Pleasant Valley Community Church (Non-denominational), Owensboro, Ky

Seeing as I didn’t intend to stay in Owensboro as long as I did this weekend, I decided to accompany a friend to Pleasant Valley Community Church.  My friend (whom shall remain anonymous, as I always respect their privacy in my blogs) has been looking around at new churches in town to see what they may have to offer.  He has accompanied his girlfriend to this church once before, but since I was looking for something to review, and it’s always much more fun to go with friends as opposed to alone, I bit the bullet and conducted a review on a repeat church.  I really don’t have many rules or a code of ethics to this blog.  I have three at most:  don’t deliberately start shit on their turf, focus on the church and not the doctrine, and try not to visit repeat churches.  Sometimes rules are made to be broken.

For those who live in Owensboro, I think Pleasant Valley Church might be one of those that most folks are aware of.  If you rank it up there with Yellow Creek Baptist or Walnut Memorial, it’s the name I’ve heard dropped most often lately.  There are a few other churches in town that are non-denominational, such as the one in the old Lincoln Mall (forgot the name and too lazy to look it up), and one where the old Service Merchandise used to be off Frederica.  One growing trend I’ve noticed in Owensboro is the proliferation of non-denominational churches.  I sincerely believe that our older, more conservative churches are dying because, in the past ten years, a good chunk of the younger crowd has drifted to these more “friendly” and “accessible” churches where they won’t feel like pariahs if they stand out.  Thus, to understand the commonalities between non-denominational churches, I decided to go here to compare it to my previous visit to Crossroads in Newburgh.

A little bit about this church:  Pleasant Valley, I believe, is a newer church.  I think it’s about ten or fifteen years old.  I can’t remember hearing about it from before my high school days.  It’s located off Pleasant Valley road.  The church itself is a continually growing one, quite modern in its aesthetics, and boasts two services to accommodate the crowds.  My friend and I attended the early service.

When one pulls up to the front parking lot (which was a beast to navigate – they really need new parking facilities), by looking at the front of the church, it’s quite unassuming.  There’s a large cross in front of the door, but it looks like the building, before the church took it over, could have been a small warehouse.  Once my friend and I went in, I noticed a few things that one could both dock and add points on the basis of.  First, we weren’t greeted.  As I explained to my friend, hospitality and friendliness are two virtues a church should express when trying to draw in new members.  Some folks want to just be a face in the crowd.  Others do not.  If I had been actually seeking membership as a theist, I wouldn’t personally go somewhere I didn’t feel welcomed.  There were door greeters that filed us in, but unlike some other places I’ve visited, no one stopped to ask me any information or to get any details about myself or my friend.  This is, as I’ve stated before, a trend you find in larger church congregations, and it is a natural one.  Once you reach a population threshold, it becomes untenable to try and keep track of every new member.  The strength of the small congregation lies in its intimacy.  I, as a visitor, am not just a face in the crowd.  I was here, though.  To Pleasant Valley’s credit, though, the head preacher did stop and at least shake our hands and welcome us there.  However, there was no active discussion, nor chance to converse to learn more about the church or its congregation.  So, I have to dock points on that.

However…they did have donuts and refreshments.  That’s a step-above what other churches offer.  But, for me personally, and this is an example of my prejudices dictating my review:  I openly prefer a handshake in lieu of a long john.

Upon entering the sanctuary, which was easy to find, I did take notice of the similarities between Crossroads and this church.  There were quite a few seats (not nearly as large as Crossroads); there was room for about 300-350 people; somewhere near ¾ of that space was utilized in the first service.  I suspect the higher turn-out is during the second service and, of course, it’s probably due to having the option to sleep in.  I understand the temptation, but there are perks to attending the early service (elbow room, plus the participators are fresh, as well as the food).  That being said, the lay-out, as my friend agreed, resembled the inside of a coffee shop.  Allow me to explain:  there was quite a bit of modern artwork lining the walls, as well as the walls themselves were subdued pastels of green and blue, aside from the wall behind the altar itself, which was pained a dark brown with swirl designs.  There were four screens (two large, two smaller ones), as well as an oddly designed background consisting of blue pallets stacked in the background, as well as colored windowpanes hanging up as decorative art.  The altar itself was very small, but there was enough room for a live band to comfortably play, as well as for the preacher to work his ministerial magic.  The entire sanctuary was colorful, and it was, to be honest, pleasing eye-candy.  One can easily have the senses stimulated when inside the sanctuary, and I’m sure that assists in the mood of the worship.   Physically, Pleasant Valley has embraced modern technology, as well as attempting to connect with a younger, almost hipster crowd.  The physicality of Pleasant Valley appeals to the young, contemporary Christian, and that’s one of the many appeals I’m sure this church has in drawing in younger crowds. 

The crowd itself was mixed.  I noticed that there was a good mix of demographics represented, but there was quite a large emphasis on younger, college-aged and young adult folks.  There’s two factors to consider here.  First, we attended Pleasant Valley during its Orphan Sunday, hence some of the families were there in observation of that.  Secondly, I honestly believe that this particular younger demographic might have actually been underrepresented if my observation concerning the tendency to sleep in on Sundays is correct.  I’m sure the second service would show a spike in younger folks attending who are still recuperating from Saturday night.

We began our worship service abruptly (there was a countdown on the screens).  Pleasant Valley, like I’m sure most non-denominational churches, was praise-and-worship heavy.  Services go about an hour and a half, but at least 45 minutes of that was dedicated to praise and worship.  The live band was utilized to the fullest and we sang through probably about five songs or so (with quite a bit of the “filler talk”, praising God, making observations on the world, appealing to emotion – the type of phrasing that’s intended to induce worship).  The filler utilized quite a bit of Biblical references, but all of them that I took note of referenced “adoption” in some form or fashion; mostly metaphorical in the sense of God “adopting” those who accept Christ.  However, the theme and message was very consistent – if one didn’t know the topic of the day was adoption, one must have been asleep during the service.  One part of the filler, which I hate to associate it with the word “filler” but it was during the same time, was a “thank you” to the Veterans.  It was very appropriate, and though I wish our veterans had more of a shout-out, they did get a mention.

Musically, I recognized virtually none of the songs we sang, and I have a feeling most of them weren’t older than ten years or so.  Even when I attended praise and worship as a Christian, I can’t recall us ever using any of these songs…though that could just be a failure of my memory.  At any rate, the lyrics were projected on the screens and they were easy to follow.  That being said, I didn’t find the worship service particularly compelling.  About 1/3 of the people seemed really into it, with a slight few raising their hands, but the singing was restrained, and the worship was very impersonal.  There were quite a folks looking around, tending to their kids, or staring off into space.  This is, I have to say, a commonality I’ve noticed between now the two non-denominational services I’ve attended.

So, we come to the message itself.  I’ll go ahead and get the negatives out of the way first:  it was kind of long and somewhat boring.  But, boring as it may have been, this has to be the most diversified message I’ve heard.  I say that because, in making his points, the preacher used a lot of Biblical verses (notice I don’t use the word “evidence”) to back up his points.  I think we had verses from Mark, Ephesians, Corinthians, John, Matthew…and I’m sure I’m leaving some out).  Pleasant Valley is Bible-heavy, but I say that in a loaded sense:  I’m sure they’re Bible-heavy concerning the cherry-picked portions of the Bible that agrees with their morality.  I would hedge my bets that this is so because of the small snippet of “hell-fire” I almost got this morning.  The preacher, on mentioning Hell, would only say “there’s some that won’t stand in the glory of God”.  He would not say “Hell”.  Usually churches that shy away from the Hell-fire will often shy away from the more brutal and uncomfortable parts of the Bible.  It’s a trend that’s so common that I feel safe in backing my assessment.

