More Gossip

Okay, i just have so much more to say about the Lutheran church where we just resigned our membership.


We have recently been hung up on all the negatives, all the weirdness, all the bad from that church.  In fact, when i've told people what was said & why i was upset, the question i often get is, "He said what?  Why are you still going there?"




I know i've said some of this before, but it needs to be said again.  This is why we went there & continued for so long.  




When we first visited the church, it was clear to us that G loves Jesus very much.  He was passionate about living for God.  He was very concerned that people hold to a Biblical authority & not just whatever they feel at the moment.  He was very concerned that we not "water down" the Word of God to fit our current culture.  




The church wasn't just friendly, it was loving & warm.  There was a depth of concern for the members that i've rarely seen in other churches.  


Week after week people would be asking about us, & we rarely if ever felt it was a routine inquiry.  We felt the folks sincerely cared, as we did too.  When someone was missing it was felt by all. 


When one of our members lost his home, the church council rallied in a very loving manner, even more so to be sure to spare the member's feelings as much as possible.  When the economic downturn happened, we began collecting food weekly.  That church does not have the staff or ability to distribute what was brought in, so it was taken to another church that does a routine distribution.  However, every week it was said that if anyone in the congregation was in need, that they should avail themselves of the collected food before it was taken elsewhere.  Eventually one of the council members suggested that the people who might need it might be too embarrassed to take it for themselves, so the announcement was changed to "If you or anyone you know are in need, please utilize the food brought in.  If you know your neighbor is struggling to buy groceries, then please feel free to take food for them."




That church routinely sends flowers to folks who are ill.  Not just those in hospital, & not just when they first get sick.  There are some who have long term illness & the church remembers them not just at the outset.  It was their sending flowers to me that let us know that we had a problem because of their perception of why we were not there.  




Every week that church went beyond coffee & donuts to a small brunch-type meal (that meant a lot of work for the women).  They very much desired everyone to stay for this fellowship.  Also, 3-4 times a year the church would have a potluck meal at the fellowship time.  Easter & a Christmas tree trimming were the large ones, but they usually had one or two others as well.  This church desired to fellowship with members & visitors. 




Every year they have a 3 day Vacation Bible School for the children.  I know that is typical in most churches, but most churches have younger women & mamas & often teens to implement the program.  I believe the average age of woman attending the Lutheran Church is probably about 62 (& that is a low average because of me & maybe 2 others others).  Most of the women doing a VBS are 70 or older.  




G, the pastor, was able to be very compassionate to those in grief or stress.  He deeply desired to comfort those who were hurting.  


We prefer a liturgical church & that form of worship.  This church has liturgy, tho not the exact liturgy to which we are accustomed.  Liturgy fills a need in me that i have not found in other forms of worship.




Also, & this cannot be overlooked, being part of a church that the doctrine does not fit where we are at sharpened us.  Toward the end of our being there, nearly every week we spent our drive to OC discussing what had been said, whether we thought it Biblical or not, & whether we felt he was taking verses out of context.  This, far more than a Bible study where everyone agrees on all points, helped us to grow more than anything else i can imagine.




So, while we struggle with the harshness & the things we see so glaringly wrong, i do want to keep all the good in mind.  These are the reasons we stayed so long, & these are the reasons it is difficult to leave.  





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