This piece really resonated with me. In my upbringing there was a lot of pressure to be "all in." There were many who seemed to conflate doing anything else (even missing church for a soccer game) with a failure to put God first. In hindsight, I can see how this is black-and-white thinking. I love your point about belonging to multiple communities.
Totally! I will confess that I was, at times, one of the ones who looked down on others as "less committed Christians" for things like missing church for a soccer game. I regret this - both my own unthinking prioritizing of churchy-stuff (thinking that meant I was prioritizing God) and my judgment of others!
Thank you for this. In the near future I need to write about my attempts to return to church over the past few years since my son has been born. They were hopeful and painful and resulted in me really stepping away from religious community. It made me look to see who was alongside me “outside” and to start something for us. It might be a community where you might want to add your voice too. I’m really enjoying reading your thoughts here. 💛https://thesisterwild.substack.com/?sort=top
Thank you so much, Jessica. Lovely to connect with you. I look forward to reading your writing on attempting to return to church (if you decide to do so) and definitely to exploring what you're building "outside" <3.
This piece really resonated with me. In my upbringing there was a lot of pressure to be "all in." There were many who seemed to conflate doing anything else (even missing church for a soccer game) with a failure to put God first. In hindsight, I can see how this is black-and-white thinking. I love your point about belonging to multiple communities.
Totally! I will confess that I was, at times, one of the ones who looked down on others as "less committed Christians" for things like missing church for a soccer game. I regret this - both my own unthinking prioritizing of churchy-stuff (thinking that meant I was prioritizing God) and my judgment of others!
I think we've all been there
Thank you - I hear the grace in that. Here's to our growth & ongoing journey <3
Thank you for this. In the near future I need to write about my attempts to return to church over the past few years since my son has been born. They were hopeful and painful and resulted in me really stepping away from religious community. It made me look to see who was alongside me “outside” and to start something for us. It might be a community where you might want to add your voice too. I’m really enjoying reading your thoughts here. 💛https://thesisterwild.substack.com/?sort=top
Thank you so much, Jessica. Lovely to connect with you. I look forward to reading your writing on attempting to return to church (if you decide to do so) and definitely to exploring what you're building "outside" <3.