One down and an as yet unspecified number to go…

So, the church search has resumed, and while it would have been cute to attend a Pentecostal church on Pentecost, I decided on a church to visit based off of one factor alone: start time. The church? Trinity Methodist in Homewood. I went to their contemporary service which starts at 11:15am. Lovely! Especially since getting two kids fed and ready takes exactly four times longer than getting one kid ready. Add in the fact that since Bear doesn’t attend, I can’t put on my make-up in the car while he drives, along with the frequent nursing breaks of my current “infant-cued feeding” philosophy, and suddenly waking up at 7:00 only guaranteed that I was 15 minutes late instead of 30.

So, here’s the overall impression: Loved the sermon and music! The preacher was very laid back, and when he prayed for forgiveness for not accepting the diversity in God’s creation, I happily took that as code for “Jesus doesn’t condone homophobia, people”. He also had a great section where he discussed how if you’re doing what God wants from you, you’ll be reviled, which seems counterintuitive, but the perfect example is that if a person who is here illegally needs a ride to the doctor, you are now putting yourself in legal jeopardy by providing that person with said ride. It was nice to hear someone speak out against the recent insane legislation from a Christian standpoint. Not sure why people around here seem to think that progressive liberalism and Christianity are mutually exclusive. The music was great, standard praise music, the kind that you’d find on a Robin Mark album. The kind that makes Bear smile in a simultaneously sweet and condescending way. (He can be such a music snob)

Here’s the caveat: The people seemed nice enough, although nobody actually spoke to us. This is not necessarily a bad thing. I think Bear was right when he said that my parent’s church was always way too intense in welcoming visitors. And on the plus side, nobody gave me a dirty look when Talula slipped into her alter ego “Iris” and began throwing a huge tantrum. Also, no stares when I began nursing her in my seat or when she was so upset she wouldn’t latch & reached fever pitch. Important Note: according to Trinity’s website this service is more casual, and you should feel comfortable wearing jeans. I’ll say this, the ladies weren’t exactly wearing pearls and hats, but I was definitely the only woman there in jeans.

All that said, I will probably visit again, and I won’t be wearing a dress then either.

Welcome to the world Talula Iris!

So, I haven’t been on  a while, which is maybe the understatement of the century. But I’ve been busy. We had a beautiful baby girl on March 21, and I couldn’t be happier

That being said, it has presented a bit of a dilemma. I pretty much abandoned my “church search” due to what may be the most horrendous pregnancy in the history of the world. (Not really, obviously, but the hormones combined with anemia that knocked me out of the homebirth I had wanted, made Lindley a pretty sluggish, unpleasant person for about 42 weeks straight.) Since I have not been visiting churches, I do not have a church home, which leads me to the predicament. Where exactly am I supposed to have this poor baby Christened?

I love Christenings. I love the ceremony; I love the Christening gowns. And bless her heart, she is a total hoss. She will not fit into a Christening gown much longer. What to do? To complicate things, the priest at our old church has retired. I would’ve been happy to have him officiate, since he performed Ursa’s and our marriage ceremony. It’s important to me, and I really wish that Bear and I were on the same page about this because, while he would never ever do anything to stand in the way of me bringing them up in my faith, he’s not exactly getting up on Sunday mornings to help get us out the door either

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned…

Probably no more than usual, but it is time for a confession.

Confession #1: I did not start my “Church Search” this past weekend. I had a massive migraine on Saturday that basically wiped out my entire weekend, but that being said, I can’t make excuses. So, this Sunday I will be visiting my first church in the “10 Churches in 10 Weeks” journey that will hopefully lead me to an appropriate church home. I’m excited about the challenge, if not entirely optimistic.

Confession #2: I am not the best candidate for a parishioner. The fact is, I dress pretty weird, and I’m currently sporting a rat tail in an unnaturally red shade known only as “Red 666″. This makes some people uncomfortable, and I get that. Really. There are some people who confuse looking different with being different and being different with being special. I’m not one of those people. It’s just that I love weird clothes and strange hair. I don’t think I’m even capable of putting together an outfit of “classic” pieces or coming up with a hairstyle that doesn’t involve adjectives like “70′s glam rockish”. So on that note, I confess that I probably make a lot of people uncomfortable when I sit next to them in church.

Confession #3: There are three main things that I’m looking for in a church, and there may not be a church in the whole country that fits the criteria. The first two are easy enough to admit. I am extremely liberal, like somewhere-left-of-President-Obama liberal. I can’t sit in a church that doesn’t support gay marriage or a woman’s right to choose. It just doesn’t feel right. Of course, there are churches out there that are socially and politically liberal, but then comes requirement number two. I need a church that is liturgical. In other words, a church that follows repetitive formal rites, i.e. the rite of baptism and most importantly the rite of Holy Eucharist. Communion should be offered every Sunday. It should be blessed first by the priest, and there should be a communal cup. Now, I realize this seems oddly specific, but I can’t help it. It is very important to me. As far as I know, the church that best meets both requirement 1 & 2 is the Episcopal Church, but then that’s where #3 comes in.

Confession #4: Since I first decided to do this blog, this is the post I have most dreaded. This is the confession that is going to make me look like a religious zealot or an insane person, probably both. It’s not the kind of thing one admits to easily in secular company or even the company of others who have a spiritual path, but here goes nothing. I am….wait for it…..a Charismatic. I know, right? That sounds insane. It’s not snake handling, but there is speaking in tongues. Basically, as a Charismatic, I believe in “spiritual gifts” or charismata and in the actual presence and movement of the Holy Spirit within the modern church.

So, basically, I’m looking for a liberal, liturgical, charismatic church in the greater metropolitan area that may or may not exist. First stop, Advent Episcopal. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed…and my arms. You don’t want to go accidentally raising your hands during a service where that is frowned upon.

The Alabama Certificate of Religious Exemption from Immunization

After a series of lengthy discussions on the topic of immunizations, Bear and I finally came to the conclusion that we didn’t want to have to be on Ursa’s school’s agenda. Unfortunately, the only way to be exempt from the required list of vax’s and the schedule is to receive an Alabama Certificate of Religious Exemption. It requires that your organized religion prohibit vaccinations. Herein lies the predicament.

Since Bear is an agnostic, and I’m some unnamed brand of Christian that can only be described as too liberal for most denominations and too liturgical for others, it presented a little bit of a moral dilemma. His non-religion and my nebulous grouping of beliefs, ideals, traditions, and convictions may not technically qualify us, but I decided to bite the bullet and head down to the JeffCo Health Department. So, today we are happily vaccine exempt

Incidentally, several states allow “philosophical exemptions”. It seems strange that in a state where everyone professes to not want the government telling its citizens how to parent, we would allow such an arcane policy to tie parents hands. According to an article I came across once, the numbers of religious exemptions have doubled in Alabama and Georgia which seems to match the number of people receiving philosophical exemptions in the states that allow them. I’m pretty sure there are not that many new converts to Scientology, Jehovah’s Witness, or the Church of Illumination. I’m just sayin’.

An Agnostic & a Christian walk into a bar…

No. This is not the beginning of a joke. This is the beginning of any Saturday night that my husband and I have a babysitter.

We are an interfaith couple trying to figure out the straightest line between our two worlds, and raise a well-adjusted little girl in the process. The conundrum, making sure that she has her mother’s faith without alienating her dad because of his beliefs. Aaaaand, now the latest challenge – finding a church home in Birmingham, Alabama (also known as 10 churches in 10 weeks), but more on that later this week. Fingers crossed that I can find the right fit for Ursa and me.