Nirvana Day at a Buddhist Temple!

Good day all! 

I'm trying to catch up on these. Life has been crazy these past couple weeks and seems like it's going to get even more crazy. I wanted to just briefly talk about where I am going tomorrow. We're heading to the Japanese Buddhist Temple here in Ogden tomorrow. This should be really fun for me since I spent a year in Japan and saw a lot of the old Buddhist temples there. We've picked a good day to go since tomorrow is Nirvana Day. Nirvana Day celebrates the death of the Buddha and him entering fully into Nirvana. They're also doing a blessing on the pets there that day. I'm looking forward to this because if you know anything about me, you know I'm a sucker for animals. I'm not exactly sure what will happen, but I expect it will look a lot like the temples I visited in Japan with lots of incense and chanting maybe I'll even understand a bit of the chanting. At any rate, it's going to be fun to see a little bit of Japanese culture again here in my hometown. This is also the first church we're visiting that is not an Abrahamic religion. I can't wait to fill you all in with the details of this one. Tune in next time to see how it went.

 I haven't forgotten about the UU review. this working 6 days a week thing isn't treating me kindly. once I have my scedule in order i will try to get back to my consistency. Until then, thank yo ufor your continued patience

see you next time!

Steeped in history, lit up and smelling of tradition, getting me to the Greek Orthodox Church

Hello again!

Trying to get caught up and up to date here on the 52 paths to truth blog. Two Sundays ago, Chad and I visited the oldest (tied with the Catholic church) denomination of Christianity in the world the Greek Orthodox Church.

 

This church one of the most ornate and beautiful I have ever been in, it rivaled even St. Joseph's as far as the interior went and was very traditional. I even ran into my nice-old-Greek-lady neighbor there so it was nice to see a familiar face!

ATMOSPHERE: 9/10 candles

This place had the whole package all the beauty and incense to stimulate all the senses. The only thing missing was the allure of a decent choir. The chanting got VERY monotonous after a while, that's what cost the perfect ten. I found it very delightful to experience the service in two different languages , English and Greek. I found that there were many words I could understand from my studies in biology, it is wonderful how diciplines can overlap in the most unexpected places!

After the service there was a brunch consisting of high-sugar items including some traditional Greek baked goods in addition to the communion bread (Which is made fresh the night before the service!). This was more than just a church, it was a community and a big fat Greek Family (movie buffs may have caught the pun)!

SERVICE: 4/10 candles

Wait! Please let me explain. It was beautiful, it was interesting, it was new and unlike anything  I have seen or smelled before... BUT it was long repetitive and boring. Would I go again? Yes, sure, maybe, but it would not be for the service, it would be for the post service (see Community).

MESSAGE : 8/10 candles

basically the sermon was very short. Most of the service was caught up in ritual and procedure. I can sum up the sermon in one senctence

"You are not all that, but you are not all bad either"

 I think knowing this makes one humble and in a much more productive way than I have observed in some of the more guilt-prone sects that I have visited.

COMMUNITY: 10/10 candles

Now at first people seemed a little unapproachable, but that is I guess part of the Greek culture, particularly the older generations. Once they get to know you or once you start talking to them they are very friendly and open up quickly. after the service was the brunch where Chad and I got to interact wit hthe congregation. There was a little community center next to the chapel where tables were set up and the aforementioned treats and coffee were served.

After the brunch Chad and I went to a local coffee shop and talked about our latest adventure and planned our next move...

The priest, Father Mario was quite a character and made the rounds during the brunch and talked with us. I learned a few things 1) he really likes scotch 2) he plays golf and will be going on a golf retreat with a few other fathers in the coming months! Really nice guy and the people were warm and welcoming. Chad Had attended this church numerous times and was friends with the daughters of one of the old fathers here so he spent some time reminiscing and talking with the members and filling them in on the developing lives of their old friends and  family.

Invited Uninvited Guests: Witnessing what the Witnesses Did not Want Witnessed...

Good day to you all!

I realize that there was an incredible delay in this blog, some of it to do with the fact that I really didn't really know what to think about it let alone write about it, and mostly because life outside the blog has been chaotic; lots of stuff going on in the world of Austin lately...

on top of that, the draft didn't save the first time so I am having to rewrite a lot of this stuff and there was so so much to cover. Quite frustrating... so I am going to make this a short one because I don't feel like rewriting three pages of material.I did not break this blog into categories as I have in previous blogs. So I will highlight the service and

On this particular week, Chad and I decided to visit a weekday session with the Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) so that we could double up and visit another church the following Sunday.

