So I've been back in the city for 6 whole months now, and I'm still not attending church regularly. At first I thought I would be Episcopalian because I like their doctrine. But then I realized they are so similar to ELCA, so I figured I should just go to and ELCA church so I can still be a Lutheran. Being a Lutheran is really important to me; I was raised in a family of German Lutherans and went to college at a Lutheran school. I don't agree with most of the teachings of the LCMS, but ELCA is a good fit for me. The only problem is, all the ELCA churches I visited in the city had very traditional services. Willow Creek spoiled me because I love the contemporary service now. Also, no one really talked to me at these churches, and the sermons were not that great.
So then I started going to New Community in Logan Square. There are a lot of great things about this church. The sermons are good; I always go home thinking about them and continue to think about them for the rest of the week. A lot of my friends from small group go here, so I always have someone to sit with. And, if I don't go, someone notices. The music is great, and it's a bigger church made up mostly of people around my age.
Those are the pros, but there are cons as well. The sermons are like, an hour long. I have trouble listening for that long. There are many people from Metro (the big Bible study group I used to go to once in a while) who have started attending here. I never really felt comfortable around Metro people. I know this isn't really fair of me to list as a con, since there are very nice people in Metro. But like I said, I never felt like I could be myself. Another con- church starts at 10, which is early for me, especially during the school year. The last con is that it's in Logan Square, and I was really hoping to join a church in my neighborhood.
The other day, I tried a church in my neighborhood. Most of them are Catholic, but I found one called Community Christian Church. Their main campus is actually out in Naperville (the big yellow building at Ogden and Rickert). So here are the pros and cons of this church:
Pros:
-I felt so welcomed! So many people came and talked to me. This cute old man came and gave me a big hug and kiss on the cheek. I felt like I could make friends with these people.
-The music was great.
-It's in my neighborhood. They offer lots of small groups, so it gives me the chance to connect with my neighbors.
-Church starts at 11:00.
-The sermon was good.
Cons:
-Since their main campus is in Naperville, we watch the sermon via satellite. (This is a big con for me. I don't want to go to church and watch a video.)
-It's a smaller church; there were only about 50 people at the service. But I think they're still growing; it's a newer branch of this church. And the face that people were so nice makes up for it.
So what do I do??? Any advice would be appreciated, especially from all my friends who read my blog and never comment. Not that I care if no one's reading my blog, but if you're reading it anyway, isn't it easier to just post a comment instead of calling me to talk about it?
So then I started going to New Community in Logan Square. There are a lot of great things about this church. The sermons are good; I always go home thinking about them and continue to think about them for the rest of the week. A lot of my friends from small group go here, so I always have someone to sit with. And, if I don't go, someone notices. The music is great, and it's a bigger church made up mostly of people around my age.
Those are the pros, but there are cons as well. The sermons are like, an hour long. I have trouble listening for that long. There are many people from Metro (the big Bible study group I used to go to once in a while) who have started attending here. I never really felt comfortable around Metro people. I know this isn't really fair of me to list as a con, since there are very nice people in Metro. But like I said, I never felt like I could be myself. Another con- church starts at 10, which is early for me, especially during the school year. The last con is that it's in Logan Square, and I was really hoping to join a church in my neighborhood.
The other day, I tried a church in my neighborhood. Most of them are Catholic, but I found one called Community Christian Church. Their main campus is actually out in Naperville (the big yellow building at Ogden and Rickert). So here are the pros and cons of this church:
Pros:
-I felt so welcomed! So many people came and talked to me. This cute old man came and gave me a big hug and kiss on the cheek. I felt like I could make friends with these people.
-The music was great.
-It's in my neighborhood. They offer lots of small groups, so it gives me the chance to connect with my neighbors.
-Church starts at 11:00.
-The sermon was good.
Cons:
-Since their main campus is in Naperville, we watch the sermon via satellite. (This is a big con for me. I don't want to go to church and watch a video.)
-It's a smaller church; there were only about 50 people at the service. But I think they're still growing; it's a newer branch of this church. And the face that people were so nice makes up for it.
So what do I do??? Any advice would be appreciated, especially from all my friends who read my blog and never comment. Not that I care if no one's reading my blog, but if you're reading it anyway, isn't it easier to just post a comment instead of calling me to talk about it?
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