However, there are bright spots. The charter school that is across the street from us closed this year due to politics and enrollment issues. On the property is a play area constructed right after we moved in. NASCAR hottie Tony Stewart was there with his obnoxiously loud car and in the matter of a day, the play structure went up with the help of hundreds of community members. Anna and Eli have played there countless times and love it. We love it as it is right in our front yard. However, the sad trombones started playing once the school year was over and demolition began on the play area. The border and mulch were stripped out and yellow tape was strung to keep the kids out. We were okay with this as we had built the play area in our back yard and the kids seem to like it, however, it was a loss for our already blighted neighborhood. In checking with a neighbor who had worked at the school, the owners didn’t want it as a liability now that the school was vacant.
We left for camping last week and the yellow tape was still up, upon our return, the tape was down and things look spruced up. A few conversations in the SoHI (South of High) ‘hood uncovered the fact that a woman from our old church (and the first person to give us a gift when Anna was born) raised a stink with the school’s owners and the wheels started turning and the park is now open again. A quick conversation with the minister in the parking lot confirmed all this and uncovered even more info: the church is leasing the tract of land and supplying the liability insurance to keep the park open. The church had a mentoring program with the school, so their investment in the kids is going beyond the weekly support/mentoring meetings by putting up the cash to keep this park open. I am happy to hear this, as our city is so poor they can’t even be bothered with this tract of land and have basically removed it from their parks and rec programs. Is this enough to make me go back to church? No. I am done with organized religion. I am done with the emotional investment and the lack of denominational support on many levels. However, I do recognize that a small group of people can make a difference and I applaud them for that. To the fine people of Trinity United Methodist Church, my hat is off to you.
God bless.
Being a life long United Methodist, I too applaud the group effort. More things need to be done like this.
ReplyDeleteI feel badly that you have given up on organized religion. It's too bad that you don't live where you could attend my congregation of Methodists. Your family would be welcomed with open arms, and suddenly you would be busy being involved in things going on. We are liberal, loving and very family oriented.
Though you have given up on OR, I know you haven't given up on God!
Well, you know what I'll say. But just for your readership... :) I understand the desire to not be part of a movement that tells you on one hand you're welcome and on the other hand that you're not. Similarly, I have significant problems dealing with religions, for example, that don't see my ministry as legitimate because I'm a woman--it makes it hard to sit across a table and work together on interfaith/ecumenical projects. And I'm not saying we're perfect on this issue; every church I know that's gone through the Welcoming Congregation program, which is our equivalent to Open and Affirming or Reconciling in other denominations, has had struggles along the way with people who have to work through their own prejudices. What I am saying, however, is that there are whole denominations where the denominational support is for making a home for LGBTQ people and the attitude is that those who are struggling with their prejudices need to be given help to work through them, but not be catered to in how we live out the religion.
ReplyDeleteI've shared with my congregation my own story of overcoming prejudices I found within myself. I had an irrational fear and prejudicial attitude towards people with HIV/AIDS in my college and young 20s. Recognizing this, I made myself spend a spring break week working for an HIV/AIDS support organization, then volunteer locally, then do my entire M.A. thesis on an HIV/AIDS-related topic. When I found in later years that I didn't understand transgender issues, I read and studied on the issue and talked to people until I came around and understood it better.
This is what my religious belief compels me to do when I find prejudice inside myself. Being a religious person to me means being invested in social justice and radical inclusivity. But the difference for me is that I'm not swimming upstream in my denomination. If anything, I'm following its lead and learning from its example.
some time ago I made up my mind to officialy leave church but still cannot find time and will to go through the apsostasy process. in Poland the catholic church is pretty much everywhere and interferes with all aspects of our lives. I'm not saying it's all bad (not more than 95%:)- there's just nothing there for me really.
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