Wednesday 22 April 2015

Schrodinger's Churchgoer (or 'Why You Haven't Seen Me Around Lately')

I'm not going to church at the moment.  Except I am.  But I'm also not.

What I mean is, I'm not going to the main gatherings on Sunday.  Skating is an hour away, I train for three hours every Sunday between 12.30 and 3.30pm, and although I could just rock up to Late Church in my sweaty skate gear for 4.30 I suspect nobody wants that.  I don't want that!  This is not me quitting church, this is not me becoming an apostate or drifting in my faith, and this is not me breaking up with my community.  They are still my People.

I had to make a decision, service or skating, and if I'm honest in the end it wasn't that hard to make, for the reasons below.  What I'm doing now is a bit of an experiment, it's not a permanent arrangement, and I'm certainly not recommending it for everyone, but this whole thing has made me think a lot about what Sunday gatherings provide us with, and what we think church actually is.  There are things I miss and want to keep, and things I don't mind letting go.