Hello! Welcome to Pastor Marcia's blog.
Before I begin in need to clarify a term I will often use in this blog. When I refer to religion or religious; I am not referring to faith or belief in God. In my vocabulary religion means the traditions, rituals, and theological understandings that the Traditionalist have created which define the 'faith community'. Religious does not always -- hardly ever -- mean that someone has a strong faith. Having said that - I could be very very extremely incorrect. I can not, should not, ever judge the heart of another.
I am a person who was raised in the traditional generation when church going was the thing to do. Where people put on their resumes their church membership -- a sign of good standing citizen worthy of employment. Church was the place where everyone, young people included, went for social activity. As well as Christian education and worship. It was also a time when denomination divided the Body of Christ with strict lines of exclusion. It went so far as to discriminate against any form of social interaction. To marry out of one's denomination was not acceptable. Yes! Simply put, that is just the way it was. My former husband told the story of living in a small Montana town where the Catholic Church was on one side of a street and the Lutheran Church was on the other side. "Good Catholic and Good Lutheran" boys and girls only walked on the side of that street where their own denomination sat.
Before I begin in need to clarify a term I will often use in this blog. When I refer to religion or religious; I am not referring to faith or belief in God. In my vocabulary religion means the traditions, rituals, and theological understandings that the Traditionalist have created which define the 'faith community'. Religious does not always -- hardly ever -- mean that someone has a strong faith. Having said that - I could be very very extremely incorrect. I can not, should not, ever judge the heart of another.
I am a person who was raised in the traditional generation when church going was the thing to do. Where people put on their resumes their church membership -- a sign of good standing citizen worthy of employment. Church was the place where everyone, young people included, went for social activity. As well as Christian education and worship. It was also a time when denomination divided the Body of Christ with strict lines of exclusion. It went so far as to discriminate against any form of social interaction. To marry out of one's denomination was not acceptable. Yes! Simply put, that is just the way it was. My former husband told the story of living in a small Montana town where the Catholic Church was on one side of a street and the Lutheran Church was on the other side. "Good Catholic and Good Lutheran" boys and girls only walked on the side of that street where their own denomination sat.
Even though I was raised in that kind of 'Christian' culture. My understanding of God/Jesus did not agree with the times. I was a child who questioned a lot of the cultural and religious traditions of that time. But like most of us, our cultural conditioning always has an influence on our thinking. However that never stopped me from questioning and struggling with that narrow world view. That questioning and focus on the exclusiveness of the traditional generation followed me right through college and beyond. It found its way into many conversations during those years. It is what finally prompted me to enter seminary, as a wife and mother of two young girls. It was during those seminary years that I found my venue for the freedom to ask questions about the Bible and theology where there were all kinds of people willing to enter the conversation. It was a true blessing for me!
For almost thirty years of ordained ministry I have continued to keep the conversation alive with some success. There are alway those who are stuck in the 'old ways'. But I have found a welcome avenue of interest in the Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials. Many of whom have left the institutional church religion in search of a truth they were not able to find in traditional religion.