ChurchSearch: Round 1, Week 4

Today I visited Custer Road UMC in Plano, TX. It is the largest of the churches I have attended. Size has its benefits and its drawbacks.

Distance 9.7 miles
Travel time: less than 20 minutes; easy to get to on major roads.

The narthex was bustling with people and I did not see any designated greeters. After a few minutes I went in and sat down on a row near the back where another single woman was sitting. Another unaccompanied woman came in a joined me as the service was beginning, so I did not get into conversation with her until later.

The music was glorious. CRUMC has a magnificent pipe organ and an organist who knows how to play it. The choir sang a Mozart piece which was nicely balanced with no voices standing out. The offertory was a solo by a very accomplished young woman singer. I especially enjoyed the hymns, "Let All Things Their Creator Bless," " Great is Thy Faithfulness" (my all-time favorite) , and in closing, "Here I Am Lord," which fit the sermon text in Isaiah.

Although large screens are present at the sides of the choir loft and altar area, they were not used as cheat sheets for hymns and liturgy. They were instead used to provide a better view of the speakers and choir, for those who might not be able to see. I can live with this use of media. The other compromise I will obviously have to make is that of accepting that congregations are going to applaud the musical selections. I don't care for it, but it seems to be the norm here. FUMC Jackson may have been one of the last hold-outs in this area.

The sermon was engaging and the children's sermon was tailored to deliver the same message.

I felt very ambivalent about the church until after the service. I was thinking that I wished I could have the music of CRUMC, the preaching at First McKinney, and the friendliness of the people at Frisco. But I also realize that for me, a single woman, the key to feeling at home in a church is going to be the small groups I affiliate with. I have learned to be assertive about introducing myself and not just expecting that someone will somehow figure out that I am a visitor and approach me. With that resolve, I introduced myself to one of the Associate Pastors, Leslie Herrscher, and as we chatted, I found that she was in seminary with Charlie Overton. When she found out I was interested in choir, she took me to meet the Minister of Music and gave me a brief tour of the facility as we searched for him. Turns out Tim (Morrison) was one of Charlie's profs at Perkins, so he was also very welcoming and encouraging me to come to choir.

On the way home I had much of the same feeling I had the first time I visited FUMC Jackson, that I had found my church home. Now I have a decision to make: I had planned to start Round 2 next week by visiting SS classes in the churches I had already visited. Now I am not sure I want to. I think I might just go to the visitor's class at CRUMC next week and begin to make friends there. Of the 4 churches I have visited, I think CR has most of what I am looking for.

ChurchSearch: Round 1, Week 3

I took last week off after doing a face-plant on the sidewalk during my walk Saturday morning. I decided my swollen and bruised visage needed privacy. Today, with the swelling subsiding and the bruise concealed, somewhat, under an inch or so of DermaBlend, I resumed my search by visiting FUMC Allen, TX.

Distance: 10 miles
Driving time: 17 minutes

Allen FUMC has 3 services, which seems to be the norm here in Texas. The 8:30 service is Contemporary, the 9:45 Blended, and the 11:00 is normally the Traditional service. With the combination of summer informality and the message, today was not exactly Traditional. There was no choir; an ensemble sang the Offertory. The message on the relevance, or lack of, the church in society was preceded by a PowerPoint slide show of 1960's scenes accompanied by the music of the time. The minister was dynamic, the message interesting and thought-provoking, although I sensed a bit of "we need to change with the times and do the new music, etc." which is not my favorite theme.

I engaged in conversation with one of the greeters, a woman about my age who, when she found out I was new in town, was very eager to introduce me to others and even walked me to the room where a recommended Sunday School class meets. As the service was about to begin, another woman asked to sit with me, the first time that has happened. The sanctuary was sparsely populated, possibly because of mid-summer vacationing and several church groups off doing projects elsewhere. I will be interested to see how the attendance is during the fall, after school has started back.

My one real disappointment was with the organist. I realize my expectations are quite high after being treated to the organ and piano skills of Dr. Terry McRoberts, to whom anyone is unlikely to measure up, but this lady (I don't know if she is the regular organist or a substitute) played the congregational hymns so fast it was impossible to keep up. I don't like draggy hymns, but I do like to observe punctuation and to catch a breath now and then. She seemed oblivious to everyone and just plowed through the hymns as if she wanted to get them over with. If she is the regular organist, I don't think I'll be joining FUMC Allen.

I did take a moment after the service to meet the Minister of Music, who was a seminary classmate of my Charlie Overton at FUMC Jackson. He is an affable young man, and I am really happy to see seminary-educated Ministers of Music. From my association with Charlie I know that they have a perspective on worship music that a secularly trained musician may not have.

So, I will return to FUMC Allen at least once more and will attend a Sunday School class. Next Sunday's ChurchSearch will take me to Custer Road UMC in Plano.