I will also provide a little more background on the JWs making this a little more generalized entry, for more information on the JWs you can check out their website.

Ok, down to business. There were a few things that were a bit "off" about this visit. First, they started the evening service at 7:00 pm (according to the website) when we were told it was at 7:30 pm. The sign on the door even said so.Because this was not a "normal" service they were holding and also because Chad and I were not able to see the whole thing (missed maybe 30 minutes), we will have to give this church a do over.

We showed up in the middle of a Bible study which then went right into the sermon. They read from their own published materials so that was something you would have had to have brought yourself. Chad and  I didn't have them but a lady down the row loaned us a spare copy. Hymns were short (which was nice because the music was terrible) and very very simple, they sounded like they were being played by a child at a piano recital. JWs only sing hymns written by other JWs. The first that was played was called "Stay Awake, Stand Firm, Grow Mighty" and it went like this:

"1. Stay awake, stand firm, grow mighty,

Be determined to endure.

Carry on as men of courage,

For the victory is sure.

We obey Christ Jesus’ clear command,

Under him we firmly take our stand.

(CHORUS)

Stay awake, stand firm, and grow mighty!

Carry on right to the end!

2. Stay awake, and keep your senses,

Always ready to obey.

Stay alert to Christ’s direction

Through his faithful slave today.

Heed the counsel of the older men,

Who protect his sheep and truth defend.

(CHORUS)

Stay awake, stand firm, and grow mighty!

Carry on right to the end!

3. Stay awake, remain united

As the good news we defend.

Though our enemies will fight it,

We will preach until the end.

Join the shout of praise throughout the land.

Look! Jehovah’s day is soon at hand!

(CHORUS)

Stay awake, stand firm, and grow mighty!

Carry on right to the end!"

 They publish a most of their own material and they are responsible for the New World Translation of the bible, that is a version translated into modern day English so it is easier to read, however the translators and their credentials are kept anonymous. JWs will profess that they are the only true christian religion and that all others are an affront to god. Everything they read and do is done internally and they are discouraged from reading or watching media about JWs that was not written by JWs. In this regard members are very sheltered from outside sources and are warned against them. In fact, questioning church authority, associating yourself with apostates, and even not reporting other members who may be "straying from the truth" to the elders is cause for disfellowship and subsequent shunning. The experience wasn't too bad, I actually enjoyed my self, the hour and a half we were there went by so quickly I didn't even notice. They are an "end times" or "apocalyptic" branch of Christianity and believe that the world could end at any second so in the sermon there was a lot of talk about staying on the right path and endure to the end (Endure to the end was also the name of the second and last hymn that I heard). The message was about never under any circumstances giving up on your faith. There was a funny story the speaker shared where he was a pioneer (doing door to door proselytizing; some might call it a missionary) handing out tracks (religious pamphlets) and was with an older "sister" who was something like 92 years old and was still actively pioneering. This was an example of the kind of commitment that should be devoted to Jehovah, there is no spiritual retirement. He said that he asked the woman how she was able to do it her response, "If I keep moving they can't bury me!" I have to say that made me chuckle, I like that attitude, absolutely!

We felt like we were being sized up from the moment we walked in. All the members knew and called each other by name and referring to each other as "brother" and "sister", suggesting that this was a very tight-knit community.  We as outsiders were spotted immediately. The way they interacted, reminded me of my years in the LDS church where male and female members were also called "brother" and "sister".

The take home message from this sermon was that "god will never give you more than you can handle, endure to the end". They used a story about some of the hardships that JW members had gone through in the past and during the holocaust (yes they were sent to concentration camps because they were seen  as enemies of the state because their faith forbids them from serving in the military or swearing allegiance to any country because that shows favoritism and deals in "earthly ways and leads you astray"). The sermon was about unquestioning obedience as a virtue and personally I think that is a poor message, however I liked the part about never giving up when times are tough. It is so easy to smile when life goes your way, but when life throws challenges at you, it is harder to stay upbeat. This was a positive message  I can support, but much of the rest of it leaves me with concern.