On the positive side, this message was…well…positive.  It was a call-to-action message.  The message itself was based upon Ephesians 1:3-6 and 5:1-2.  The notes are scarce, which I have to dock them points on, but there were essentially three main sub-headers to our message this morning:

1. “There is an eternal aspect to the adopting heart of God”.
2. “There is an universal aspect to the adopting heart of God”
3. “We adopt because we’ve been adopted”.

That’s the bare essence of the message.  The preacher was younger (probably mid 30s, but he was graying so he may be older).  He was very animate, emotional, and excited.  He engaged in a lot of hand-gesturing, and his method of delivery can best be described as “rapid-fire”.  As I said, the amount of verses he cited was impressive, but his delivery of them made it hard to keep track of them, even though the verses were all posted on the screens.

The message itself:  first and foremost, as a “call-to-action” message, it did make me think about how I, as an atheist, could help in the realm of adoption.  They handed out slips of paper asking for those to check a list of options that “God is leading” them to do.  Included are:  salvation, adoption, foster care, mentor, CareNet, participate in “the plan” (a donation plan), Kenya Kids, pray, or more information.  Prayer was offered in case folks weren’t “in the position to help”.  In response, I crossed out prayer as I thought it was the cop-out option and substituted my own:  “get into the position to help”.  I’m glad attention is being brought to the subject, though.

Within the context of the message, and having nothing to do with adoption, I was able to glean a few doctrinal points of the church.  I think, for the most part, they are a group of Young-Earth Creationists.  If they aren’t, then the preacher’s words on “God’s literal creation of the earth” and the way he spoke of it can’t be understood as just “metaphor”.  It’s the only conclusion I could draw from their use of “creation” and the sense in which the preacher spoke of it.

Secondly, as I stated above, they’re not big on the Hell-fire and damnation.  They do, however, believe in the devil as a literal being.  He got a small mention in the message.

Third, I felt very dehumanized relative to my other visits.  This is what I would call a “groveling” church.  About every other word out of the preacher’s mouth was a combination of “we’re not worthy” and “isn’t so awesome we worship a God who has done this, and this, and this for us?”  Any combination of the two wouldn’t be a far stretch from what we heard this morning.  There was a lot of aspect on mercy, but it all seemed in the context of man’s unworthiness.  There’s no a lot of credit given to man and his accomplishments.  Example:  when discussing adoption, they thanked God without really thanking the families for giving their time, resources, and effort.  As if the family didn’t do anything?  That, to me, is a bit abrasive.  Give credit where credit is due.  Apologies, this is my humanism speaking, but this church does a very strong sense of removing the individual from the picture and refocusing it on God.  Of course, that’s sometimes the goal…

Lastly, this church, as I said, is one that focuses on the loving, merciful aspects of Christianity.  I’m not going to say that it is necessarily a bad thing, but it would make sense, as those churches that “keep it real” usually have the smaller congregations (Catholics being the notable exception I’ve seen so far).  The logic was quite circular:  you’re “lost”, “broken”, “needy”, “sinners” (words actually used this morning) and you need God, who is so merciful, kind, and loving that he sent his only son to die for you.  Unbelievers like myself understand the circular reasoning here, combined with the loads of other fallacious modes of reasoning, but I’ll leave it at that.

I do have to give the preacher credit.  He spoke out against Pat Robertson on a point of contention.  I’ll give him a point there.

Once the message proper was concluded, all of the persons who have contributed or been affected by foster care were invited up to the front, and we (well, they) gave a round of applause to God.

After that, we had a last song, and we were dismissed.

So, a few points to consider not related to the worship service.  The bulletin they offered was fairly informative.  Within the bulletin, they included a budget, the staff, announcements, etc.  I think they used way too much paper, though; there was quite a bit white on the paper.  The sermon notes were also very scant.  I also noticed what appeared to be a moderate amount of “extra-curricular” activities; could have used more if we assume this church has almost 800-1,000 people attending.

Overall, I got about what I expected.  These non-denominational churches are very similar in both their strengths and weaknesses.  I liked Crossroads better, but there was nothing surprising here.  Now for the breakdown:

Congregation

Friendliness (.3/1)

Message

Topic Interest (.8/1)

Inspirational/Educational Value (.7/1)

Clarity (.7/1)

Applicability (.8/1)

Worship

Content (.5/1)

Audience Participation (.5/1)

Outreach

Community Involvement (.7/1)

Variety of Activities (.7/1)

Information

Accessibility (.7/1)

Total = 6.4

.0 = None

1 = Excellent

Owensboro Church of Christ (Church of Christ)

I’m up-dating these periodically when I get a chance during the weekend to sneak off to a church of my choosing, so for future reference, there won't be any rhyme or reason to these postings.  I'll just get to them whenever I can.  

This weekend, I was able to go to the Owensboro Church of Christ in Owensboro, Ky.  Those familiar with Owensboro would recognize it as one of the three or four churches alongside highway 60 next to the jail.  It’s fairly indistinguishable, but I selected it because I have a small familiarity with the Church of Christ, as a denomination, and it peaked my curiosity.

So, the Church of Christ denomination, for all intents and purposes, is a version of conservative Christianity that’s not unlike the Southern Baptist tradition I grew up with.  In reality, there’s only about three differences worth mentioning between Southern Baptist beliefs and the Church of Christ.  First, they reject the doctrine of “once saved; always saved”.  I had this explained to me by a deacon who made the casual remark:  “oh, we don’t believe that once saved is always saved – we believe that you can willingly choose to fall away from God.  But, honestly, who would do that kind of thing?”  Obviously, I had to play my tact in response:  “you would be surprised”.  Secondly, they believe that Baptism is a necessary component for salvation.  Whereas many Christian denominations believe Baptism to be the outward symbolic representation of your choice to be “saved”, Church of Christ folks believe that it’s a necessary step.  The deacon I spoke with explained it by using an analogy:  “it’s like saying you’re going to Atlanta, but you stop just short of the city limits, turn back around, but still mention to people you went to Atlanta – you didn’t because you didn’t follow the path all the way.”  Of course, I had no real contention there.  Baptism is really just an interpretative piece of dogma that all faiths can banter between themselves.  Lastly, Church of Christ congregations normally eschew the use of organs and pianos, hence all the hymnals we sang were acapella.

It’s been so long since I’ve written a “traditional” entry I’ve forgotten almost how to begin.  I pulled up to the parking lot about fifteen minutes before the service was to begin.  This church was surprisingly big on the outside, and quite roomy on the inside as well.  As soon as I walked in, I approached the first two people I saw (they were behind a counter – they seemed important).  They introduced me to another gentlemen who gave me a kiss.  A Hershey’s kiss.  I have to say – it was the first time I was offered chocolate in church.  That’s always a plus. 

During a conversation with one of the deacons, I was asked a little about my spirituality and my background.  This is actually a question I get asked by readers as well:  “what do you say when they start asking questions about you?”  Well, I respond with the truth:  I’m visiting your church.  I was raised Southern Baptist.  I am very interested in different churches and what they teach.  That’s usually a satisfactory response.  Never once have I been asked if I was saved.  I almost thought I was going to be asked that here, though.  If I had been, I would’ve responded ‘yes’ because I technically was ‘saved’ – good old Southern Baptist doctrine teaches I still have a nice, cushy spot in Heaven (once saved; always saved).  At least I don’t have to lie, huh?

