So I trekked downtown this morning to attend the 11am service at Trinity United Methodist Church. Alone. It felt strange. Really strange. I've never gone to church without family or at least a friend to tag along, but I felt like I needed to do it. And I'm glad I did.
Trinity is a beautiful church, one of the oldest and most historic churches in Denver...and it's GINORMOUS. When I entered the sanctuary, the first thing I noticed was the enormous and stunning pipe organ that took up the entire wall of the church chancel, followed by the fact that the pews were overflowing with parishioners. I counted sixty people in the choir alone, which is approximately the size of UMC Mullen's entire congregation. All very impressive, but I felt slightly overwhelmed by the sea of people, especially given that I was attending by myself and sitting in a pew alone...though I'm proud to say that I fought the urge to hide in the back.
The service was a long one and much more formal than that of UMC Evergreen--congregation participation was limited to reading the responses in the printed pamphlet and the sermon felt more like a lecture. Suffice it to say, I wasn't a teary mess during this service like I was last week (ok, well, maybe a little when we sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee" at the end) and I didn't get that warm, fuzzy feeling.
But before you think I had a negative experience, I should note that it's still possible to find what you're seeking--especially when you least expect it--but you have to *want* to find it. I was wandering around today's post-service burrito breakfast, feeling a bit lost, when I noticed a table set up by an older couple who runs the military ministry. So I walked over and chatted with them (we talked about J, surprise surprise), and I signed up to write Christmas cards to servicemen in Afghanistan. Then, while I was talking to a church member selling CDs for the choir, another person, who happened to be the choir's treasurer, saw that I was new and upon learning that I loved music, introduced me to the choir director. And suddenly doors opened and I met a whole slew of friendly and welcoming people who were excited that I had joined them that morning. That warmth and friendliness and feeling of community were there, but I had to put myself out there, something I haven't always done. So now I might be singing in the choir and/or playing the violin at some point, and hopefully getting involved in a number of other ways.
On another note, I was introduced to a woman whose husband is deployed to Afghanistan for one year and three months. She's raising a two year old son and gave birth to a baby girl one month ago, all while her husband has been away. Her husband is meeting his daughter for the first time when he's on leave this Christmas. And let me tell you honestly, I felt a little jealous that she gets to see her husband over the holidays. But that jealousy was replaced immediately by the thought of her husband being away for over one YEAR. I feel like such a wuss for complaining and getting all weepy about J deploying for six months. But this woman empathized with me, and we commiserated about our husbands being away and exchanged information in order to hang out in the future and commiserate some more. So today turned out to be much, much more than I anticipated. And while I still hope to attend services in Evergreen when I can, it's good to know that I've found something close to home. People and community, that's what it's all about.
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