Now then, about the title, the part mentioning we were not supposed to be there. Today a man holding the title of circuit overseer was in the audience today, in fact he was in the seat directly in front of me. The circuit overseer is a high ranking official in the church that goes around to assigned congregations to check up on its membership and make house visits if necessary. They are appointed by the Watchtower Society, which is like the governing body of the church and manages all their publications. They also put out the JW magazine called "The Watchtower" which is released monthly and provides latest information on the church and conditions of the world. That day was a very important day for this congregation because the circuit overseer was making his rounds, so I got to see them at their best! The CO can also check if people are filling their quotas on door-to-door hours as pioneers. The church is very involved with the lives of the members  and that concerns me greatly. On days where the circuit overseer visits, I don't think outsiders are allowed to sit in, at least not without a sort of invitation or sponsorship from another member. Technically I was invited by the lovely two women that visited me at my home the week or two before, but I wasn't with them and I didn't bring the written invitation. Chad and I definitely got the impression that we weren't supposed to be there, who knows maybe we  weren't and nobody said anything because they didn't want to cause a scene in front of the CO, who knows, I might be wrong, but people were very suspicious of us.

The sermon continued talking about how to be good pioneers. To engage people cheerfully and to always keep your composure and try to seem interested in the person you are talking to. He gave little tips and helpful advice to make proselytizing go smoother and how to get over rejection. See everything  as a trial, when things don't go as they should is when you should be at your best because Jehovah is with you and you are fighting on the winning side. Something interesting about the JWs is that they keep very meticulous records of where their pioneers have visited, how many people they spoke with, how many tracks they have handed out, how many hours were spent pioneering each week, this is all logged documented and sent to their JW headquarters in Brooklyn, NY.

After the service Chad and I were approached by a man and his wife (the lady that loaned us the material for the service) and he politely asked who we were and what we thought of the service. He was obviously suspicious but when Chad explained who we were and why we were here the man's face changed, it seemed he was quite surprised and didn't quite know how to react
 nor which face he should wear at the moment because it took two or three steps to go from suspicious, to curious and then to interested with what felt to me a strained smile. He did seem genuinely interested but was also very surprised, he invited us to come back anytime, though I am doubting the level of sincerity. It may have been more of a pleasantry, either way I want to go back and try again :)

Next on the list is the Greek orthodox Church, but at the time of this posting I will have already posted the pre visit blog and will have visited so I will try to get caught up when I can! thank you all for your patience and support!

Cheers!

PS If you have questions or comments please feel free to ask. If you have any suggestions or requests for places for me to visit do not hesitate to chime in!

Greek Orthodox Church

Hey folks,

This is a new one to me so I am going in blind. I only know a few things about it:
1)  It is an Eastern Orthodox church and as such it...
2) Ties with the Catholic church as the oldest and longest running Christian church in the world
3) They don't have a single leader like the Catholics (Pope)

The thing about the Eastern orthodox church is that is is essentially one church consisting of several national churches. The main difference amongst them is the language in which the worship is conducted. Tomorrow, much of the service will e conducted in Greek, therefore I will have to rely on my friend Chad to walk me through the ceremony and rituals as he has rudimentary knowledge of the language and is more familiar with the customs and procedures. He will be my very thin lifeline keeping me out of an embarrassing situation!you can view his blog here.

I expect that this will be very similar to the catholic mass I attended a couple of seeks ago but with slight differences, the first of which being that they require you to dress in your Sunday best. The catholic mass was a but more lenient on attire, tomorrow will not be the case, that won't e too much of a problem however my dress clothes as of late have either gotten smaller or i have gotten larger so I will have to do my best to keep from "crack flashing" the people kneeling in the pew behind me during worship. There will be a communion, it will be very highly ritualized and I will not be able to partake of it. However, as an extension of good will, they offer what remains after to any non-members that may visit, this too will be ritualized, whether or not I will participate I will decide when the time comes. Part of it entails kissing the hand or a the cross in the hand of the man offering the bread. Take the read with the right hand and this is very important because in the times and areas where the three Arahamic religions arose and even in many cultures today the left hand is considered unclean, so here it would mostly be tradition.

Outside of these few things I am going in blind, making it all new to me. I am looking forward to learning more about this old, mysterious Church the likes of which I have never heard of before I started my journey. So join me in the next installment, as I continue to walk these 52 paths of truth.

#5: Taking a minute to hear the good news with the Jahova's Witnesses!

Hey Folks!