Once inside the church, I took a seat and looked around.  The church sanctuary was quite big.  The inside was an inverted V-shaped with the point of the V being the roof.  It probably seated about 200 people and it would be safe to say that nearly 175 were there, so we were bumping shoulders.  There were dark pink and white stained glass windows that projected a light pink hue onto the crowd.  The front altar had a podium, a few chairs for those leading the worship to sit in, and a baptismal that was closed off.  One thing that was really out of place:  the PowerPoint presentation.  They don’t eschew all technology, but it was interesting to be in a church service that used no musical instruments, yet they happily embraced PowerPoint.  The congregants themselves were from all walks of life.  I saw people there in suits and ties, I saw folks who dressed in tropical shirts.  It was a mix of Sunday best and casual.  Older folks, younger folks, teens, middle aged adults – everyone was pretty much equally represented.  You can tell that, looking at their congregation, they’re a growing church with a future, especially with the number of younger folks they had.  They were all spread out, but there seemed to be a good number of teens and young adults.

As I was seated, a gentleman introduced himself as one of the deacons of the church.  He and spoke for about ten minutes where I picked up most of the doctrinal differences, and he gave me a bit of history on the church as well, and gave me a bulletin as well.  Historically, the Owensboro Church of Christ was opened in the 1950s and was a split group.  Apparently, there’s a “liberal” branch of the Church of Christ and a “conservative” branch.  I chose the liberal branch that day.  Now, we use the term “liberal” in very loose terms.  They’re still Bible-believing literalists.  They aren’t, however, what they themselves call “anti’s”.  Anti’s, according to the gentleman I spoke with, are the Church of Christ folks who are hardcore anti-everything in their approach.  They’re the outspoken fundamentalists that one would associated with the Church of Christ denomination.  These guys, while they proselytize, prefer to keep to themselves relative to their counter-parts.  Again, I’m speaking in terms of relative activism.

So, the church service began and I took my seat.  They began with their announcements.  Apparently they had a “friend day” coming up where they challenged everyone to bring a friend to church.  They get points for activism on that front.  They also had some youth meetings to announce, as well as a few long-term issues they discussed.  Normally I touch on the outreach at the end of the blog, but I’ll go ahead and say that this church, for its size, has a decent amount of outreach programs.  It’s not the highest member to outreach opportunity ratio I’ve seen, but it was adequate enough.

We sang quite a few of the old-time hymns, most of which I knew and, for shits and giggles, joined in with (mostly out of nostalgia).  Some of the hymns:  “Come, Now is the Time to Worship, To God Be the Glory, The Old Rugged Cross, Jesus Loves the Little Children, and Amazing Grace.”  That’s about as down-home and southern as you can get.  A point to recognize on the singing and the acoustics:  one notices this quite often when one visits numerous churches, but usually when there’s a piano or organ playing, it’s more likely individuals are more restrained in their singing because the instruments can drowned it out.  Not here, though.  The lack of instruments actually provided an incentive to sing.  If you didn’t sing, it appeared to be quite awkward, and while not everyone belted out the lyrics as hard as they could, there was a forcefulness that has been absent in a lot of my other church visits.

On the topic of music, the high point of the service was their rendition of The Greatest Commandments.  If I’ve ever heard this song, it’s been ages.  What they did, though, was absolutely beautiful.  As a kid, I’m sure we all remember singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” in a manner where one person starts, sings a verse, then begins again, only to have another person pick up a little after, creating a melody.  Imagine this song having four different, yet repeatable verses – one for altos, one for sopranos, one for tenors, and one for bass.  One would sing…then another would pick their respective verse and join in with the original verse…then another would join in…and we would all build on that until you had four different verses being sung at the same time, all different, but all working together beautifully and harmoniously.  I was impressed and I really wish I had recorded it.  One may be able to find a similar version on YouTube, but this song really made my day.  If I was spiritual, it would have been the perfect song to worship to if I had been seeking serenity.

We had a Lord’s Supper consisting of the little crackers and grape juice.  I refrained out of respect, but one difference between how I was raised and how these guys do things:  they pray first, then distribute the goods and eat them as receive them.  A minor detail, but one I found interesting.

We come now to the actual message.  The actual message was one that I would call a combination of good old fashioned southern preaching with a modern twist.  It reminded me more of the message I heard in Newburg at Crossroads – it was a secular subject approached from a Biblical standpoint.  These guys, though, aren’t afraid to mention the devil.  This is the second church out of about five or six that actually mention Satan, so they’re old school in that particular belief.  The preacher also spoke of Adam and Eve, King David, and Peter as real and literal people, and didn’t pretend to use any type of allegory in his words.  Again, they’re old school.

Anyway, what makes this review quite easy is the accessibility of the sermon notes.  This church, to their credit, prints the sermon notes on the back of the bulletin, so all I have to do is copy it.  The title is called:  Relationship Lessons:  Cleaning Out the Attic of the Past

Your Attic – Everyone has an attic in which the pats is stored.  It’s a place where emotionally charged relics live under sheets and in boxes, tucked away in the corners of our minds.  Those memories of when we failed other and when others failed us still haunt and accuse.  The problems we encountered as children and still confront us as adults.  Today, many people are imprisoned by the attics of their past and need to break free.  Your spouse, your best friend, one of your children, or someone else significant in your life needs help in cleaning out the attic of their past and live positive, productive lives.  Too many have allowed the pain of the past to damage the way they see themselves, the way they handle life today, and the way in which they allow God to use their lives for His glory.  I have learned that we cannot change the past, but we can lessen the influence and negative control it has on our lives.

A Few Foundational Principles:  Let’s establish the following ideas:

1. No one is perfect – Romans 3:23
2. Some have unrealistic expectations.
3. Insecurity is real.

Cleaning Out the Past and Moving Forward – Think for a moment of an important relationship in which past sins and failures sometimes get in the way.  You want this relationship to be healty and joyful.  You don’t want past problems to rob your present joy and happiness.  What do you think God would tell you to do in order to help someone clean out their attack (sic) and start anew again”?

1.  Allow the individual to start writing a new chapter in life – Philippians 3:13

2.  Remember that God is not finished with them regardless of their past – Philippians 1:6

3.  Stop counting and start forgiving – Matthew 18:21-22

4:  Don’t forget that God forgets – Hebrews 8:12

This sermon was so easy to follow that, even the few real questions I had, this preacher addressed.  For example:  the fourth point which states that “God forgets”, I made a note that it was an obvious argument against his omniscience.  He responded as I was writing it down (rather eerily) that “some would say that this is an argument against God being omniscient.  That’s not true.  God does not forget in that he has a human capacity to forget – he just does not hold your sin against you.”  Scratch that criticism.  The only other criticism I had was his insistence that we keep “watch” over our thoughts.  He clearly hinted in a way that we unbelievers would hear differently from believers:  “guarding your thoughts so they may not lead you astray”.  For theists, this equates to mental purity; for atheists, we hear mental restriction.  Aside from those criticisms, even I as an atheist can appreciate the general gist behind this sermon.  The importance of practicing forgiveness and letting go of the past is a general nugget of virtue that’s applicable to anyone, believer or not.

I have to admit, there were grammar mistakes in those sermon notes, but they made it easy to follow.  The preacher also had the notes posted up on the PowerPoint as well.  This was probably one of the better messages I heard because, well…it’s what I was used to growing up.  I have a soft spot for similarities to Southern Baptist methods of worship, as annoying as I’ve found it at times.  As for the preacher himself, he was passionate, entertaining, and he spoke well.  He’s obviously been doing this quite a long time.  He was a bit older – probably in his 50s or 60s, but he spoke like a younger man excited by what he’s been “called” to do.

