Buddy,
our yellow Labrador Retriever ran off again - our time
to leave for church.
Made announcement at Church - Testimony meeting.
1.
Gratitude
2.
Plans for the year. – Taking a sabbatical – will be a non-Mormon for a year.
a. Go to 52 different churches and other
groups of people with common beliefs..
b. Learn to play the violin.
c. Learn American Sign Language.
d. Try to find
people who believe as I - that God is good only.
3.
Limited Testimony - Essentially that the Savior is only good - not as described
in the Old Testament.
Got
message that Buddy had come to the Church at 9th and Chestnut -
A
family going to church there took Buddy home with them - in
Robin
had called. Met Robin,
husband, and two kids. Nice
people. They loved Buddy. Told them about my plan - and said I would
like to visit their church next Sunday.
It meets at
Thoughts
during week:
When we
speak of the necessity for authority (for a baptism, for example), what are we
really taking about? When Wes was
baptized in his church, he says he made commitments to the Savior. We don't doubt that - no authority is
required for him to make his promises - and none is needed for him to keep his
promises.
So the
"authority" is required for God to make and keep His promises. He simply won't make or keep them for Wes,
even though Wes keeps his.
Can we
really believe this? It's like saying a
marriage is not real if the person who performed the ceremony was improperly
credentialed. That marriage contract is
between the husband and the wife. Who
performs the "ceremony" does not change this.
The
promises made at baptism are between the one baptized and God. No authority is required for these promises
to be made, and none for them to be kept.
We may trust that God will make and keep His promises if we keep ours,
period.
The
Visit:
Attended Trinity Episcopal Church at 9th and Chestnut.
(Buddy
had visited here the week before.)
Robin
and family were not there - home with a sick child - they had left a message to
expect me - and to treat me good.
They
had an interesting combination of some things more formal and fixed - and other
things more open and relaxed compared with Mormons. There was much verbiage repeated in unison by
the congregation and minister - back and forth - similar to the Catholics. On the other hand - they invite all who have
accepted the savior to participate in the Eucharist (Our Sacrament.) They do not feel a need for re-baptism. They refer to "The One True Catholic
Church," and that is on the plaque in front of the chapel. That was a surprise to me. Catholic means "All in One," roughly, and I believe the term came about in the
time of
There
is a mesmerizing effect to the rote verbiage - I noticed even myself (much
resistive to such as this) feeling a certain bonding or belonging. This is a powerful thing, which is a large
part of our temple ceremonies, but in our church not so much on a week-to-week
basis as was apparent in this Episcopal Church.
Fellowshipping
is enhanced by a short social directly after the formal service. There I was greeted and introduced to dozens
of friendly people. It was about a
half-hour deal - with cookies and lemonade and coffee. We have to get someone back to a separate
social - making the logistics more difficult.
We could learn from this. (What
is the Sabbath about?)
They
referred to me as "The guy with the dog." They had all met Buddy, as he came
during last week's social - went right inside and met everyone. They said they knew he liked them and their
church - because he went from person to person meeting everyone, and then
immediately went outside and baptized himself in the fountain out in the patio.
The
minister was a nice and very talented woman (another bit of freedom) - and her
talk was extremely positive, savior oriented, and enthusiastic. A great message centered about Paul's
encounter with "The Unknown God."
This was the God, said Paul, who did not need sacrifices as a bribe - as
did the Greek Gods of the time.
During
the Eucharist ceremony, while we were reading our parts (some had it memorized)
- She also did her part from memory - but changed one word, which I thought
interesting.
The
booklet said,
"THIS
IS MY BLOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT WHICH IS POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR ALL."
But she
said,
"THIS
IS MY BLOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT WHICH IS POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY."
I don't
know if this was purposeful, false memory, or another version of the accepted
verbiage.
There
was a beautiful sculpture of the savior on the cross with (probably) John and
Mary looking up. John and Mary's feet
were off the ground, as though they were suspended. It reminded me of our depiction of God and
Jesus appearing in the grove. This was
off to the left side of the chapel.
Another sculpture, this one in the very center, was also of Jesus. But this was the resurrected Jesus - similar
to our "Christus," though not so
beautifully muscled. It had a similar
feel to it, with the hands gently outstretched.
What appeared "featured" in the chapel was the resurrection,
rather than the crucifixion. The marks -
were only in the hands and feet - not in the wrists.
Note: I believe our "Christus"
also has marks only in the hands and feet - not in the wrists. (I have never understood the
"secrecy.") The relatively new
movie, shown in
There
were several other speakers (Other than the minister), apparently ordinary
members. Dress varied from suits and
ties to sweatshirts, even among the speakers.
(Another bit of noticed freedom from required conformity.) There appeared to be more suits as age
increased - perhaps habits (or values) of the past?
Talking
with a man after, he said that this was a church where people are not requested
to "Check their brains at the door."
I didn't go very far to discover how much freedom of thought was
available, but they do not require everyone to believe the same. (Evolution?) (Rejection of a literal Old
Testament?) I thought I may not
be able to visit 52 churches. I may have
to do some repeating to learn more detail.
If so, I'll still list the visits as 01 to 52. This was 01 of 52. It was quite pleasant.
They
have told me it would be ok to come back and take pictures in the chapel, which
I will do.
01 of
52 – Trinity Episcopal Church