Tonight is just a late night quickie to let you know that tomorrow I will be joining the Jehovah's Witnesses for a Bible study session! This should be interesting. I have met JW's all over the world (mostly on trains for some reason), Germany, Austria, Japan, and of course here in the USA. In fact just a week ago I received a visit from a pair of ladies that came knocking on my door to share the good word. You know what?I like the JW's, from my experience they are really nice people on the whole and are very eager to speak with me :D It was always good language practice when I met them abroad, and I have always wanted to sit down and have a chat with them domestically. Anyway, so these two women were going door to door handing out pamphlets, I think I caught them by surprise when my large bearded figure answered the door with a big, warm, goofy smile instead of the usual door-shut-in-the-face dismissal these poor people endure so often.

I asked them where there Kingdom Hal was (they don't use the word "church", it sounds too pagan to them so I've heard), as it turns out theirs is the one on our list! They worship in Roy City, Utah, so tomorrow Chad and I will spend a lovely evening hearing the good news about Jesus Christ! A bit of fun irony, most of the JW's i have spoken with were the ones who were eager to end the conversation! They must not be used to hearing from someone who is so eager to speak to them...
My visitors were unfortunately out of invitations so I asked them if they would be willing to bring one back for me another day. Sure enough, two days later I found a cute little invitation to study with them along with one of the women's phone number should I have any questions or get lost. I will read through the material they left me and come to class prepared with my notebook, highlighter and personal copy of the good ol' King James :) (But I think they might be using a different translation, if that is so then I have about 12 different translations on my phone in about 4 languages so that's covered!)

Check back soon!

Week 4: Pentecostals vs. the Demonic Dominionin Cuba!

Hey Folks!

Sorry for the delay, I hate to keep you waiting, I know these blogs are the highlight of your week so I humbly apologize for taking so long to put this up! ;)

So I paid a little visit to the local pentecostal church here in Ogden for a quick look at the church that rocks the net with shocking viral videos of dozens of people collapsing to the floor in convulsing fits of erratic spasms induced by the ambient madness of the congregation's wailing and weeping in a raging torrent of emotional outbursts. We have all seen clips of sermons with people running around flailing their arms through the air with reckless abandon and disregard for personal safety, the men and women crawling about on  the floor on all fours barking and bouncing like wild animals, speaking in undecipherable, gibberish known as "tongues", loud and rowdy rocking hymns reverberating off the back of your skull and shaking the foundations of the building... this was not the case... at least not the day that I visited, I need to visit during a "revival". There were a few things there that met my expectations (though not to the degree which I had expected them), and many others which I did not expect.

 

ATMOSPHERE: 4/10 candles

The atmosphere was... different. It was very laid back and casual. Admittedly I felt a bit anxious before going in as I wasn't sure how we would be received as newcomers. The building was an unassuming little business building that was also the office of a Christian construction company.

(this company builds churches and Christian buildings, apparently they are well renowned throughout the state)
Where they lost a lot of points with me was the disorder and structure of the place. They ran two services at once, a children's lesson downstairs on the ground level in the suite they rent in the building, and one for the adults upstairs in a borrowed conference room. It reminded me of one of those get-rich-quick seminars (Which I am ashamed to say that I had had the displeasure of attending once upon a time). So we sat through the service on a variety of different folding chairs and metal-frame seats with a bit of padding so needles to say, not the most comfortable 2 hours of my life. Chad and I also noticed a bunch of red solo plastic cups taped to the ceiling (covering the motion sensors I assume, that or they invented an interesting variation on beer pong for after hours meetings). The whole atmosphere seemed, sort of hurried, cheap, and unprofessional.


COMMUNITY: 7/10 candles

Okay, I was being pretty generous here. The people were in fact pretty friendly but I felt very awkward around them at times. They had invited Chad and I to join them at their post service luncheon so that was a very generous thought on their part. The congregation consisted mostly of elderly people or people that had obviously lived a very hard life and found Jesus (some of them, possibly while they were doing time). The people were very involved and obviously valued this community. They support other members of the congregation and help each other to go out on their demon-slaying missions (more on this later). They even gave the first timers (there were even several others besides Chad and myself) goodie bags and a visitor card to fill out. Later they read out the names of the visitors to welcome them. Acceptance, another win for these guys (I just wonder if they would sing a different tune, knowing more about who Chad and I were. We should have gone to the luncheon to find out... next time though). They also have a food bank where anyone who needs food can withdraw from which is a great practice that I fully support. These guys are totally about helping others in need, BIG win for me!