After the sermon, we sang our last song (Amazing Grace), and I darted out as fast as I could because I had another place I had to be.  I had the opportunity to shake hands with the preacher before I left; he struck me as a nice, warm, friendly guy.  I congratulated him on a job well done (out of respect), and he automatically pinned me as new.  He hoped I would come back and thanked me for my visit. 

Overall, this was a fun church and unlike most of my visits, this was not quite what I expected it to be.  I expected a smaller, empty church with loads of spaces in the pews because the congregation is old and dying.  Not so.  My criticisms are few.  I wish there was more of a welcoming committee.  I did look a little out of place, but I get the impression that all of these folks are regulars and they know each other, hence it was easy for the deacon to spot me as newcomer.  Not everyone was as friendly as the other churches I went to as well.  They weren’t cold and indifferent like the Catholic Church, but neither did they go out of their way like the United Church of Christ or the Unitarian Universalist guys did.  Information-wise, they have EVERYTHING printed out on the bulletin, so there's no confusion on what they don't have.  Here’s the breakdown of the final score:

1. Congregation
1. Friendliness (.5/1)
2. Message
1. Topic Interest (.6/1)
2. Inspirational/Educational Value (.6/1)
3. Clarity (1/1)
4. Applicability (1/1)
3. Worship
1. Content (.6/1)
2. Audience Participation (.8/1)
4. Outreach
1. Community Involvement (.9/1)
2. Variety of Activities (.9/1)
5. Information
1. Accessibility (.7/1)

Total = 7.6

1st Annual Kentucky Freethought Convention (Atheist/Secular/Humanist/Freethinker)

I haven’t been able to put forward an entry in this blog for quite a while due to my involvement with the UU church, as well as making special trips to try and promote the Owensboro Freethinkers.  However, this week, I decided to place my experiences at the Kentucky Freethought Convention within this blog, though of course I do it with scrutinity.  No, this wasn’t a church per se, but we were a gathering of folks who take a position on certain philosophical and theological questions, so, to me, a gathering of non-believers – that being the strongest thread that binds us (there were deists there as well) – I find it fit to place the experiences in here.  If that justification doesn’t fly with some folks, as I completely understand that it may not, then we will settle on the fact that it’s my blog, and I’ll do what I damn well please.  That’s good enough for me, my friends.

So, a little about the convention for those who do not know.  The 1^st Annual Kentucky Freethought Convention (KFC) was a state-wide gathering of atheists, humanists, rationalists and, to use the all-inclusive term:  freethinkers.  We gathered for a day that was originally dedicated to include a virgin sacrifice and a baby-eating contest.  Since we couldn’t find a virgin (good luck finding a virgin on the U.K. campus) and those with babies had hid them away in the child-care that was provided, we simply settled for a schedule of highly educated and entertaining speakers that carried us throughout the day.  (That was a joke – most of my readers get it, but I put this disclaimer because I have some who really think we eat babies…)

In formulating how I wanted to put this together, I thought I would reflect on all the speakers, but I’ll only go into detail on a few.  I do this for one basic reason.  I was personally frustrated that more folks didn’t get up off their asses and make the effort to attend this rally.  I was the only one from the Owensboro Freethinkers that went, and the two other folks from the Evansville Freethinkers didn’t even live in Evansville.  That’s kind of pitiful.  Our freethought groups, of which I have readers from both the Evansville and Owensboro branches, can only survive and thrive by the interest of its people, their dedication to our shared principles, and their willingness to do something aside from just bitch about religion on a Facebook page.  I understand for some folks just couldn’t get away – the conference was made known in my circle like a week before it actually happened, so I had to shift some things around.  But there are some folks in my group, as well as in others that could have attended.  They wouldn’t have even had to pay for gas – one tank got me up there and back.  Hotel rooms divided between 2-4 people are cheap; I think I spent about $40 on this trip, including food (I stayed with a friend and her roommates).  So my job isn’t to report back to folks every detail that they missed.  The position of not knowing is the consequence of not going.  This doesn’t apply to everyone, but if you were in the position to go, you really, really missed out. 

But, on the positive side, there will be another next year (and I’ll probably go). 

The KFC, though, was one of the best, most enlightening, most entertaining, and most educational conferences I have been to.  Knowing that I could walk in and meet my fellow unbelievers – those who from all across the state have stories like mine, experiences like mine, groups like the one I started – it was uplifting, exhilarating, and thrilling!  I was reminded of a lot that I did know, but what I seek to gain from any type of conference – I was educated on what I didn’t know.  Here’s what I didn’t know that I do know now.  We are not alone.  We have representation all over the state.  There were about 125-150 people that attended this conference (it was hard to gauge because folks came and went as they pleased).  I met folks from Paducah and Madisonville – that’s on our side of the state, guys!  There were Louisville folks, Lexington folks; people from northern, eastern, western, and southern Kentucky attended.  This was encouraging.  While I was there, I was able to network with other groups, as well as put the word out about the Owensboro Freethinkers.  The only regret that I have concerns the fact that I was asked to be on a panel of local group leaders (can anyone say CV material?) but time ran out, so it fell through.  I did pimp our group out to those in the conference, and in doing so, met a couple of folks from our side of the state.

But, let’s go through what the actual conference looked like.  To do that, I have to take a step backwards to Friday.

I left Friday, drove up to Lexington (which I had never done before), and once there, attended a leadership meeting.  The conference was held at the ballroom in the Kentucky Center on the U.K. campus.  On Friday, there was a group of folks who went to the Creation Museum, but I declined to do so on two principles:  1) I can’t justify giving them my money to perpetuate ignorance, as small as my $20 would be; 2) as I was recommended to do, I would like to take a trip of Evansville/Owensboro people to see just how bad it really is.  I’ve heard horror stories on the internet, but to have people describe it in person is just as…disturbing.  We were shown pictures during one of the presentations, and you see them online, but you don’t get the commentary like we received at the convention.  I bowed out on the museum.

I did attend, though, a meeting that I would have loved to have seen some of the other leadership attend.  The leadership meeting was very educational.  I’m a very honest, blunt kind of guy, and I’ll go ahead and say that, speaking for my group, we’re running at about 30% capacity of what we could be doing.  We’ve done quite a few things right, but there’s quite a bit we’ve done that doesn’t work.  A few examples:  one person cannot lead the entire group, we don’t have any activities that engage the interests of people there, we’re not as personable as we can be, we don’t volunteer as often as we can be, and sometimes we seem like a bunch of folks just sitting around a table bitching about issues.  That has to stop if we want to grow and, as we all know, we evolve or go extinct.  I’m addressing it in my group (which will soon be “we” will address it – hearkening back to the first point I made) but there’s something to be learned here on everyone’s part.  The gentleman leading, Michael Werner (some of you guys may know him), gave us a PowerPoint presentation that, hopefully, I can pass along to the group leaders of all our organizations so we can start moving forward as freethinkers.  It was helpful to hear stories of both success and failure, because it places matters into perspective.  Our Owensboro Group, for example, is actually moderate size for a freethinking group, so that’s encouraging to know…and we’re growing.

After the meeting, I adjourned for some reflection over my notes, group reorganization, and hookah smoking with my friend’s roommates.  I conked out around 3:30 a.m. and woke up at 7:00 a.m. or so.

Back at the convention, I was given a nametag and met with my other guys I had arranged to get together with (out of decorum and habit, I won’t mention names).  I was amazed at how many people were there, how different walks of life were represented, and…as a side note…how many good looking freethinking women there were.  There’s hope for us to continue propagating our species with rationalists yet!

