[Magdalen] Church searching times

[Kristin Rollins]

It is church-searching time here.

It is the first time that I have ever really been in this position. So
much of my life, I lived in small towns without a driver's license, so
unless the Anglican church there was odious, I was going to worship in
the only one in town. (One of those…or rather, its rector…almost pushed
me away, but didn't quite.)

The last time I started out on a church search was when I went to
college. And that search was quite short: I liked the nearest church to
my dorm, and never tried another on a Sunday morning.

We notified the rector where we had been attending, in part to explain
Heather stepping back from the responsibilities she carried, as they
started planning for the next program year. (I had not taken any on
since I had resigned my organist position.) And, at his request, we had
prayers said for us a few weeks ago at the end of the service.)

This Sunday, we'll have our first completely new place to check out.

Our first week, we attended a church that Heather had previously
attended. A lot had changed there (when she attended, they had one space
that was used for both worship and parish-hall-type activities; since
then, they have built a dedicated worship space). But there were still a
few people who recognized her.

The second week, there was a local festival that left us not wishing to
try anything new or close to the festival, so we visited the parish we'd
attended before St John's (and heard a sermon from the priest who was St
John's interim when I was first hired there).

Last weekend, we'd used some energy on Saturday, and Heather wasn't up
to church Sunday morning, so we had "early-afternoon-Internet church,"
streaming worship from All Saints, Pasadena, CA. (Which was good, but
watching worship is not the same as participating in worship.)

I am a little anxious about where we will end up. We both felt it was
time to move on from St. J's, but we each seem to be looking for
different things in a new parish. And it isn't clear that there will be
a place that does it for both of us. But it's important to me that, if
we do end up in a "two-church solution," that each of us feels welcome
and comfortable in the other's preferred choice. (But first choice is
hoping to find a place that works for both of us.)

Kristin

-- 
  Kristin Rollins
  kristin at verumsolum.com
  Portsmouth, VA