SubscribeA church of my own
It took me a while after moving to Washington nearly 23 years ago to find a church home, a place where my family and I could find spiritual nourishment and community. I did not look right away because I occasionally worked on Sunday and because I had a rambunctious toddler who I knew would not sit still during a service.
But when something within me began yearning for a Sunday sanctuary where I could worship and praise God, I dressed up my baby boy and started my search. My husband preferred tennis on the Sabbath, so initially it was just me and my 2-year-old handful. An early candidate was a Congregationist church not far from my home.
One adventureous Sunday morning, I crept into the church’s balcony, a little late, and took my seat amid several unsmiling faces. I was already insecure as a mother and definitely certain that my son would make some noise, so I thought the balcony would be a safer place to catch some of the service. But once there, I felt like turning around and fleeing. I stayed, though, because I needed a spiritual feeding like a hungry baby needs its milk.
My son William wiggled too much in my arms. A woman sitting near me scowled. When he giggled and tossed his bottle on the floor for the second time and another woman glared, I knew it was time to leave. My 30 minutes or so in that church left me more frustrated than uplifted. It took visiting a couple of other churches, sometimes acompanied by my husband, before we finally found a church to call home.
I am reminded of this incident by a story in The Washington Post this week about several D.C. churches, especially African American ones, flooding President Obama and his family with invitations to join them. The dynamics facing the First Family in finding a place of worship is far more complex, but at its core probably not very different, from mine. Along with looking for a church that meets their spiritual needs, the Obamas are forced to deal with other people’s perceptions of where they should worship. It a very personal decision that is being played out on a public landscape.
“Will the Obamas affiliate themselves with a black church, which could signal that they are still comfortable making their spiritual home one that is predominantly African American? Or will they choose a mostly white or racially integrated church, sending the message that they are interested in shifting the paradigm of religion and race?” The Post story asked.
Black, white or mixed does not really matter as much as the question of whether the family be able to satisfy their own needs for spiritual growth within a church community. Will the Obama girls find a group of young girls with whom they can learn about God’s goodness and love through well-interpreted Bible stories? Will the First Lady find a group of women with whom she can relate, share and bond, if she chooses, as they work together to touch the lives of others less fortunate than themselves? Will the President find godly men who will embrace him as a brother in Christ not just as a celebrity whose name can be dropped at work, on the basketball court or the golf course? Will they hear a sermon that convicts their hearts every now and again or a song that stirs them to praise in their own ways.
Will they find a place that welcomes them simply for being the children of God that they are, and not because they are the First Family of these United States. I hope wherever they go no one welcomes them with a scowl.
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