Church

This is one of those "more personal" posts that I will write from time to time. This is also going to be one of the only posts where I am not allowing comments. I think everyone just needs to read this and take it all in! A little disclaimer first: I hope eveyone who knows what I'm talking about here will understand and repsect my opinions.

That said, what is church? Webster's Dictionary defines it as "a building for public and especially Christian worship." I find church to mean more than just that. I think a real church should not only be a place of worship, but a place where you can go and not feel isolated, ashamed, or angry. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, so this cannot actually happen. This week, a situation arose (not involving me directly) that prompted myself to ask this very question.

For the sake of privacy, I am not going to say what that issue was, but I will say that it has been upsetting to see the events play out the way they have. I will only say the situation involves people basically having to give up something they love to do and having to change their "church lifestyles" so to speak. It hurts you to stop something you love to do. Take my grandma for instance. Due to a condition called macualr degeneration, she got to the point where she could not drive. Several years later, health issues made it too hard for her to work demos (handing out samples in stores) so she had to stop that. After stopping the demo job, she went into a decline both physically and emotionally. The same could be said about my grandpa who became unable to do the one thing he loved the most: gardening. My grandpa loved working out in the yard more than any person I knew! He, like my grandma, went into a decline physically and emotionally after this.

My whole point is this: why take away something that somebody loves if they are still reasonably able to do it? When I saw how my grandparents acted after they had to stop their loves, I could immediately tell a difference in them. It doesn't even have to be an age thing. Just think if you had some kind of condition and someone told you that you had to stop doing something you loved. How would you feel? For me, if I had some kind of ailment that forced me to either alter the way I play clarinet or not play at all, I would be devastated.

So that brings me back to my original point: what is church? In my mind, it should be a place where people from any background or with any ailment is surrounded with loving people who care for them. I feel this is happening in this case but I think there could be some more love displayed. The church should not be a place where people are judged, isolated, or humiliated. It should also be a place of equal opportunity for everyone regardless of age or physical condition.

I'm not trying to insult or offend anyone but, this is simply how I believe the church should be. I've already heard "the facts" regarding the issue at hand and I wish to hear no more. I simply want to communicate to everyone my opinions on this issue and I hope a sensible conclusion will soon be reached to satisfy all involved.

Please pray that this will happen!