Church
We tried a different church on Sunday.
Backtrack: I had been going to a nearby Lutheran church and while I love the service, the pastors, the people (many of them transplanted Midwesterners who understand the mindset of a Minnesota Lutheran) and everything about the church, there is one small problem: they don't have a nursery.
They have a "quiet room"...a glassed in room, like a fish tank that juts out into the church. Nothing like feeling like a zoo animal while trying to concentrate on a Psalm, you know? And trust me, it was a zoo in there. I think the Lord probably appreciates the trouble that we go to to get our children to church, but I was getting nothing out of the service between chasing William, prying other kids' toys out of his hands and attending to the myriad needs of two bored older kids.
It's so hard because being Lutheran is just part of my blood. I can't imagine trading my faith. Lutheranism is something I find a great deal of comfort in. I am reminded of countless Wednesdays and Sundays growing up: church services, Sunday school, vacation Bible school, Christmas services, confirmation, choir. There was a time in high school when to say that I was heavily involved at my church was an understatement (of course, this may have had something to do with the fact that I had an enormous crush on another choir member...).
Anyway...the lack of a nursery sent us looking for a different church. Preferably one where they took our children away and returned them with better Christian morals after the service. Instill, people, instill!! And so we tried a non-denominational church a block up from my Lutheran church. It wasn't awful. It's just that the music was SO loud and went on and ON. They had advertised themselves as having children's church during the regular service AND a nursery, so we thought the kids would be set while we attended services...only to find that we were expected to keep the kids until after the singing was done and then they went to children's church/nursery.
We left when the singing was still going on at 10:40...(40 minutes of singing).
We're going to try the church where Annika attends preschool next week. It's Baptist and promises a "mix of classic and contemporary" in their service, which may be just what I (classic) and Hans (contemporary) need. Wish us luck. Finding a church is a lot like finding the perfect pair of jeans...we're having to try on a few before we find the pair that makes us smile!
Backtrack: I had been going to a nearby Lutheran church and while I love the service, the pastors, the people (many of them transplanted Midwesterners who understand the mindset of a Minnesota Lutheran) and everything about the church, there is one small problem: they don't have a nursery.
They have a "quiet room"...a glassed in room, like a fish tank that juts out into the church. Nothing like feeling like a zoo animal while trying to concentrate on a Psalm, you know? And trust me, it was a zoo in there. I think the Lord probably appreciates the trouble that we go to to get our children to church, but I was getting nothing out of the service between chasing William, prying other kids' toys out of his hands and attending to the myriad needs of two bored older kids.
It's so hard because being Lutheran is just part of my blood. I can't imagine trading my faith. Lutheranism is something I find a great deal of comfort in. I am reminded of countless Wednesdays and Sundays growing up: church services, Sunday school, vacation Bible school, Christmas services, confirmation, choir. There was a time in high school when to say that I was heavily involved at my church was an understatement (of course, this may have had something to do with the fact that I had an enormous crush on another choir member...).
Anyway...the lack of a nursery sent us looking for a different church. Preferably one where they took our children away and returned them with better Christian morals after the service. Instill, people, instill!! And so we tried a non-denominational church a block up from my Lutheran church. It wasn't awful. It's just that the music was SO loud and went on and ON. They had advertised themselves as having children's church during the regular service AND a nursery, so we thought the kids would be set while we attended services...only to find that we were expected to keep the kids until after the singing was done and then they went to children's church/nursery.
We left when the singing was still going on at 10:40...(40 minutes of singing).
We're going to try the church where Annika attends preschool next week. It's Baptist and promises a "mix of classic and contemporary" in their service, which may be just what I (classic) and Hans (contemporary) need. Wish us luck. Finding a church is a lot like finding the perfect pair of jeans...we're having to try on a few before we find the pair that makes us smile!
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