I attended my last service as a choir member at FUMC Jackson yesterday. I was blown away by the farewell sevice the choir offered and the announcement from the pulpit by our Minister of Music. Charlie had whispered to me before the service that he would like to do that after the final hymn, as the congregation had grown used to seeing me and would wonder where I was. I guess I thought I would just quietly leave and at some point in the future, someone would ask my whereabouts. That was not to be, and I am gratified by the love and sorrow at my leaving, along with the good wishes and expressions of understanding that I will be near one of my grandchildren. My church is an important part of my life and it will be hard to replace First United Methodist in Jackson, TN, where I have had my membership for the last 10 years. I remember the first Sunday I attended and I felt as though I had truly “come home,” although I had never attended there before.
In preparation for my move to McKinney, TX, I have been scoping out churches on the internet, something I could never do before. I have narrowed my Round 1 list to seven churches in McKinney and nearby towns. Each week I will visit a different church and blog about my experience and impressions of that church. I invite my readers to comment and make suggestions for other churches I might want to add to my list.
Here are my criteria:
· An age-diverse membership. A church with young families is a church with a future. But I also need a peer group of retirees and grandparents, and single women like myself. I want someone to go to lunch with after church on Sunday
· A Traditional worship service. I am all for having other services to suit the tastes of others, but my preference is for a robed choir, robed pastors, an organ, no PowerPoint sermons, the Doxology and the Creed, and, this may be asking too much, but judicious use of applause. I don’t mind a spontaneous exuberant applause when the anthem is, as one of my former choir friends used to say, a “barn-burner.” I am totally turned off by polite, obligatory applause when the anthem does not warrant it – a quiet, prayerful, meditative anthem just should not inspire hand-clapping. That happened at a church I visited, and I never went back.
· Availability of Disciple Bible study and other studies at a time that does not conflict with choir practice
· Senior Adult activities that include some local opportunities for cash-strapped retirees
· Use of the hymn book for songs; Have I mentioned that I do not care for what one retired pastor calls 7-11 songs – those that have 7 words sung 11 times, (or 11 words sung 7 times.) In brief, I am not a fan of “praise and worship” music, although I can tolerate it in small doses
Am I too picky? I guess I will find out as I start to visit the churches of North Texas. Next Sunday I will go to the first one on my list: First UMC, McKinney. After that I plan to attend the First UMCs in Frisco, Allen, and Plano, as well as Custer Road in Plano, and, at the urging of Charlie Overton, Suncrest in Allen. The ChurchSearch is on!
1 comment:
7-11 songs? Too funny!
Right after Easter my three teenage boys and I were talking about the church that we have been members of since 2000. When we first started going there they still used hymnals. Not every Sunday, but most Sundays. As the years have passed, the church service has become much more contemporary and the hymnals don't exist anymore. Sure, we still sing the occasional hymn, but 99% of the songs are praise songs.
The boys told me that they wished we could find a church that sang out of hymnals. They are sick of praise songs where it's one verse that you sing over and over. So, even some youngsters agree with you!
I told my oldest, who is 16, that you had referred to the praise songs as 7-11 songs and explained why. He laughed and said that was a perfect name for them!
Good luck with your church search! I hope you find the perfect new home for yourself.
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