"Blessed are the Poor" - Covenant Presbyterian Church - Issaquah, WA - December 15th, 2013

 

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 So far, I must say I have had overwhelming positive experiences with Presbyterian Churches and the Presbyterian community. I attribute this largely to having friends who are like family and mentors to me as being a big part of this. This visit was a nice break after a long day and waking up early in the morning sick...it was here where I saw people using their faith in intention and action.

     At the evening prayer there was the head of Tent City 4, the homeless community that looks after those in transition and those without. The Eastshore Unitarian Church has hosted them before as have a few communities in the U-District too. It was there the pastor got in touch with him after the service as did I to shoot some contacts who I knew his way to help with making sure they have a space and money for getting a van. 

    It was at the prayer I saw the inspiration of where that came from. All 3 of the members referenced the new testament and how Jesus praised the poor and how riches did not matter. They talked about how an incarnate God was most at him helping and being with those who had less. There were many powerful prayers, even for me as a non-believer. They also prayed for my teaching in Taiwan in January, which really matters very little in compared with Tent City 4 and the homeless.

   It was there that at least in that small group the chance for virtue in action was apparent and where for them that virtue was inspired from. The only downside was one guy went on about the Devil and false Christians which for me again, has always been a red flag. Usually when people talk about a character of malice it is as it is giving them permission to act the same towards strangers and speak generally about people they haven't met and do not know. 

    Suffice to say it was a great visit and in coming days I'm going to do what I can with connecting people to the Tent City and helping as I can before I leave to Taiwan.

Living Hope Bible Church - Issaquah, WA - December 8th, 2013

  

“You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”
― Anne Lamott

     First, I want to explain the reason for choosing this quote in regards to my visit to the Living Hope Bible Church today. The reason I chose this quote because the pastor began the sermon by quoting the statistics of everyone who calls themselves Christians. He then proceeded to imply that the Orthodox, Mormons and Catholics are not Christians. It was strange to hear such a narrow definition of Christendom considering that in general it is not something I've seen directed at other Christians, it is mostly against other religions when you see such a strict definition of the religion defining what it believes or what it considers a definition of it's beliefs. This forever marred it since I think that attacking others within the sect of its religion is part of what is wrong with religion in general...it is a great tribalism that sees no room for outsiders who aren't part of the group.

      To contrast this the people who welcomed me were kind and listened to me...they were a bit too eager to get me to join, but sadly I've come to expect that from most small churches. Invisibility and a place to listen is usually best found in large churches or congregations.

      The building is small, simple and nice...it clearly isn't about the money from what I saw, which was something I liked about it...the negative of attacking others and using Jesus's quotes in John towards the Jewish leaders about how him saying that genetics wasn't the basis of virtue or the good started being applied to everyone else...beginning with the groups named above.

      I don't see how one can live virtuously while condemning those who have not even been met and consuming those whose minds you do not know. It is a poison in religion that is propped up by most often the most literal interpretation of texts and the need to justify that which in the end so often to wrongs.

"The Dragon and the Nativity" - Issaquah Christian Church - Issaquah, WA - December 1st, 2013

 

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      Issaquah Christian Church was an interesting experience, overall good as far as the message is concerned and space being respected. The sermon was about "The Dragon and the Nativity" and worked on incorporating the Devil into the Nativity story (and tying the Nativity into the Fall at Genesis and visions in Revelations). Considering my view of the Supernatural I don't know if God exists, so do doubt the existence of a malevolent force of evil too, I am a bit of an empiricist and skeptic when it comes to the Supernatural and things that cannot be tested. Why I say it was overall good was because of the focus in the sermon.

    The focus of the sermon was the "So What?" The nativity story involves the social ostracizing of Mary and Joseph, both by the people in Bethlehem, and most likely Joseph's family if he had any, considering Mary was pregnant when they weren't married yet. It reminded me of how it could just as easily apply to a Gay or Trans couple...kicked out of their family because of their love and the child they chose to care for. In that way Jesus and the Devil as symbols of how we treat one another was very relevant to me.

    I know that I can do so much better for living love for others and being there for those who have no one. To me that was what the sermon and service reminded me of.

      The music was alright, there was a lot of passion from the singers and the people, and the songs were what I'd heard at most modern Christian services in regards to Christian Rock.

     My space was also respected, when I was there I got to remain anonymous and not pressured to join, which is a plus for me for any Church visit.

     The structure of the service was announcements, three songs, communion, the sermon, collection, final announcements and then everyone left.

     The environment was simple, which I liked, though I wish there had been more talk of social justice abroad...Haiti was mentioned but only as bringing over Christian music and radios...I was hoping education would at least get a mention as part of the mission. The sermon was also good when not taken literally but seen as symbolic as the potential we have with one another and strangers each and everyday.

