LOOSING MY RELIGION, FINDING FAITH
Spirituality, values, religious beliefs. Peace, trust, guidance. Goodness, god, God, gods.
Science?
I was raised Catholic. From kindergarten all the way through undergrad, I attended Catholic schools. After college, somewhere along life’s journey, I strayed from the Catholic Church. I found myself away longer than I had expected. Long enough to truly get lost – to the extent where global positioning meant diddely squat.
I found myself searching for guidance. Maybe a map. A tour guide, perhaps. A bus stop would have been nice. Something. I finally realized that it must be my job, and mine alone, to figure out a method for finding my way back. To find a home for my faith. Either back to the Catholic Church, or to a completely different building altogether.
METHOD FOLLOWING, MY WAY
Procedure, technique, in accordance with a definite plan. Typically an orderly, logical or systematic way of instruction, inquiry, investigation, experiment, presentation, etc. Arrangement. Sequence. Logical?
It has been quite some time since I’ve been to any form of “church” on a Sunday, let alone a Catholic mass. Today I took advantage of the opportunity to accompany my friend Jill and her son Cael to their Sunday church service. It is a Methodist church, and I enjoyed it. I felt welcome and had a pleasant and positive experience. However, I wonder: Does this method of finding the proper place for my faith and beliefs seem logical to me? Has my systematic Sunday experiment yielded a concrete answer? Have I found the right building? Am I back on the radar?
WITH GRANDIN AS MY GUIDE
Synagogue, basilica, cathedral. Duomo, or possibly, chapel.
Temple?
I have learned that my faith will be with me wherever I go, and I will have many different spiritual guides along my journey. Oddly enough, this afternoon after church with Jill, Temple Grandin (get it? Temple?) served as my first “officially unofficial” guide (more on Temple in my next post). She inspired me to keep the building doors opened just a crack, no matter where I find myself, in case I feel the need to wander once again and test future methods...on my quest for concrete faith.
1 comment:
Haha, it's been a long time since I've looked up the definition of Methodism. I was just reminded of why I like it so much...it fits my "inquisitive, but by the book" attitude quite nicely.
Along those lines, if interested in methodism in any way, I encourage you to also look into the teachings of John Wesley, a central figure of Methodism (belief in a practical, not dogmatic religion)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodism
That's that "by the book" side of me coming through, but mostly, finding a place for faith in your life really is dependent on how it feels and makes you feel, and I agree, keeping the door open for whatever place or community gives you that "conversion moment" that Eric talked about <-- See what I did there? lol ... is crucial. And perhaps separating the two would be helpful: first, dealing with letting go of the past constructs youv'e known and then second, allowing yourself to be open to new ones. You never know ... perhaps you'll find yourself back where you started, or in a different place entirely (this is starting to sound a little like Alice in Wonderland!)
On a separate note, it was so cool to see "Worlds Collide" today and introduce you to our community. (Thank you for coming with us!) For me, a supportive community is as important as the message delivered, because experiencing a faith journey together, as a shared experience makes the journey all that easier. I'm grateful and blessed that you were open to me showing you a part of my journey today and I look forward to hearing about yours.
Love,
Jill
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