Church

We finally started going to church again. We had visited several churches after we first moved here, but stopped going after Alisa was born because of her schedule (or lack thereof). We decided we'd be able to go now because she is on a pretty predictable schedule and can go many hours between feedings. I searched online for the next church to try...we are looking for a non-denominational church with people our age (preferably starting to have kids, like us). I found a couple of options that looked good and I chose the first one to try based on their website. It has their beliefs, info about the leadership team (including interests and musical taste, which are similar to ours) and other stuff.

The church meets at a YMCA on the south side of town. We went to the 10:30 AM service because Alisa usually sleeps in until 9:00 AM. The first thing we did was check in at the kids counter because it was right by the entrance. They asked Alisa's name, typed it in the computer and promptly printed 3 stickers--one large one with her name to stick on her back and 2 small ones with a number and letter that matched the ones on the large sticker. The smaller ones were for Craig and I--so that either of us could pick her up without them wondering if she was really our daughter or not...a bit of a security check. We passed by the table with bagels and coffee to go find the nursery. The pastor greeted us and led us back to the nursery. We were worried that Alisa would cry when we left her there because she has separation anxiety, but thankfully she did not. There were several girls working in the nursery and lots of toys for Alisa to play with so that helped.

The worship was our style--the leader sang and played guitar and there was another singer and the band, complete with a violinist. The message was good and short (we don't like really long services). The pastor came up to us afterwards and mentioned that he checked on the kids during the announcement break and saw that Alisa was doing fine. Nice of him to do that, to tell us and to remember her name.

The service was arranged slightly different than what we are used to. They sang one song then gave you a minute to fill out an information card (which we did since we were first time guests). They played a Radiohead song during that time, which we enjoyed because we like Radiohead and had never heard it played in church before. Next was a video clip they created that related to the message and yet was humorous. Then the pastor spoke and they ended with worship and the offering. They had free Bibles at end of each row that they encouraged anyone to use and to take home if desired. I'd never seen that before and was impressed.

The 2nd week that we went we stayed afterwards for the newcomers lunch to find out more about their community groups. The pastor sat at our table for quite awhile learning more about us and answering our questions. So far so good. Our next step is to choose a community group to go to on a weeknight. This just may be the church we settle into...with no further looking necessary (that would be nice).