Do You Hear What I Hear?

I’ve started taking the kids to church.  Not, no so much to "get them" some religion but because I didn’t have a good excuse for why we weren’t going.  Gosh, that didn’t come out right…

This is the thing.  I have, over the years, fallen away from church, largely driven by the intolerance and overabundance of pious judgment demonstrated by those in my prior denomination, Southern Baptist (please, no more emails from those of you who are offended by this, I think it’s great that you’re praying for me and that you hope I will see the error of my ways, now go think of another network to boycott as a way to misguidely expend your energy).  As a result, I have been "without church." 

Last year, on occasion, I started attending a local church.  And by on occasion, I mean twice.  Or something just as bad.

This year, I decided to make a more regular appearance at church.  And you know what?  I like it.  I like the tolerance, the acceptance, the fellowship at my local church, St. Timothy’s.  It’s Episcopal.

At first, I struggled with whether to take Amy and Katie.  I didn’t want to foist a religion upon them that might turn them off to the church at some point – that’s what I believe happened to my husband.  Raised Catholic, he now shuns almost all church all of the time.

So, I kept the girls away from church, thinking that I’d let them make their own choices.  But then it dawned on me:  how can you make a choice if you don’t know what the choice is about?  In other words, in my quest to not "over-religion" the girls, I am really just feeding them the perspective that church is to be avoided.  That certainly doesn’t make any sense.

I’ve been taking them to church, letting them hang in the nursery or do children’s church, but come up for the blessing.  And you know what?  They seem to like it.  Amy asks to go.  It’s made me realize that not doing something as a way of letting folks make their own choice is no choice at all.  You need both sides.

That means until they tell me differently (or on the occasional Sunday where they’re just too tired and I go to the early service alone), they’re coming with me to church.  Chris does not attend, a fact that has not gone unnoticed.  Katie asked him today why he didn’t go.  We pretended not to hear her, and I told Chris that I would like to talk to him about at least going during the holidays – he’s promised to make it on Christmas.

And I’ve been feeling pretty good about my decision to bring them with.  Even after today when, as the choir passed by singing their dismissal hymn, and as they finished up, Amy stood up and added loudly "E-I-E-I-OOOOO!"

Tagged as: Christian right, church, Religion