     There are millions of ostracized Mary and Joseph's, just looking for acceptance, home and a safe to be...be it the refugees, the homeless, GLBTQ folks, and those who have been rejected simply for being who they are.  

November Missionary Experiences in Issaquah - November 26th, 2013

       This has been an interesting month in regards to people evangelizing to me about their faith in Issaquah. The first involved an older woman who had lost her social security, and the second involved Mormon Missionaries. I'll also leave a little blurb for facebook friends who have evangelized this month too.

        The older woman is a woman I've seen at the Issaquah library when I go there on lunch breaks during work. She always greets everyone (including cars) with a "Have a great day," She is definitely kind and unique. The time she did what I would call missionary work or experience is when she gave my coworker and I poetry about Jesus. She told us, "Food for thought," and then left. Apparently others have had this experience with her too as far as her expressing her faith in any social situation or environment. If you drop by Issaquah and the library you'll probably meet her.

     The second experience was also at the library, except outside of it since it was closed. I had just gotten off work and was reading "The Adventures of Telemachus," a great book and one of my current favorites now by Louis Aragon when two Mormon missionaries dropped by. We talked about mythology for a while and they attempted to try and get me to talk about the Church, my reasons for leaving and unbelief were not a conversation I exactly wanted to have so I told them if I had any questions I'd just ask my Dad's family who is almost all Mormon (not to mention just recall memory from when I was growing up and do research). So they asked if I wanted a prayer and who for...My life is great, I don't need anything really. I have an amazing support network, I currently don't have any physical or mental ailments and there are people who honestly deserve others thoughts and actions a lot more than me. So I asked them to pray for the Philippines and those going through the Tsunami and other disasters. It was there the two young guys did the prayer and I used to remember too (and think of best action to take to help those going through that suffering). After they gave me a card the Bellevue Festival of the Nativity, hosted by the Mormon Church (may go for nostalgia, nativity shows were a staple growing up in Elementary school during the Holiday season). They went on their way.

      The third thing I've noticed is evangelizing by friends. Most are of the Catholic and Evangelical Christian variety, with a few Mormon family members also doing a post or two, and the majority of the time it is the person doing it by facing the reasons they believe and the honesty in facing themselves, or part of the work they are doing within a community. It is not always the case though, sometimes it can involve targeting of a group such as going against the gay community or sharing links of those who are...and I have trouble seeing how that can be love in any way. In the future I'll do another post explaining why I believe Gay Marriage is a right and how it is just as ethical and gives as much to the common good as any other stable consensual relationship built around a community.

   In the end I don't see it as bad. Missionary work can be harmless as long as the one doing the work accepts "no" as an answer or leaves room for other view points and can see the humanity in another person and respect them for who they are, and who uses the opportunity to do service within the community they are in. Any person can live with virtue, and if you're putting yourself out there with your religious beliefs, virtue is the best thing you can do too. 

    We all advocate are points of view in different ways, the key is how you do it and what you do. Is what you are doing taking the rights away from another? Are you coming from a place of self and ego or awareness of all members of the community? What you do and how you do it are part of what it means, to live with virtue. 

All Saints Day - Saint Mary's Catholic Church - Mt. Angel, OR - November 1st, 2013

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      All Saint's Day is a day the Saint's are commemorated and remembered, predominantly in the Catholic tradition. It is a day that Catholic's are also supposed to attend. Going into this visit, I didn't really know what to expect. The Church is in a small conservative catholic town but I've been surprised in my visits before, the catholic churches I've known also tend to be just as likely to have more liberal leaning priests as conservative leaning priests. So there is that.
   
     The music at the service was beautiful and overall it was a really wonderful service. The one thing I didn't like though was how narrow the prayer was. Usually there are at least a few mentions of people outside the church and wishing them the best beyond them being recruited to the faith. The service today failed to get beyond the community of the faithful at all, beyond bringing more people in.

    The sermon itself referenced Pope Francis's sermon on this day which was polar opposite. Francis said that there are Saints among us and in our lives and that we may know them. This broad interpretation of Sainthood was spot on in my opinion since it captured how anyone can live virtuously and inspire others to good. Anyone can be selfish, just as anyone can be loving...how we choose to live along those lines is usually mixed but we can do what we can to get it as close as possible to living with love and virtue towards our fellow human beings. This is to me what makes a Saint. The example of Christ is used a lot, which I think is understandable, but I also see good people who would also be saints in the non-religious variety or of other faiths. Francis's speech captured that I think.

    Francis's speech was also a contrast to the priest who was distant and formal, and how historically politics can be a big reason for making people saints...not so much the actions they lived in their lives. Though, sometimes it can be a mixture of both.
  
     Overall it was a great visit and a day of contrasts. To end, who do you consider a Saint and why? What makes a Saint in your opinion?

   

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.