurrection. After was the old Testament reading which was about Isaiah's prophecy of the coming Messiah and later the Epistle from Hebrews about Jesus being the Sacrifice and High Priest of the Christian Church before the final New Testament reading of Jesus's crucifixion with the two thieves. 

 

     After was the sermon about evil, which to be frank didn't really answer any questions about evil. God is good and destroys evil was the basic jist of it and Christ who is God came to do that as well. The problem was it was only spoken in generalities of sin and the Devil, both themes have historically been used to oppress...if it had been targeted at oppression or even hypocrisy than it would have made more sense...but given that Sodom and Gomorrah was brought up...well, no such luck. The problem was never truly addressed and in the end all I got from it that I didn't know from Christianity before was that it doesn't help on dealing with actual problems in the world, bringing up evil and the Devil I mean. I've only seen them used to hurt innocents like those with mental illness (saying their possessed by demons) and LGBTQ folks and attacking the people we love.

    The part that was beautiful was after when the seven words were spoken and candles that had been lit at the beginning of the service were snuffed out as different quotes of Jesus's last day were read from the New Testament. One candle was left lit for Easter and a drum was pounded after it was lead out by one of the men in charge of the service.

    It was good for reflection and I was invited back here for Easter. Don't know if I will be coming back or not...I hope to visit more Christendom...and maybe find another community like the Unitarians or Episcopals to get involved with. Regardless, it was a good Friday.

Maundy Thursday - Thursday of Holy Week - Saint Thomas More Catholic Parish - Sandy, UT - April 17th, 2014

    Maundy Thursday, the day of Holy Week that celebrates Jesus's foot washing of his disciples and his famous, "Love one another as I have loved you." Essential Christianity and Christianity at its best. The first thing I noticed besides how there were half as many people as Ash Wednesday was the color change. The priests were wearing white and the tapestry was also white a lamb that had a halo around it. The congregation was also quite as the choir practiced. I had come early worrying about getting seating because of my last experience here.

     The service itself was beautiful. It emphasized community and living love out to the world. This was symbolized in the hand washing which was done instead of foot washing...I'm guessing to save time, and feet are something that is pretty vulnerable and hard to share (touching a person's feet anyway) so I can understand why it wasn't done. I don't know how I'd feel having my feet washed by a stranger even if it did feel good and refreshing.

    The hand washing still served the same purpose, it was a small symbolic and kind act to share with a stranger. I had my hands washed and dried off by another and I dried off another's hands too. It made me sad in hindsight that we aren't able to share this a lot of the time with the people we meet because I know I at least can be an island at times and enjoy my space...which makes it hard to reach out to another unless they are already a connection...a friend, partner or family member.

     That is why I think there is power in the "As I have loved you, love one another." To give up the clothes on your back to a stranger, to give up your possessions to service to God and the poor. These are radical life changing things...things I hope to strive for...though I still hold on to practicalness. Money for living, community and self. When the fact is, all that is much bigger than me and what I am aware of.

      One thing I noticed too was the dichotomy surrounding the Eucharist. After the reading about the last supper the priest emphasized we were to eat the bread and wine in memory of Jesus as he asked...there was nothing about him being the literal body and blood, not until we got the Eucharist. It was a realization that the practice of the Eucharist and seeing it as more than just a memory of a supper shared, probably came around later. Since during the supper Jesus emphasized how he was Teacher and Lord (which in the context felt like a Lord and his vassals not God).

   It was a wonderful service, and I once more left before the Eucharist since I'm not a Catholic and I'm not about to eat at someone else's table out of respect unless I'm invited too.

Tuesday of Holy Week - Saint James Episcopal Church - Cottonwood Heights, UT - April 15th, 2014

         What a great return to Saint James Episcopal Church...the last time I was here was during Ash Wednesday for a noon service. This time I got to talk to the priest at the beginning of the service as well as another member of the congregation.

    The church was draped with the colors of Holy week...Red. Red for the suffering and blood, the action of the Christian story.

      The service began at the Baptismal font, where there was the confession of sin before Kyrie within the service and the readings. I love the High Church service, it seems designed to create as much reflectiveness as possible outside of a Buddhist meditation.

    The readings dealt with the idea of the Trinity and the first reading was God becoming the Son of Man and later Paul's letter to the Corinthians where he says the priests and ritual and the non-believers and wisdom. It perfectly expresses my hangups surrounding the supernatural and faith. To those who belief what happened is apparent, but if not...than you aren't going to get it. This goes for any great claims for me that involve some sort of supernatural premise.

