And we’re going to get married.
Yes, you read that correctly. Mac and I are not having a church wedding ceremony. Why? It’s a bit of a religious firecracker.
Mac was raised rather without an organized faith. His father is Jewish, his mother is Catholic, and neither is particularly observant. Mac describes himself as a “cashew.” Not my term. And that link isn’t meant to offend; it was just an amusing spin on his situation. His parents never forced Mac or his brother to attend any sort of service, so they never really did.
I was raised in a pretty religious household. My father and I are Episcopalian, my mother and sister are Catholic; we’re a mixed bag of religion. I was baptized and confirmed Episcopalian and have attended church my whole life. In my latter years of high school, all through college, and still today, the Episcopal Church has been in a bit of a tumult. Long story short, church leadership has split over the direction of the church (social mores, dogma, Biblical relevance, etc), and I sided with the more conservative parties. Subsequently, I and my fellow conservative Episcopalians rejoined the American Anglican church. I attended Anglican services in college and when I first moved to Fayetteville. However, I just didn’t get that warm & fuzzy feeling with the Anglican parish here in town. You don’t always find your church home at the first service. It’s a small group, and I never felt welcome.
So I started church shopping. I wasn’t sure if about joining another Episcopal parish because I’m not comfortable attending a more liberal service. I spoke to my BA-in-religion-holding father to get his two cents (more like $100). He suggested I check out the Methodist or Lutheran congregations. Christianity crash course: Martin Luther was publicly rebuked by Henry VIII for his “95 Theses,” but then ole Henry jumped on the Reformation bandwagon and formed the Church of England (Anglican Church). Episcopalians are essentially American Anglicans. Methodists split from the Anglicans.
My church shopping and God led me to Christus Victor Lutheran Church. I’ve been attending CVLC since last January. Funny enough, the Lutheran Church has been undergoing a similar split to the Episcopalians. I really like our pastor: he preaches a good message, and our inherent beliefs are very much in tune. But I have not joined this church. No real reason why. While Pastor Cook does not require couples he marries to be church members or even to be baptized as Lutherans, I don’t think it’s fair for us to use their church.
I realize that my opinions might not be popular, but these are my beliefs. You are entitled to yours as well. I do hope that this might have provided some more information to y’all who aren’t in these denominations.