We sat through a general welcome, and the first speaker was probably one of the best.  Dr. James Krupa gave a presentation entitled “Evolution, Education, and Why Good Teaching Matters”.  Here, we received a plethora of information on the subject; not so much the science, but how the science relates to issues here in Kentucky.  We were educated on the Creation Museum, and we were told, through quite a few of Dr. Krupa’s anecdotes, the state of science education on the U.K. campus.  He was, like any of us freethinkers would be, dismayed at the hostility towards the established science.  He was gracious enough to display some of his teacher evaluations, which showcased a whole variety of opinions, with a huge emphasis on the negative ones.  What was so dismaying about the presentation concerned Dr. Krupa himself.  He goes out of his way to teach a basic course on biological evolution, and even after meticulously going over each and every matter that can accessible to freshman undergraduates, they still just don’t get it.  The disconnect is astoundingly frustrating, and while the world accepts evolution as fact, we’re the only nation with a huge problem concerning pushback from Christian fundamentalism, though he did allude to problems in other nations resulting from the same type of pushback.  Overall, I rather enjoyed his presentation, and as much anti-religious rhetoric as we heard (a moderate amount), I was there to be educated more on other issues that are peripheries to the nonreligious element of freethinking.  That mattered to me.

The next speaker, Edwin Kagan, was also excellent as well.  He discussed his experiences with Camp Quest and…that’s all I’m going to say about it specifically.  It was an inspiring story with its high and low points, but it also inspired me to seriously look into volunteering my time and efforts at a Camp Quest this summer.  I do have experience as a counselor…so it’s something to consider.  We have to invest in our young people.  Those who oppose freethinking ideas know it; we should be active in not indoctrinating our children, but to foster their curiosity, and to teach them to think critically.  We should teach them, as the old saying goes, not what to think, but how to think.

We then took a break, and came back to listen to Seth Andrews, the founder of The Thinking Atheist.  I’m not going to go into too much detail here as well, but his topic and story was much more personal.  He was quite entertaining (as it’s what he does), and this particular presentation seemed to be the turning point towards the discussion pertaining to religion and how it as affected all of us.  Seth Andrews does have a personal “testimony” (if I may borrow the language), as many of us do, but I believe it was him that asked “how many of you came from religious backgrounds?”  About 95% of the hands went up in the room.  In that moment of silence, that action spoke volumes.

We took our lunch break at an Ethiopian restaurant.  The food was good, I’ll plug it, though I completely forgot what it was called.  If you’re in Lexington, just look for it.  It’s right next to the U.K. campus.  At lunch, though, I was approached by one of the leaders of the convention who earlier noticed that I stood when all the leaders of groups were asked to do so for recognition.  She asked if I would be willing to serve on a panel, to which I essentially said “I don’t have much to contribute, but sure”.  We met with another gentleman from Louisville (I believe – it was central/eastern Kentucky), ate, “fellowshipped”, and returned back to the conference.

The next speaker, Gretchen Mann, gave us probably the most inspiring story of the afternoon.  She related her legal battles with “Gideon Proselytizing at Military Induction Centers”.  Very much a descriptive and narrative form of presentation, the end resulted with Gideons no longer given privileged access to new recruits.  I’m all for proselytizing in certain regards, but from all the stories and personal experiences I’ve had with the Gideons, they are trolls.  Sorry, for all Gideons reading.  You know your Bibles end up in the trash, on the floor, in lockers, toilets – you guys waste a ton of money for what can be done for free.  Trust me, the Bible is the easiest book in this country to obtain, and if I, as an atheist, were to shove secular literature in your face with your persistence, you wouldn’t be too pleased.  Empathy and understanding would allow you guys to relate and perceive where we unbelievers are coming from on this issue.  Gideons were real-life trolls long before internet trolling became popular.  Over all, a fine presentation, and it did elicit a reaction from me (as seen in my rant).

Annalise Fonza led the “What Difference Does a Story Make?: Why Ex-Pastors Should Speak Up for Atheism”.  Honestly, I thought this was one of the weaker presentations.  The story was interesting, but it’s one I’ve heard a lot.  She was an African American ex-Methodist minister (think about that one for a bit – first time I heard it, my response was: “does not compute”).  This is just my experience, and I’m sure those who aren’t familiar with the Clergy Project, or haven’t read stories on websites such as ExChristian.net would have received something from it more so than I did.

This sat up, though, a panel of former ministers.  While the names I don’t have (nor would you be particularly interested in), the panel included a Southern Baptist, a Catholic, a Methodist (Annalise Fonza), a Church of Christ (kind of), and…I can’t remember the other one.  It terms of specifics, it does not matter, but the key point of this panel was to give a representation of all different types of faiths we are likely to find in Kentucky.  All of their stories (save the Catholic who was a bit long-winded in my opinion) were quite interesting.  One of the gentlemen was kicked out of Seminary the day before his finals when he was found out as an atheist; one gentlemen just didn’t tell anyone; another was estranged from his family to a degree.  The panel represented a good cross-section of personal stories.

The last speaker, Dr. Will Gervaise, was another highlight of the convention.  His presentation, “The Varieties of Nonreligious Experience: What Psychological Science Can Teach Us About Religious Disbelief” was very informative.  His presentation delved into the different factors – psychologically and culturally – that can determine what faculties one uses in their decision-making processes.  He compared the two lines of thought to the “Colbert Response” (modeled after Stephen Colbert who, as quoted, said he goes with his gut-feeling) and the “Descartes Response (modeled after Descartes, as one who acts on rational thought).  He cited experiments that showed the effects of such lines of though on society and he used his personal research as one who has studied religion from a cognitive and psychological perspective.  I’d love to go into great detail about his research, but there was quite a bit to it.  I touched on the high points, but the individual studies that he himself had conducted or had referenced were fascinating.  There were some classics (atheists are the least-trusted minority in the United States), but there were others as well, such as what types of situations elicit a “Colbert” or “Descartes” response.

At this point, instead of having our Group Leaders panel, we ran out of time, and were allowed to plug our groups.  Most of the leaders had left, so it was I and some of the central Kentucky leadership.  I hung around about ten minutes, then buggered off.  We finished around 5:00 p.m. Lexington time, and I was back in Owensboro around 9:00.

So, my overall reflections:  it was awesome!  I’m not going to rank this experience using the rubric that I constructed to measure other churches.  I understand the double standard I’m using here:  I wrote about the experience here using logic suggesting it fits the mold of other religious institutions, yet I don’t hold it to the same standard.  Well, I don’t feel I can.  The other churches I review, they have services every Sunday, they have members, and they have activities.  The comparisons are mostly superficial to me, as this group was just a once-a-year matter.

That being said, this was an excellent event.  It reminded me a bit of the old Promise Keepers meetings I used to attend as a kid – an inspirational type of gathering intended to join folks together with common values.  Granted, we didn’t worship anything, nor did we sing or dance (we were all sober), we did get a chance to meet and fellowship with other like-minded individuals. 

As an atheist, I spent so much of my time alone.  Now I know that Kentucky has other freethinkers.  We’re gathering, we’re growing, and we’re here to stay.  This conference is hopefully one of many that we’ll be attending, and it’s been a pleasure to be one of the many individuals at the forefront of the Kentucky Freethought Movement.

Holy Rosary Catholic Church (Roman Catholicism)

In doing these entries, I’ve realized that with balancing my involvement with the UU every other week, I’m going to run out of churches and places of worship to attend on Friday/Saturday nights.  If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.  This week, though, because I’m familiar with Catholicism, and Saturday night mass is a mirror reflection of what one would experience on a Sunday, a friend and I attended Holy Rosary Catholic Church.