   This was contrasted with the reading of Jesus knowing about his death and saying he will be bringing all people too him...which is a pretty universalist Jesus, which is a contrast of no one knowing the Father except through him...it really showed why there are so many interpretations of who Jesus was.

    The sermon focused on Jesus and how he used the Bible to inspire his action. I liked how the priest related to us using it to live like Jesus did...to live as he did. This struck me as practical and how the good can be taken out of the Bible and how it can inspire right action (just as it can inspire bad), but how following the actions of Jesus's action...caring for the poor, calling out hypocrisy...these are things that do make a difference and how I am inspired by the story of Jesus Christ.

The Return Home - South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society - Salt Lake City, UT - April 13th, 2014

         I have been away too long and one thing I realized is that in a way I never left. My values have always been aligned with Unitarian Universalism and I guess up to that point it I've really come to recognize that. This realization will be reflected throughout my visit today, which was where it first hit me that my values align and that it is from this Unitarian Universalist base that I explore other faiths.

     Why is this the case? A good question considering I think that the community can be more active beyond environmentalism...that at least my visit here, I wanted to see more helping of the poor and hungry like I found with the Catholics and Episcopals (reason I plan to get involved with Episcopal communities besides being welcomed and finding it a good place for reflection and action).

    The reason is values and I think it gets down to the base reason of why religions exist...they exist to wrestle with our mortality and reasons for being alive. This is seen in the seven principles which are:
1) The inherent worth and dignity of every person.
2) Justice, equality and compassion in human relations.
3) Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregation.
4) A free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
5) The use of the democratic process in decision making in the congregation.
6) The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all.
7) Respect for the interdependent web of life we are a part of.

     All of these things were reflected in the service. The pastor recognized Palm Sunday being celebrated elsewhere and honored those doing it, as well as incorporating the story into the theme of "Releasing from Life: Lessons from Near Death Experiences," which was the sermon and it was reflected in the music of Crosby, Stills and Nash, Indigo Girls and the hymns.

      The service began with welcoming and recognizing the inherent worth and dignity of every person in how all were welcome. An ex-Mormon lady who had greeted me at the front then shared her journey to the congregation. This I've found is almost universal in congregations and communities...stories of how the people arrived there and became a part of it.

     After a person in the community was recognized for making possible the church being run by solar panels. What churches do that? That is one thing I love about the Unitarians and the action in regards to trying to live in relation to everything on the earth rather than just taking or taking it for granted. 

 

       Next was the story for all ages, and after the children going to class. Than was the sermon on how the Saints found peace in facing death and how near death experiences change people. It was a good service and reminded me of how also, all religions and a lot of people are really looking for solace in whatever is they are doing and living. It was a powerful sermon. 

      The sermon ended with introductions, which at this point was where I put words to the feelings and reality of where the base of my search has come from this blog. From the Unitarian Universalist ethics and desire and search for truth and community with others.

    After I talked to some members of the congregation at went to the chapel where I honored those who are suffering. The chapel reminded me of my Mom's home where the symbols of people wrestling with their mortality...the symbols of religion covered the walls and were on altars with candles to illuminate silence. 

    For however long I am here in Utah, I look forward to making time to be active in the Unitarian Universalist, the Episcopal Community and continuing to visit other faiths and form connections as the journey continues. Today, was the metaphorical return home.

 

Conversation with Pastor Peter - Salt Lake City, UT - April 2nd, 2014

   One of the greatest joys of this blog is making new connections with people and out of it new friendships. Wednesday morning was the chance when I got to build a friendship with Pastor Peter, the Reform Pastor at Mountain Springs Community Church.

    Before I went to work on Wednesday we met for Breakfast at the cafe nearby. It was there we talked about the Reformed Tradition (which I learned comes from the same branch of Christianity as Presbyterianism and also the Church of Christ). As well as social justice and our connection and responsibility to one another. 

    We also discussed the diversity of beliefs within my generation and the approach to religion that I've noticed in my traveling (of younger people becoming agnostic, embracing liberal faith or becoming more conservative (Mars Hill and similar Evangelical Traditions). 

   In the discussion there was the similarity of how meditation and prayer have helped in regards to finding balance in the trials in life and the importance of a community being welcome. I told him how for me if my friends (LGBTQ and others) are not respected for who they are at a Church, I won't return that church...that my friends have to feel safe and welcome for me to build a relationship with a community.

      Along with the important things like community, justice, responsibility and family there was the lightness of discussing comedy movies too. 

     It was a great discussion and I look forward to doing so again and other events in my time here in Utah.