(On an unrelated note, there were a lot of southern accents in that room)


SERVICE: 1/10 candles

I have to be honest here, I had to give them the bare minimum candle just because there was an actual service held. The big redeeming facet of the service was the music at the beginning. They played loud Christian rock music over a very nice sound system and it was sung in a karaoke-like fashion with words projected on a screen in the front of the room and three singers with microphones there leading the song and singing with the soundtrack. I have to say, these three girls were REALLY into it, during interludes or transition between tracks they would start praying aloud and moaning and were obviously overcome with emotion through the music, in fact there were tears being shed throughout the room. I may have actually witnessed one of the singers speaking in tongues, but it was hard to tell. I do have to admit, these girls LOVED Jesus... like a lot... like more than a friend....
I will admit that the music wasn't all that bad, I rather enjoyed a few of the songs but they got real old after a while.

The next order of business was another pastor had mentioned a mission that he was saving for, he wanted to continue his work in Cuba. He said that God's message was needed in third-world countries. There was crisis in Cuba, they needed to go in and fight the demon dominion. So there were now a few questions that came to my mind upon hearing him say these things:

1) Are people allowed to go to Cuba from the States? (as it turns out, yeah kinda)
2) Cuba is third world? (well, I learned that it is really more second world but with third world parts)
3) Demon dominion? Okay he must be talking about the corrupt government.

As to the last of these thoughts, no. It was no metaphor, these people actually believe that there are literal demons tormenting families in Cuba and they are attacking the church missions there. The church is at a literal spiritual war with literal living, breathing, doll moving, door closing, haunting demons! I couldn't believe it at first but then after he told the story of reports from families there that mysterious dolls were turning up in their homes, etc, there were several "Amen's" and "Praise Jesus's" chiming in from everywhere in the congregation. I started to feel even more uncomfortable than before. They plan to send god warriors to engage in actual spiritual combat with the evil Demon Dominion in Cuba! "There is someone inside us fighting demons every day, that someone is Jesus!" ! I can't make this stuff up! They were serious. (though I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was) To do this, they needed to raise a couple thousand dollars, at which point they started collections. The 11-12 year old boy (who was DJ-ing earlier during the music portion) went around with a basket to collect.

After the Demon talk, the floor began to shake, could it be demons? No, it was from the speakers in the youth room below. It was quite a ruckus, I almost wonder if that is where the revival was held because there were several adults that came upstairs and joined the sermon a bit later.



The service was long and disorganized. There was almost no structure to it whatsoever. Like the student in class that had weeks to prepare a presentation but waited till midnight the night before it was due to start it. The Pastor was an older man, very kind and warm, before the sermon he chatted with Chad and I and told us a lovely story about how he and his wife have been together for 50+ years, now that is impressive! However that was the first and last coherent story he had said the whole morning. We were jumping all over the place from verse to verse and really nothing to ring them together. He went on to share a few anecdotes but never really got around to finishing them before moving on. He said that for today he wanted us to read a small list of verses from the bible but as he was reading through them for us he would interject saying "oh wait, that's not the one I was looking  for". This happened often. He also kept tripping over his words, honestly I felt bad for the guy. I wanted so much to help him somehow, but I just wouldn't have known how. It just seemed very repetitive, he kept using the word "visitation" but never really clarified what he meant by that, only repeating now and again that we need to know the time of our visitation... over and over...
He said that there were two historical visitations with one more to go; but gave three examples(what I later assumed he meant was  when came to earth, usually destroying a bunch of people. This was based on context):

1) God visited Noah and flooded the world
2) God visited and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah
3) Baby Jesus (he loved to say "baby Jesus")

(these were three, but based on the context and criteria, I imagine that there were indeed many more of these "visitations" he kept alluding to which are recorded in the Bible). The third and final one to expect he said was the Rapture, so the end of days. God visits his children to destroy them when they misbehave.

He wanted to inspire the congregation by saying that there were only two words he wanted us to walk away with today:
1) Watchman- we are like the town criers also known as watchmen. be a watchman  and spread the word

2) ??? (he kinda trailed off and never came back to the topic)

 Throughout his time on the floor there were moments where he would literally be shouting! My thoughts were "YES! This is FINALLY it! Now I get to see if the rumors are true". But after those brief moments of excitement, he would calmly retract and say "I could go on about that, but not today because we don't have time". This was a constant disappointment to me, I thought "NO! No, please do go on," but he never did...


