Church

I am in a small town in mid-coast Maine just outside of Bar Harbor where Acadia National Park spans the majority of the land.  It is a beautiful, slow-paced and quiet community to spend some time away.  As part of my sabbatical experience I am spending time in mediation, practicing yoga and writing.  This afternoon I attended a pure yoga class, a Hatha practice with about 8 other people.  It was such a refreshing and relaxing experience.  Before the class began a few of us were talking and introduced ourselves.  Two of the young girls in the class who spend every summer in Maine with family had just graduated from UNC this Spring and were excited to hear about my connection to Chapel Hill.  I shared with them that I was a UCC Pastor and that I was at a very progressive UCC church just a few miles down from the University.  Of course, I acknowledged the fact that most undergrads don't attend church on a regular basis and one of the girls admitted she'd only been maybe twice during her 4 years in Chapel Hill.  The third girl who was a friend visiting them from NYC said that she never went to church during college and that nobody ever goes- it's just not something we do.

church...

This past weekend I spent time in the beautiful historical town of Castine, Maine, one of the earliest settlements in this country- I don't think it's changed much since then actually.  Thankfully, I was there for a conference, a gathering of mostly Episcopalian and Presbyterians for the Downeast Sprituality Retreat with guest presenter John Phillip Newell a Presbyterian Theologian whose passions are grounded in Cletic spirituality really.  He is compassionate about two things:
Caring for the Earth, and Finding the Oneness within the various religious traditions.  Such a gentle, peace-filled person John Phillip is.

church...

On the second day, just following a 45 minute time for meditation we gathered as a group and then paired up with one another to discuss our meditative time together.  I was sitting next to a Buddhist, Hindu Professor, he'd been at Bangor Theological Seminary for 25 years, who was also a presenter during the conference.  After exchanging pleasantries we discussed our thoughts on the ideas presented by JPN and the challenges that seem to face the mainline church.  He asked me what I did as a Pastor to encourage oneness, and unification within the different religious traditions.  Again, we talked back and forth about this concept and then about opportunity, but what stuck with me was when he said that if the church had been more open during the 1960's when he left and sought spiritual truth in India he might not have left the church.

church...

Young adults these days are chomping at the bit to flee the church while some never go at all.