Marketing opportunity?
I agree, Jersey. But I also think that a community that doesn’t act like Christ, welcoming you into its midst, can be a major turnoff, particularly for people like vanilla for whom the church is an important part of her social life – living with older parents and with a young son, she hardly has access to other stuff. It should be both – nourishing and strengthening for you, and “your bounden duty and service” to God.
BTW, something amusing: my cursor was lying across the bottom of the screen when I came back to this thread, directly across Nomadic One’s post, and making it misread as:
:eek: :o :eek: :o
Well, I go to Church to be educated on the finer points of Christianity in the sermons; it also gives me a dedicated time for spirituality; and it provides a framework to do charity work, such as food drives, where my efforts can be more effective than if I was helping the less fortunate on my own.
My church gives me a lil white cookie and some wine. 
God sent Christ to die and deliver us from our sins. (Romans 5.8.) Before His death, He commanded His disciples to partake of the supper in His remembrance.
(Matthew 26.26-28; Mark 14.22-25; Luke 22.14-19.)
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And He took the cup, and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
(Matthew 26.26-28.)
Note: All the four gospels give the same account, and in Luke 22.19, Jesus said, “This do in remembrance of me.”
Also, the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth concerning the Lord’s Supper, when he heard they were partaking of it improperly. (1 Corinthians 11.20-34.) In verse 23 it reads: “For I have received from the Lord, that which I also delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus Christ the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He brake it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which was broken for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”
I go to church not because I have to but because I want to.
vanilla, what is it that you feel people wouldn’t accept about you? Is there something about you or your personal life that they objected to? (I don’t mean to imply that there is anything wrong with you. there’s something wrong with them, I’m just curious what it is)
Cthulhu, I think that’s wonderful, and excellent personal reasons to go. Please don’t take the following as a personal affront on your preferred faith; it’s just my bizarre sense of humor working with your screen name and the Cthulhu dolls thread that OpalCat started in MPSIMS, but…
Can you envision a Holy Roller Cthulhu doll, dressed in a black suit, carrying a Bible under one tentacle?
How about Cthulhu in a confessional…
“Forgive me, Father, but it has been seven eons since I last confessed… this is gonna take a while…”
but I can sympathize. What churches have you tried? I do imagine it’s tough being charismatic & evangelical but politically liberal & finding a church where there’s not some conflict. But then again, that may not even be a factor in your experience.
If you’re still open to trying churches, I’d recommend a mainstream Protty one where the Bible is taken seriously but is not married to the Republican Party.
Btw, I’m saying this as a Christian Right/libertarian Republican, but also as an Assembly of God member who doesn’t believe in PreTrib Rapture or Eternal Torment in Hell and enjoys secular rock & horror films & an occasional shot of alcohol 
I go to church to worship the Lord and fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Before I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I hadn’t gone to church in several years. It was the first thing I wanted to do after getting saved. Also, the Bible says to believers not to forsake the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is, but so much the more as you see the day approaching (Christ’s return). Sorry don’t have the reference at the moment and my break is over. I can get it later if you wish.
Note: Christians need to meet together and worship on a regular basis, else we might draw away from the faith. It keeps us focuses for the Lord. It’s like a bunch of hot coals laying together. Take one away and put it by itself and it will soon cool off. And as I said, assembling together is obedience to scripture.
Yes, Jersey(Albequerque) .
I had a church where the pastor was so good at speaking God’s words, I felt they were just for me (God’s message to me that day that I really needed to hear).
And I love the worship, espeically contemporary.
But I still think it would be nice to have friends, and they just won’t bother with us.
For goodness sake! the only friend who has wanted to do anything with us this winter was a commie-atheist!
It seems to me that Chrsitians are supposed to care about widows and the fatherless(of which me and my son are).
It just seesm like no one cares, and Chrsitians are SUPPOSED to!
Diogenes , no nothings wrong with me! that I know of!
I do wonder though.
I am not a Republican, and all churches I’ve gone to are.
The churches I like are the ones where they have bouncy songs and believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, that demons exsist today, and stuff like that.
These churches, however, seem to be “fundie” ones where all are Republicans, believe the lost day theory and all that.
I am still looking, fortuantely there are churches all around.
I don’t go to Mass often, but when I do, I get such a sense of peace. I never fail to get chills when the priest intones, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you. Only say the word and I shall be healed.”
I’ve felt this sense of comfort in many other places, although never in any other house of worship than a Catholic church- I just chalk that up to different strokes for different folks. A friend wants us to check out his UU church, which seems to be more in line with my personal beliefs than Catholicism is.
vanilla, I’m sorry about your experiences. I hope you find a church with a congregation that is worthy of you.