This entry probably won't be as exciting as other entries.  There are three reasons why.  First, there’s not much of a novelty factor for me when it comes to Catholic churches.  I remember the first time I entered into a Catholic church, I was astounded by all the imagery, the statues, the stained-glass windows – it was beautiful.  Being raised in a Southern Baptist background, that particular brand of Protestantism doesn’t really embrace the iconography and art of their Catholic counterparts.  Now that I’ve been to enough masses to know what to expect, there’s very little novelty to write about.

Secondly, I am writing about a Catholic mass.  The difference between a mass in parish A is going to be minimal in relation to parish B.  Catholics, to their pride and chagrin, haven’t changed much in the past few hundred years.  They pride themselves on tradition, and in embracing that tradition, most churches are in sync with each other when it comes to keeping their masses homogenous. 

Lastly, it’s difficult to describe a Catholic mass without nit-picking every little minute detail.  There are entire books written on what every little symbolic act committed within the typical mass represents.  I know enough to get by.  I know enough to recite the Lord’s Prayer, I can cross myself, I can genuflect – I can pass for a laxed Catholic.  Much of what I can touch on would require me to copy and paste large chunks of text that will probably bore the average reader, though there are some worth mentioning and reading at least once in life (like the Nicene Creed or Lord’s Prayer).  So much of the Catholic mass entails call-and-response and chanting, so in terms of worship…there’s not much to say either.

However, to begin our journey – my friend and I visited Holy Rosary Catholic Church for Saturday night mass.  To give a little background:  I have been to a few Catholic churches before, but the one I’ve had experience with is St. Boniface, the church my friend attends on the west side of Evansville.  Since I’ve been there before, I declined to review it as I would already have an inherent bias.  However, I’ll be using my previous experiences with St. Boniface as a reference point.  St. Boniface, for those who have never been, is the oldest Catholic church in Evansville (so I'm told), hence it has quite a bit more ritual, tradition, and the appearance of age and majesty that one would attribute to a church of its age.  The church was built in the 1800s, and looks it.  When one watches movies such as The Exorcist or The Godfather, St. Boniface is comparable to the churches that appear in those films, and that’s mostly due to the similarity in age.  Holy Rosary, though, is quite new – probably not much older than 30 years, if even that.

So, my friend and I arrived about ten minutes before mass.  Unlike my previous excursions into the church world, one thing I highly dislike about the average Catholic church is the lack of intimacy.  If my friend and I had been devout, practicing Catholics, we could have walked into this church for the first time, celebrated mass, never came back, and no one would notice.  The larger churches suffer from this problem, and large Catholic ones definitely are horrible about it.  At St. Boniface, the other church I attended with my friend (I brought this person as a reference), the only reason I felt welcomed in that church was because this particular person’s family and friends welcomed me as their guest.  We did not have that luxury here, so we spoke to no one except ourselves and the little girl who gave us our missal.  I’ll give Holy Rosary points for at least having someone stationed at the door to give us the information we needed to make it through mass, but aside from that, this church lacked that welcoming feeling I’ve received at others on my visits.

Upon entering into the sanctuary, I was struck by the relative simplicity of it all.  The church itself boasted a medium-sized sanctuary which probably seated about 300 people.  I would say that we had about 200 show up; maybe 250.  Compared to the beautiful statues I’ve seen before at other churches, for a Catholic church, I felt Holy Rosary was sparse on imagery.  There was one large cross at the back of the altar – probably about 20 feet – with a crucified Jesus upon it.  There was a smaller cross off to the side.  The altar itself was wide-open, with only the table (which comprises the actual alter), two candles with a green table/alter clothe…and that was really it.  It was beautiful, but simple.  As a side note, my friend informed me that Catholic tradition states that within the altar itself, there is a small fragment of piece of a relic that dates back to Biblical times.  I found that to be a very interesting fact, if not a little flawed in their reasoning.  I mean…how many fingernails can St. Peter have before we start seeing reproductions and frauds?  If you’re familiar with the history of relics, you’ll understand, but I found that to be an interesting nugget of information nonetheless.

The stained glass windows were, to me, the highlight of the sanctuary itself.  They were tall – about 15-20 feet high, and thin with no art-work actually being depicted.  Relative to everything else, they were the highlight, but compared to stain glass that actually depicts Biblical scenes, they were conservative in their appearance.  The first time I stepped into St. Boniface a few years ago, I was awestruck with how much there was to just look at.  Statues of the Apostles, Mary, Jesus, stain glasses depicting Biblical scenes, the 12 Stations of the Cross.  When I enter into a Catholic church, I expect eye-candy.  At Holy Rosary, though, I was underwhelmed.  To be fair, this is, like I said, a newer Catholic church.  My friend informed me that many of the newer churches, relative to the ones that are over 50 years old, look very similar to the one we were in, so my point of view was a bit skewed by assuming the older Catholic church was the “accurate” representation of how they should be.  In appearance, Catholic churches have the license to differ more so than they can in their actual functions.

So, we began the mass, and I took notice of how the people appeared.  If you’ve ever been to a Catholic church, you’ll probably notice that most people seem half-hearted in their worship, with a few very devout Catholics giving it their all during mass.  That appeared to be so here.  There was a pretty fair representation of all age groups, with some of the older parishioners appearing more devout, while some of the younger ones were fidgeting.  It appeared these folks were very much in-tune with the routine, and knowing how much mass does not change, there’s not a lot of free-form worship allowed, and that sort of monotony reflected on their demeanor during worship.  I very much believe that, looking at these folks, this was ritual; routine…it was what they did every week because they either are “supposed to” or “they grew up in it”.  I can’t assume too much of the folks that were there, but there were mostly couples and families, so I think my assumptions may be justified.  The only folks who appeared to be "into it" were the older ones over fifty.  Again, these are just my observations.

The hymns we sang were old-fashioned – much more in tune with what I grew up with.  We sang the Summons, How Great Thou Art, and we didn’t catch the third one because we left as it was playing.  The singing was restrained, especially so for 200+ people attending.  We took scriptural readings from Isaiah 50:4c-9a, St. James 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35.  We also stated the Nicene Creed (look it up if you’re curious).  The Priest then gave his “sermon”, which is always, to me, the most exciting part of the mass itself.  I can’t really call it a “sermon” because of its length.  I remember taking my Catholic friend to my old Baptist church at one time.  The preacher there usually preached for about half-an-hour; maybe forty-five minutes if he really got going (which was rare from what I remember).  My friend, about twenty minutes into my old preacher’s sermon, elbowed me and asked “how long is this going to go on?”  I asked, “why?”  The response:  “my priest never goes this long!”  Growing up listening to such sermons, I usually find what the priest has to say a little short in substance compared to what I’m used to.  I’m used to sermons that follow the classic 3-point speech method:  point 1, point 2, point 3, done -- but they take about half an hour to get through it.  This priest, though, had only one point:  put your faith into action.

The priest, I have to admit, was one of the best ones I’ve heard.  He spoke with no notes, no prompts – he was going completely off the cuff.  He was quite animate and he was younger than what I was used to (30 to 40 years of age, as opposed to 50, 60, or 70 years old).  Again, I’m used to preachers who at least use notes or some kind of presentation aid.  This guy did not, which I have to respect.  His sermon came off as natural and he spoke with relative conviction.  Format-wise, the priest began his mini-sermon (as it appeared to me) with a joke about his camping experiences before moving onto an anecdote that provided the jumping-off point for his sermon.  He spoke of a couple in his old parish that he greatly admired.  The couple would, as he told us, go exceptionally far out of their way to assist anyone in need, so much so that this priest held them in great esteem.  The moral of this lesson was that this couple was a beacon of inspiration – they put their faith in action, as all devout Catholics should.  All Christians should take up their cross, go out of the way to help the poor, and be willing to accept the sacrifices that should be made in the name of their faith.  That’s…really about it. He spoke for about ten minutes, fifteen tops.  It was a fairly watered-down sermon, very light on using the Bible, and…well…it was meant to be family-friendly, easily digestible, and inspirational to those who were already devout Catholics.

