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Ahhhhh. The Church.

Many of you know my story. I worked full time as a staffer at an innovative, artistic church right out of college.

Jacobs WellSomewhere along the way I became disillusioned with institutional religion. And I wrote a book about it called Dear Church. I was 24.

During that time, my husband and I moved into the Jackson area, which is nicknamed “Prison City” because it houses the state prison. I took up teaching, which eventually landed me in our alternative high school. Along the way, we began attending a church plant that meets in the local YMCA downtown.

Even though I’ve left church as an occupation, I still love communities of faith. I travel and speak at conferences and events about my books (most recently Picking Dandelions, which also falls into the faith & spirituality category). And occasionally, a church asks me to set the books aside to be part of a series they are doing–to give a more traditional morning message that fits into their studies.

This last Sunday at Jacob’s Well was one of those special occasions when I got to be part of a traditional Sunday morning service plan again.

Jacob’s Well has a vibrant history and a beautiful building that blends historic, institutional church detail with a genuine, laidback community feel. And I have to admit, being part of a church community at that level for a weekend, gave me a sense of nostalgia.

Ahhhhhh. The Church. =)

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1 Comment

  • comment-avatar
    Dana June 30, 2010 (8:07 am)
    Reply

    I have been a minister’s wife for 11 years. I know first hand, how working in a church can be fertile ground for disillusionment. I have to admit that there were many times that if my being there didn’t determine my children being fed, I’d have walked away from church all together. Maybe even my faith.. We are in a much better environment now, the closest thing that I’ve ever seen to what I think God hand in mind when He created The Church. Still, I do dream of one day writing the book that I’ve often joked about, “If These are the People going to Heaven, I’m going Somewhere Else”. ;).

    I’m reading “Picking Dandelions” right now and I’m looking forward to your chat with us over at The Mom-tage.

    I had to laugh at the intro and your description of the Ohio River. We had what I like to call our “time in the desert” and lived three VERY LONG years in Parkersburg WV, about two hours from Pittsburgh. There was a limit on the amount of fish from the Ohio River that you could safely eat in a month. Needless to say, we stayed away from fresh water fish while we were there!