I have been seriously searching for a Church that meets my requirements. This past weekend we tried another Methodist church that is about 15 minutes from our house. I now understand about contemporary services. We get to church and check in at the information desk. The lady was so nice and went through going into service, Sunday school and the nursery.
The chapel is nice, nothing spectacular, but it looks like a church. Children attend the first part of the service. After the welcome we were asked to greet our neighbors....just like in the church we have been attending. I had a hard time from laughing at that one. There was a band set up on stage and they sung about 4 or 5 contemporary songs. Yes, people in the pews were singing and swaying to the music with their hands up in the air.
The doors to the chapel are left open and people come and go as they need to. People come in late to service. The children were dismissed after the baptism of a little baby. My husband walks the 2 older boys to their room and I take Tee to the nursery. When we get back there were a few announcements and then the readings were read and the preacher gave a sermon. The sermon was fine but I found the minister to be dry, not much of a sense of humor.
As soon as service ends I go to get Tee out of the nursery. I didn't get a great feeling about leaving him in there. I asked for name tags but the guy said he was just subbing this week. The nursery is very close to the front door. I am not normally paranoid about leaving my child but something felt strange. As we were getting ready to go down to get the boys, the information lady catches us to tell us that Sunday school goes for another 1/2 hour. Luckily, the husband was on game and said that we did not plan for that. We decided to pull them out and leave.
Oddly enough the boys really liked the Sunday school class there even though there were only 5 kids in class. I am not sure why they liked this one so much better. It could have been because they were watching a Bible story on the TV. From the looks of it, it seems like they are fairly organized which makes a huge difference. I asked about the curriculum but apparently each class chooses the curriculum they want to use.
I have communicated with the head of children services at Church #1. Currently they don't have a specific curriculum as they have used a variety and made some up. They were looking for a new curriculum and that will start in the fall of 2009. Sometimes I feel like they are a bit disorganized and I am not sure my kids are learning anything.
At the end of service (church #2) we walked out and shook the Pastor and assistant Pastor's hands. They saw that we were holding a visitor bag but failed to say anything else to us. This really just rubbed me the wrong way.
The Pastor at Church #1 stopped us one day to ask us our names (not that he has remembered) but he always makes sure to greet us as we walk by him.
I came home and did some research on-line of other churches in the area. Tee will be attending preschool at an Episcopal church but they do not offer Sunday school. I spoke with a neighbor this morning who attends a Lutheran church nearby. Their contemporary service (and Sunday school) start at 10:15. I have looked up several Presbyterian churches in the area and almost all of them have service start at one time and Sunday school starts 30 minutes after.
I have a hard time with having the kids in service with me. I grew up Catholic and was made to attend mass every Sunday. I went to a Catholic school so I did not need to attend Religious Ed classes. When I was young I know I did not get anything out of service. I sat sat there waiting for it to end. I want my kids to be able to be in Sunday school and learn about the Bible stories at their own level.
I am not sure where to go from here. There is one more Lutheran church about a 15 minute drive that has a traditional service and Sunday school at the same time. At this point I just don't know if I want to change denominations. It is a lot to think about.
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