We then ended the mass as most masses always end:  communion.  Now, I did a sacrilegious thing here that I normally do not do.  I took the communion.  As an atheist walking up to take a Catholic communion, that’s a pretty big act of blasphemy in the world of Catholicism.  I did it for two reasons, though.  The first was for immersion.  Most other churches I go to, there’s the opportunity to participate in worship, and it’s relatively exciting, if not just for the novelty of doing something new.  I’ve been to mass before; I’ve done it all before.  I never took communion, and I wanted to experience part of mass as a parishioner might.  I normally abstain from communion from any church out of respect, but – and this constitutes the second reason – I’ve abstained out of respect to the Catholic church before.  I don’t feel particularly compelled to abstain out of respect this particular time when I’ve bowed out the previous five to ten times before.  Plus…and I guess this is an additional mini-reason…I’ve always been curious to taste the wafer.  The wafer, by the way, is dry, gritty, and as my friend stated: “that’s the taste of God in your mouth – tastes like cardboard, huh?”  I didn’t drink the wine, mostly because I see it as an invitation to catch the flu from the 200+ folks there, but I wasn’t struck down by God for eating the wafer, and that’s one less novelty in life’s experience I have on my to-do list.

So, that’s that – my review of Holy Rosary.  Overall, it was a typical mass.  It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't my best worship experience, and I got what I expected.  Some fine points:  there was no bulletin, no announcements, and I couldn’t find anything on their community activities.  However, I know they exist, because I pass their sign just about every day, and there’s always something on it advertising that they’re doing.  They run a Catholic school next door, there’s usually a social fair, they’ve raffled cars, they’ve had book sales, bake sales – they’re involved and I would say proportionally so for the number of folks there on a Saturday mass.  That being said, this will probably be my lowest review for a church, simply because these types of churches suffer so much on the aspects of the experience I find to be important.  While the priest's message was fairly good, one of the greatest parts about doing this is meeting the people.  I’ve met some exceptional people, I’ve always attempted to be kind to them (if not being too revealing on my ultimate purposes), but they’ve always been hospital to me.  Not so much here.  The topic was marginally interesting, if not kind of bland, though I liked the presentation.  There was little depth to it, but it did have a bit of applicability; it never hurts to be told to be good to others.  Worship is something I would dock points from as well because, as much as I respect tradition, rigidity in worship doesn’t allow for full spiritual expression, and I usually prefer spiritual freedom in a service as opposed to following such a fine outline.  About the only “interpretive” part of the service was the silent prayer.  Everything else was highly structured.  There was no special music, and whereas some places you go to worship you can feel the emotion and sincerity in the room, it was sorely lacking here. 

For your consideration, the final tally:

1. Congregation
1. Friendliness (.2/1)
2. Message
1. Topic Interest (.5/1)
2. Inspirational/Educational Value (.6/1)
3. Clarity (.7/1)
4. Applicability (.7/1)
3. Worship
1. Content (.5/1)
2. Audience Participation (.5/1)
4. Outreach
1. Community Involvement (.8/1)
2. Variety of Activities (.8/1)
5. Information
1. Accessibility (.4/1)

Total = 5.7

Evansville Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)

Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints – Evansville, IN

Out of all of the churches to review on my list, I’ve never felt as intimidated by one as this.  People hear horror stories of how Mormons react if you ridicule their beliefs, how secretive they are on some matters, and how they can sometimes be very intimidating, or aggressive, or even annoying.  The most common criticism:  “they always knock at the worst times”.  I don’t know if this is true for Mormons as a whole, but I had nothing but the most positive experience when I visited their church.  I have to say that right off the bat in case any Mormons are reading – I won’t dismiss you for your faith if you extend the same courtesy to my lack thereof.  And while this review could be marred in what I think about Mormon beliefs, I’m here to discuss my experience in the church. 

When one mentions “the Mormons”, there are a lot of pre-conceived notions that come to mind.  Some write them off quickly:  “oh, they believe in magic underwear, and God is from another planet, etc.”  If one considers the current political climate with Mitt Romney as an open Mormon, the situation is one where Mormonism has lately received a larger degree of attention.  What I have heard from critics won’t factor into this review.  For me to comment on the theological beliefs of the Mormons based on how I’ve always heard them mocked would be doing them a disservice.  They’ll be more than happy to speak with you and set some of those matters straight.  We all know, though, that Mormons are infamous for seeking out people, and some folks view their proselytization efforts as a form of harassment, but out of all the churches I have been to, they’re the most accessible and open about what they believe, as interesting or odd as outsiders may believe.

So, in an interesting game of role-reversal different from what I have experienced in the past, I went knocking on their door.  Like Gilligan, the Skipper, and all the rest – I had no idea what I was getting into on my three hour tour, but I was curious nonetheless.  In reality, I had no idea that the worship services lasted for three hours, so I didn’t know I was going to be touring for that long…but because of the length of the service(s), this review might be a bit longer.

Before I jump into my experience with the church, I want to lay some groundwork that represents the basics of Mormon belief.  Mormons, for all intents and purposes, are Christians.  Relative to Baptists, Catholics, Pentecostals, or whomever – they’re an updated version of Christianity.  However, in a point that few other Christians would admit:  they share far, far, far more similarities with other sects of Conservative Christianity than one might think.  Mormons are usually misunderstood (and even ridiculed) for the differences, but if one removed the references to the texts in the Book of Mormon or the Doctrine and Covenants that were cited this morning, to me, the scriptures basically all read like what I was raised with.  The concepts of salvation, redemption, paradise, damnation – it’s all fairly similar.  If one could draw an analogy to each branch of Christianity akin to a row of Christmas trees, Mormonism has quite a few more differing ornaments than other types of Christianity, and it’s those differences that are usually highlighted far more than the similarities.  At the heart of Mormonism, though, is the belief that Jesus Christ died for mankind’s sins.

In terms of doctrine, Mormons revere the Bible as God’s word, but they have reverence for three other texts as well:  The Book of Mormon, which is a complementary Testament of Christ alongside the Bible, the Pearl of Great Price, containing wisdom texts and other varied pieces, and the Doctrines and Covenants, which describes Joseph Smith’s on-going revelations.  Of course, Mormon’s believe that Joseph Smith received a revelation from the angel Moroni, translated golden plates, and produced the Book of Mormon, which is essentially the other half of Jewish history, Christ’s revelation to the Americas, etc.  Whether or not it is true, again, I’m not concerning myself with.  I’ve read the vast majority of the Book of Mormon, and as an Elder said to me one time:  “examine it for yourself.”

With this basic understanding in hand, I would have to describe my experience as quite different in relation to my previous ones.  Saturday afternoon, I attempted to call the church several times, and looked for a website – I couldn’t find worship times, schedules, or anything like that.  A chance encounter with a Mormon Elder/Missionary (same thing) as I was driving was how I found out what time to show up.

So, I came in Sunday morning and it would be fair to describe this church as big and bold on the outside, and somewhat modest on the inside.  The church is located near 164 and it’s a large building.  It houses two separate congregations, or wards.  Each ward services two different parts – the 9:00 a.m. ward services the north/west sides of Evansville; the 11:00 a.m. services the east/south sides of Evansville, and Newburgh.  Today’s worship service was divided into three parts:  a general worship service, Sunday School, and an adult meeting afterwards.  Physically, the inside of the church is fairly big, but there weren’t a lot of frills.  There are seats and pews enough for 200 people, and it was pretty packed.  There wasn’t a lot of imagery, but the front of the sanctuary was spacious, with a podium, with decorative plants stationed here and there.  No icons, no crosses, no imagery.

