A Churchie For A Day

This morning I decided to explore my area more.  There is a church in town that has a pretty open orientation to belief systems. this isn't my first visit to this denoination. I went to a Unitarian church in elementary school.  My mother seemed to think she should expose us to 'religion.'  And so we were exposed.

My first memories about this church was that I had to awaken too early on Sunday mornings.  It was a long drive to Baltimore city, some forty minutes or so. I was usually sick in the stomach both from the long drive and mom's incessant smoking.

It was a large and magnificent building called the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore.  I remember asking my mom how they knew to make it the first?  Did they anticipate others?

Sometimes my brother and I sat in the adult church service.  Other times we went to the children's Sunday school.  I did like the Sunday school and I really liked the teachers. Plus, the refreshments afterward were bountiful.

Not much for 'organized' religion, I thought the Unitarians deserved another try. Besides, I may meet people in my small community.  The grounds for the church were large, with every kind of northern wildflower you might imagine. I was perplexed to figure out which building of the two was the sanctuary. I was early so there wasn't a soul outside to ask.  Then I saw the sign eclipsed bya low branched group of trees:

SANCTUARY
OFFICE

 The inside of the church was non-descript. No icons, no religious material, just nice veiling beams and an openness to it.

Almost immediately, I was welcomed by a Buddhist woman who was the official 'greeter.'  After a short walk into the open space, another woman announced that there is no minister during the summer.  A recording of music by Peter was played on the screen along with the lyrics.  That lay people lead the service.

Earlier I had googled the website to learn the talk would be on COSMOLOGY.  Not much of a follower of that, I thought at least the question and answer period would be interested. as an experiencer, you can imagine the myriad of questions I had.  This is going to be fun, I thought. Instead, she read from a prepared text, rarely looking up at her audience.  Then she invited us to come up to her alter for some star dust and a sip of tea.

"Star dust?"

I was more than intrigued.  I quickly cued in only to find some glitter doused into my left palm.  The rest of the service I spent trying to remove it.  I was afraid I might be tatooed for life.  Worst, I had been lied to! I thought, hoped that NASA might share some of this for the greater good.

The tea cups were about the size one might enjoy for a child's tea party.  One teaspoon of tea was barely evident in each cup and I was careful not to consume before the 'unity gathering' officially took place.  I sure didn't want my sipping to exclude anyone.

Maybe I'll wait til the fall when the interim minister returns. I may just get a better sense of the church. Or not.