I went to a Sunday service yesterday for the first time in 7 years....

by Eyebrow2 8 Replies latest members private

• 

  Eyebrow2

  I finally made it to the North Texas Church of Freethought.

  I have visited their website for a while, and have been reading various humanist boards etc...even joined the Church of Spiritual Humanism a little bit ago. I have been looking for an offline group for quite a while.

  Anyhooo.....it was interesting. I wasn't quite sure what I would find.

  There was a good number there, but according to one of the members that has been going for 10 years or so, it was a small group.

  They did a short music part....a teenage girl sang some opera piece (she was very good). Then they had s talk on what a hurrican really is.

  In the middle of this talk, the room lost all power. Complete blackness.

  I thought to me myself....ahhhh..I must be the Jonah here hahah....after a breaker was flipped though we were back on track.

  The next talk was on Free Thinking composers...interesting.

  They have a get together for lunch afterwards, but I didn't go. Maybe next time.

  Anyway...about half way through...just something wierd happened. I looked around the room at all the people. It was a mix of people that looked to be between 40 and over 60 years of age...though there were some there that were younger, and some that had kids in the other room. (they have a sunday school where the little kids studied what a hurrican is today...last month they studied the history of ice cream, and there is a nursery).

  Anyhoo...back to the wierd thing...everyone was dressed differently. there were a couple of people dressed as regular church goers, then you had the business casual, then you had the people in tshirts and shorts...I had sneakers on, but didn't feel out of place at all.

  I just seem like there was a good "vibe" in the room. I was confused at first...trying to figure out how that could be at first...then I realized.

  The good vibe...or peacefulness and easiness I felt in the room is because these people were here because they WANTED to be there.

  No obligation to be there to look like good memebers....no obligation to be there out of guilt or fear of losing their souls.

  I cannot really express how refreshing that was. I am thinking about going back next month.

  If there are other DFW area peeps here that are interested in going, I can tell you it is worth getting up for. It doesn't start until 1030AM and is just about an hour or so...much easier to deal with.

  http://www.churchoffreethought.org/

  Have you found another organization? I know many of you don't have the need for one, but I really have missed having a place to go.
• 

  daystar

  The good vibe...or peacefulness and easiness I felt in the room is because these people were here because they WANTED to be there.

  No obligation to be there to look like good memebers....no obligation to be there out of guilt or fear of losing their souls.

  That is most certainly an important thing. Just don't give that more import than it's due.
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  Eyebrow2

  no, of course not...it was just neat you know....having been to the KH so many times myself out of obligation near the end...and knowing that was why others were there too...this just was so different
• 

  Billygoat

  The good vibe...or peacefulness and easiness I felt in the room is because these people were here because they WANTED to be there.

  That's what's so neat for me about church now...I ENJOY it! The days we don't go because of vacation or illness or something else, I feel like I've missed out. We have a great, down to earth, pastor, who's just a regular joe. I love our friends and classmembers from Sunday School there. It's wonderful! I remember missing meetings for a few weeks when I was a little girl. NOBODY called to find out how we were. You miss one Sunday in our Sunday School class and several people are calling, wondering if all is well. It's a nice change!
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  banished1

  I went to church twice since my dfing. .....invited by co-workers who wanted to cheer me up. Neither knew their Bibles at all but were confident I'd been terribly mislead by the witnesses.
  
  I went. I even took my boyfriend to the second one. Alot of happy faces. Alot of singing. ALOT OF SINGING! My God it seemed the majority of the service was musical.
  
  But I did feel like you that the people were there because they wanted to be, unlike many at the KH. But can we be sure????? I felt the same the first time I stepped into the KH. Wow I thought! I was impressed by stuff there too! My co-worker struggles to put food on the table for her 8 year old. He is enrolled in the church school for free. They pay his hefty tuition for her. She feels very obligated. In the short time I worked with her she went from one meeting on Sundays to two, then three meetings a week at the church. Then there was the cookie drive and some other drive she felt obligated to participate in. This on top of working full time and on her days off she shares a rented room in a house with an active 8 year old!!!
  I think Christendom and these other churches have an insider's pressures and problems probably similar sometimes to the JWs.
  
  I went twice, but I dont need to get up on Sundays for singing and testimonials.
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  freedom96

  My family and I have been attending a non-denominational church for the last 6 months or so, and have very much enjoyed it. Found the same thing that you mentioned, that people appear to be enjoying themselves, and the fact is they go because they want to go, not because they will get a call asking if everything is ok and how you were missed.

  They provide live music, where the praise is directed at God, and not themselves. Followed by a talk by the pastor, which actually uses the bible, and it just feels right.
• 

  Double Edge

  I went twice, but I dont need to get up on Sundays for singing and testimonials

  I wouldn't want to go back there either. You just haven't found the right place.
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  confusedjw

  I misread your topic at first like this "I went out in Sunday service...."

  Phew!
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  Eyebrow2

  confused...ack...that is a scary thought, ain't it?

  I think Christendom and these other churches have an insider's pressures and problems probably similar sometimes to the JWs.

  I don't doubt that for a second. I don't there is any sort of group that doesn't have its own set of problems...in religion or secular. Even when one goes for a new job, you just leave one set of problems for a new set of problems. The question is do you get enough out of the new group to make the new set of problems nominal? Not having to wear nylons is a start hahaha.

  I don't how things will go there, but it was nice to have a place to go. There isn't a lot of places that as a nonChristian you can go for "fellowship", especially down here in the Bible belt. At least not offline. I know there are a lot here that don't need it, but it is something I do.

  =)