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Oct. 11th, 2018 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mad_tea_party I haven't really talked a lot of what I'm doing to cope with what my Daddy C is going through. Or, for that matter, what my family is going through to deal with all of this.
We have started going to a church that is down the street from where we live. This is actually a much bigger deal for me than it is for my family. Why? Well, a bit of background. For a long time, probably since the time I turned 18, I've had a love/dislike relationship with Christianity. It's because of the way I saw a Youth Pastor treat someone I really cared about because she wouldn't conform to their beliefs, and because I was still young, I got it in my head that all Christians were like that. It tore me up. And even though I stayed with that church for a year after that, I did find myself less enthralled with it after that encounter.
From there, I went on to study and practice Wicca. And even though I added my own beliefs in angels and prayer to the Craft, I was told by my own mother that I wasn't allowed to listen to Christmas music/celebrate Christmas because I no longer believed in Jesus Christ. How's that for turning me off even further? I mean, I was okay with my mom believing, and everything. I never once tried to convert her, nor did those words, "I don't believe that way anymore" ever leave my mouth. In my youth, I guess I was really just punishing the church, so to speak, for treating my friend so un-Christian like.
Now, with my father's diagnosis, and desperate for something to fill my heart and soul, my family and I went in search of a new church. We came across Faith United Methodist Church through a neighbor named Donna. When she first moved in, she invited me to a thing called the Happy Feet Dance for adults with disabilities. It took me a couple of months, but I finally agreed to go because I wanted to try it. (I have also been hungry for new friends/ new things to do besides just the library (which i am still involved in, but haven't felt as up to doing lately)
I met some of the regular church members there and pretty much forgot about it after that, aside from really wanting to go to the one this month. That is. Until my Dad mentioned wanting to start going to church on Sundays. Because Donna had mentioned that they had a contemporary/informal church service with a praise band and everything, I suggested Donna's church.
So we had our first official Sunday at her church last week, and it was a big success. We had neighbors that Mom and Dad had played water volleyball with before come and hug us, the music was good, and I made a new acquaintance, named Lexie. She's a drawer. Which is awesome, because I do have another friend named Lexi (without the e) that also draws... lol. So..
So anyway, tonight, we had a church Dinner. They call it S.A.T.C.H. While my family was eating, a lady named Brenda (who we'd briefly met on Sunday, as a matter of fact) asked me if I was into puppets. I said sure. Of course I'm a little apprehensive, being new to the church and wanting to get into things a little slowly. Turned out she was looking for puppeteers for the Church's Christmas production. I volunteered after mulling it over. I was really enamored after she brought out one of the puppets! Her name is Pinkie, and the puppet and I just really "connected" if an inanimate object can connect...lol.
So after dinner, and after I helped clean up the hall and stuff, I helped Ms. Brenda, Lexie, and Ms. Patti (y?) put the puppet stage together, and then we ran through it. Guys, I gotta say, it felt really good singing these songs (albeit weird because they were arranged in the style of 50s and 60s oldies songs) without feeling the guilt I've felt for years as a Wiccan singing those songs. I did discover to my dismay that I didn't know the second verse for two of the five songs, and the last song, I was unfamiliar with completely. But Ms. Brenda loaned me the song book, and the CD to make a copy of so I could practice and learn the words. I also brought Pinkie home with me to practice syncing the mouth up with the lyrics.
Stay tuned for further adventures of me and church group as I get more involved and find my way back to Jesus.
We have started going to a church that is down the street from where we live. This is actually a much bigger deal for me than it is for my family. Why? Well, a bit of background. For a long time, probably since the time I turned 18, I've had a love/dislike relationship with Christianity. It's because of the way I saw a Youth Pastor treat someone I really cared about because she wouldn't conform to their beliefs, and because I was still young, I got it in my head that all Christians were like that. It tore me up. And even though I stayed with that church for a year after that, I did find myself less enthralled with it after that encounter.
From there, I went on to study and practice Wicca. And even though I added my own beliefs in angels and prayer to the Craft, I was told by my own mother that I wasn't allowed to listen to Christmas music/celebrate Christmas because I no longer believed in Jesus Christ. How's that for turning me off even further? I mean, I was okay with my mom believing, and everything. I never once tried to convert her, nor did those words, "I don't believe that way anymore" ever leave my mouth. In my youth, I guess I was really just punishing the church, so to speak, for treating my friend so un-Christian like.
Now, with my father's diagnosis, and desperate for something to fill my heart and soul, my family and I went in search of a new church. We came across Faith United Methodist Church through a neighbor named Donna. When she first moved in, she invited me to a thing called the Happy Feet Dance for adults with disabilities. It took me a couple of months, but I finally agreed to go because I wanted to try it. (I have also been hungry for new friends/ new things to do besides just the library (which i am still involved in, but haven't felt as up to doing lately)
I met some of the regular church members there and pretty much forgot about it after that, aside from really wanting to go to the one this month. That is. Until my Dad mentioned wanting to start going to church on Sundays. Because Donna had mentioned that they had a contemporary/informal church service with a praise band and everything, I suggested Donna's church.
So we had our first official Sunday at her church last week, and it was a big success. We had neighbors that Mom and Dad had played water volleyball with before come and hug us, the music was good, and I made a new acquaintance, named Lexie. She's a drawer. Which is awesome, because I do have another friend named Lexi (without the e) that also draws... lol. So..
So anyway, tonight, we had a church Dinner. They call it S.A.T.C.H. While my family was eating, a lady named Brenda (who we'd briefly met on Sunday, as a matter of fact) asked me if I was into puppets. I said sure. Of course I'm a little apprehensive, being new to the church and wanting to get into things a little slowly. Turned out she was looking for puppeteers for the Church's Christmas production. I volunteered after mulling it over. I was really enamored after she brought out one of the puppets! Her name is Pinkie, and the puppet and I just really "connected" if an inanimate object can connect...lol.
So after dinner, and after I helped clean up the hall and stuff, I helped Ms. Brenda, Lexie, and Ms. Patti (y?) put the puppet stage together, and then we ran through it. Guys, I gotta say, it felt really good singing these songs (albeit weird because they were arranged in the style of 50s and 60s oldies songs) without feeling the guilt I've felt for years as a Wiccan singing those songs. I did discover to my dismay that I didn't know the second verse for two of the five songs, and the last song, I was unfamiliar with completely. But Ms. Brenda loaned me the song book, and the CD to make a copy of so I could practice and learn the words. I also brought Pinkie home with me to practice syncing the mouth up with the lyrics.
Stay tuned for further adventures of me and church group as I get more involved and find my way back to Jesus.