It’s been asked before, but I’ll ask it again - do you read threads before you post in them?
**
I see. Well, I think that’s pretty crappy if they’re judging you on your political views. Politics should have no place in church. I hope you and your son can find a place you’re comfortable in and are embraced by. Good luck to you.
Hey yme –
If the emphasis in the OP is on the word “place”, then I would have to agree that it is a sin to act like there is only one place where you can worship. The Gospel of John chapter 4 sheds a little bit of light on this, as does Acts 7. Still, I know a lot of people who believe that they can only worship in a particular bricks-and-mortar building at a particular geographical address.
Of course, the church is the community where people live out their Christian faith.
That’s looking at it sociologically. From a spiritual perspective, participating in the Church is an expression of one’s place in the mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church; a place where one glorifies their Creator through faithful application of spiritual gifts, and so on.
Or, I guess, you can just scope chicks.
In one Presbyterian sermon I heard, the pastor explained it thusly:
"A boy once asked his father, ‘Why do I need to go to chruch? If the purpose is to become more familiar with the word of God and to spend time worshipping Him, I can do that anywhere!’
His father answered, ‘Yes, you can – but you don’t. The incentive isn’t as strong without being in church.’"
Some people go for the lime jello at the covered dish dinners.
I can’t believe non of you noticed this:
You can bet what word I saw there first!
Anyway, it is no sin to praise the glory of God, and it helps me think.
I feel a bit odd posting in this thread since I left my home church in October and haven’t found a new one yet. Still, I’ll give it a shot and hope it doesn’t snow for the third Sunday morning in a row tomorrow.
The two churches I have attended since I was a teenager are more than buildings where certain activities take place. They have become my family. When I first moved to Hawaii and was living in a place where I didn’t know anyone, my church became a place where I was known and accepted. I pretty much started volunteering from the start, but what they gave me far outweighed anything I contributed. They gave me something to be a part of.
The same with the church I recently left. While I may have decided to stop attending for my own reasons, they have not left me. They’ll be holding a Pancake Supper this Tuesday to mark the end of Epiphany, and I will be as welcome there as I would be if I’d been there every Sunday for months. They pray for me, so help them. They love me, so help me. This is the same church which was the only place I could go as a teenager and find acceptance. That was an incredibly precious gift.
There’s something else. I am rather old fashioned when it comes to church services, so for me singing hymns written hundreds of years before I was born, saying words which Christians have been saying in one form or another for hundreds of years is part of the glory of worship. The structure of the Episcopal church service speaks to me in ways that less structured services don’t. Because the words and the form are almost instinctive after doing this for 30 years or so, my mind and soul are free to concentrate on God rather than worrying about whether I should sit, stand or what.
I have felt the Presence of God in my living room during a session of deep, private prayer. I’ve even felt wrapped in Christ’s love in bed at night after a particularly grueling day. In both those situations, I am focused on God, but there is something special about going to a church service. It is a special focus on God which I don’t find in more secular spaces. There’s a Catholic church at the end of the block from my therapist’s office which is always open during daylight hours at least. I’ve been known to stop in there after a session with her and spend some time on my knees before the alter in prayer, sometimes thanking God for what He has given me; sometimes asking God for strength to endure what I must endure; sometimes simply being aware of His Presence and reaffirming my dedication.
By attending a church service, I formally ally myself with the millions, if not billions of Christians who have gone before me in our devotion to God. This is important enough that I’ve actually shifted an appointment I have next week so I can attend an Ash Wednesday service, and why I do want to be in a church this Lent. It’s also why I’ll get myself out of bed at some ridiculous hour on Easter Sunday to attend a Sunrise service and remind myself of the essence, the foundation of my faith. I may only be attending church once a month or so instead of 3 times a month, but I am still part of a church.
Finally, here’s one hard, practical reason to attend church: my church in Hawaii bailed me out of a real financial hardship once when I didn’t get paid for work I’d done. They gave, not loaned me the money.
Vanilla, I know it’s not your form or style, but you might want to try an Episcopal church. They’ve always made me welcome, no matter how much of a rogue I’ve been, or how ragged.
CJ
Jesus H Christ.
There’s a simple answer to the OP.
Worship without the interposition of a formal church is called the “gnostic heresy” according to various churches. (Feel free to debate whether a church would automatically and selfishly condemn something that invalidated its own existence).
The reference in the OP to the film “Stigmata” is a reference to the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas. (Not the entirely different and really strange Infancy Gospel of Thomas)