MESSAGE: 1/10 candles

I gave the minimum candles for the message because there really wasn't one.  Not a coherent one at least. If anything they owe me candles on this one...Here is what I gathered:

1) Demons are wreaking havoc in Cuba and moving dolls around
2) There is someone inside us fighting demons
3) Know the time of your visitation (whatever that means)
4) We are "watchmen" and need to go forth like the town crier and spread god's word
5) Don't cherry pick the Bible! read it "Civer t' Civer"! (actually, this was good advice, people should read their own book to learn more about what it is that they believe and claim to be true)
6) Don't listen to anyone who has a date of the second coming, no man knows (good defense against being scammed)
7) We are all equal, once you are saved and accept Jesus, race nor nationality matter (Equality= WIN)

He went on to say (with some difficulty) that archeologists have proved definitively that the bible is true
I don't know what in the world he was trying to get across, but if you are going to speak in front of a congregation, you are expected to have prepared beforehand and get your thoughts and materials in order to be an effective communicator. To me, it was all nonsensical but the congregation was eating it up.

OVERALL: 3/10 candles

I was greatly disappointed. It fell miles short of the madness that YouTube had promised. Part of the reason was because I went on the wrong day, because that does happen there, Chad's friend who used to attend the church had suggested we go to check it out. Fallen expectations aside, I would still not wish to visit this church again unless it was during a revival. I may be willing to give it a second chance though, owing to the possibility that the pastor who presided over the sermon during my recent visit was exhibiting early symptoms of Alzheimer's. My heart goes out to him and I sincerely hope that he was just ill-prepared and was not in fact suffering from the onset of some form of dementia. I wish him the best, but I was not impressed with this church.

(the following video sums up my visit to the Hope Resurrected Pentacostal Church...)

To my readers I hope this wasn't a let down for you, I will continue to seek out other interesting things and share them with you. Until then, I will leave you looking forward to my next adventure... the Jehovah's Witnesses! Stay tuned!

Week 4 Preview: Hope Ressurrected Church- will this Pentacostal church be just like in the movies?

Hello again!

Last week was more of a serious and peaceful affair. The Catholic parish left a positive and lasting impression on me. I enjoyed the culture, the art, the tranquility and the feeling of being immersed in tradition and history. However this week I will be seeking out something a bit more eccentric. Something to boisterous and energetic. Something to pique the curiosity and to tease expectations. Tomorrow I set out to observe a Pentecostal church!

For those of you who have not heard of this sect, it is most known for such eccentric (and some might say wacky) practices as speaking in "tongues" or gibberish that is like a coded language of the spirit trying to communicate through the speaker, being touched by "the holy spirit" and being thrown into bouts of erratic convulsions and odd behaviors such as wailing and screaming, walking upon all fours and barking like some form of beast or another, running about the chapel with arms flailing around. This is what we see see on YouTube, in movies and television, this is the predominant image shown to the general public. But is it an accurate representation of the sect? And is this common practice?

(This is a clip from the documentary "Jesus Camp". It was a very well done film and  I highly recommend it. Here is a clip explaining speaking in tongues. NOTE: this video is about an Evangelical Bible Camp that has since been shut down. This is not to my knowledge a Pentecostal gathering, see video below for a glance at a Pentecostal sermon)

Now, I know there are churches out there that may venture into these assumptions and regularly practice these wild, spiritual fits, but is that an accurate representation in general? I hope to find out. the video above is the commonly received perception of what one might find within their halls of worship.

Hope Resurrected is a newer church and is found on Washington Boulevard in Ogden City, Utah. They don't call themselves a traditional church and claim to be family based and focus on community service. But they don't mention anything about speaking in tongues and the like, so I won't expect it though I do hope I get a chance to see it in person.

"We don't see ourselves as a traditional church. We are a family of believers, focused on creating a family atmosphere by developing deep relationships with Christ and each other. We are here to build-up each other and help you with your journey through life; during the good times and the bad.

We are not focused on religious rules about how to act or dress; what kind of Christian music is acceptable; putting on a smile to cover-up pain and hurt; or what your family needs to look like. We are a church family of real people, serving a real God, and we are looking for real people like YOU!"

Their website seems pretty standard for what i have seen in the other churches that I have visited. They don't leave me with much idea as to what I can expect so it should be a pleasant surprise.

I have never attended a Pentecostal service so I am excited to see if it is like what we have come to expect from what I have heard and seen through secondary sources. Viral videos circulate the internet displaying these curious rituals, I want to witness this first hand and take this opportunity to flirt with madness. I don't want to expect too much though, I will look at this all as objectively as I can. I am not expecting to see the wild stuff for sure, but I am hopeful that I will get to experience something interesting and different.

Here we go!