Upon entering, I had a fifteen minute wait before the service began, and I was greeted by about ten people overall.  There would have been more, but these folks and I conversed for a few minutes each.  I was welcomed by the presiding Bishop Paul Daines (the only name I’m going to give in this review), as well as the Elder I ran into on Saturday.  These people, I can’t emphasize enough, are very friendly, especially if you let them know you’re new…and curious.  They retrieved a bulletin for me, were eager to answer questions, and the Elders volunteered to sit with me and guide me to alleviate confusion.  The bulletin itself was pretty simple, mass produced from a printer, and included very few announcements.  The information provided was somewhat sparse, but the worship service was structured enough to easily follow.

Some general comments on the parishioners:  they were conservative in their dress and appearance.  The men were well-shaved with short hair in suites and ties; the women wore a wider variety of clothing, but all were what one would typically describe as “Sunday best.”  I wore a black dress shirt and black slacks; I was underdressed and stuck out.  Most folks appeared to be of middle and upper class economy.  In this case, I believe this church reflected national Mormon demographics.

During worship, I found it interesting what was not included:  tithing, meet-and-greet, special music, and preaching.  Instead, we had a welcoming, some announcements, and a number of hymns (some I recognized, most I did not).  My overall impression of the worship service is one I’ve had from churches I grew up in:  some folks were interested, some looked really bored, and the children, if they weren’t coloring or drawing, were trying to keep from falling asleep.  Some points to mention:  any motion placed before the church is agreed upon with a show of hands; the singing was really sustained, and this worship service was, overall, relatively conservative.  There was a communion of sorts, called just “the sacrament”, and it included chunks of bread and little plastic cups of water (Mormons abstain from alcohol).  Mormon worship services are typically led by the laity with the Bishop taking a very passive role.  There were three speakers – one of the Bishop’s family members, another woman, and an older gentleman.  All three used children as their topical theme.  The first spoke very fast and I didn’t catch much of what was said (and I certainly couldn’t write it down).  The second spoke quietly, was very emotional, and I caught most of what she was saying.  Her message can be summed up as “children have an inherent reverence for God, and we must protect them” (at least, that’s what I extrapolated).

The highlight for me, though, was the last speaker.  He spoke on the subject of children as well, and his presentation was quite structured and easier to follow.  He made two main points that I caught:  children have fewer inhibitions, thus they’re more open to Christ; and children’s cognitive developments impact their susceptibility to Satan’s influence.  He commented on how these factors can influence and dictate how children view the world, and how these are spiritually significant to children (and subsequently ourselves).  He was very well-spoken, but this particular speaker hit a milestone in my church rotations.  He was the very first to mention Satan.  Listening to him had me harking back to my Baptist roots because this gentleman was not shy in discussing Satan’s role in leading believers astray.  He made a comment that would rub a lot of secular folks the wrong way but it’s something many churches teach:  “we must train up our kids from a young age to avoid Satan’s influence”.  Some of my readers may automatically hear “brain washing”, but I have no opinion on the matter worth mentioning here.  He also is very much for the “child-like” attitude that Christians should have, and made a point to mention that children are protected against Satan because of their lack of cognitive abilities.  Satan attacks through one’s thoughts, those thoughts become behavior, and that behavior defines character.

We concluded with another hymn and moved on to the second hour:  Sunday School.  Latter-Day Saints typically divide their Sunday School by age and spiritual maturity (a.k.a. how long one has been a member).  I, accompanied by my two elders, was placed in a class with adults who were newer.  I took a whole page of notes on the Sunday School lesson, but I’ll try to be brief in what we discussed.  The topic of the day was Atonement – one of the core concepts revolving around Christ dying for man’s sins.  Again, like the worship service, some folks were into it, some looked bored.  I rather enjoyed it.  The general lay-out of the lesson is as follows, and for those with even a passing familiarity with Christianity, it should be easy to understand:

1. Why is Atonement necessary for our Salvation?
1. Mankind is fallen.
2. Scripture References:  Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) 76:41-42; Alma 34:9
2. Why was Jesus Christ the Only One who Could Atone for our Sins?
1. Because he was ordained by God to do so; he was perfect, sinless.
2. Scripture References:  John 10:17-18
3. Christ Suffered and Died to Atone for our Sins
1. Description of Christ’s death and the spiritual significance.
2. D&C 19:18-19; John 3:16
4. The Atonement and Resurrection
1. Physical and Spiritual Resurrection; gives man hope for reconciliation with God.
2. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Alma 11:44
5. The Atonement Makes it Possible for Those Who Have Faith in Christ to be Saved from Their Sin
1. Parable of the Creditor – Basic story:  A man falls into debt with a creditor.  When it is time for accounts to be settled, the man cannot pay his debt.  The man in debt requests mercy, but the creditor, demanding justice, throws him in jail.  Both parties are justified in their actions on the principles of justice and mercy, but with the parties involved, both concepts cannot yield to one another to the man’s detriment.  However, a third party (symbolizing Christ), steps in to pay the creditor for the man’s debt, fulfilling the element of justice, while he becomes the new creditor for the man, with much easier terms to fulfill, thus extending mercy.
2. Articles of Faith 1:3; 3 Nephi 9:21-22; Parable from Boyd K. Packer of the Council of Twelve.

Once the third hour rolled around, I joined my Elder guides to another meeting, where the Bishop’s parents both spoke on their experiences in working with the Louisville Temple.  I won’t go into too much detail on the contents of their speeches, but I will vaguely touch on some points worth mentioning.  One of them structured their testimony on the three things a person takes to heaven with them:  character, covenants, and family.  Each of these, this speaker stated, were the three most important elements a temple should provide.  Here’s where my understanding turned a bit fuzzy.  Apparently Temples are different than just regular churches, and our speaker was focusing on their particular experience in constructing and running a new one.  I thought perhaps this person was using metaphor, so I was a bit confused at a point.  This particular speaker used quite a bit of anecdotal evidence, stories of visions, and life experiences to bolster their argument.  Understanding that this person’s speech was on matters of spirituality, I understand how this talk would include quite a bit of those elements.

With the conclusion of the last hour, I thanked the Elders.  I didn’t give them any contact information (for obvious reasons), but I did obtain their business card and names.  One of them commented that I looked “moved” by the spirit…but I neglected to mention to him that I drank about ½ a pot of coffee this morning, and I was really just jittery, complimented by the usual symptoms of overdosing on caffeine (including frequent trips to the bathroom).

In order to complete this review, I do want to make some very general observations.  I enjoyed my time at the church, and out of all the places I’ve been to, here I felt the most intimidated (at first), but also very welcomed.  The Mormons, like I mentioned earlier, get a bad rap for having “whacky beliefs” and for being aggressive in their missionary work, but they’re just doing what the Bible commands them to do.  I think most Christian sects could actually learn a lesson from one of the fastest-growing denominations in the United States.  Plus, I’m aggressive in my freethinking principles, so I can’t criticize them for something I do at times.  The Elders I spoke with were pretty knowledgeable, and I pestered the hell out of them (no pun intended) with questions.  I appreciate their willingness to educate me on their faith.  I didn’t obviously tell them why I was there, but I was comfortable enough with them to mention that I was exploring faiths, and was always interested in Mormonism from the Mormon’s perspective – not their critics.  They’re not nearly as intimidating if you come to them as opposed to them coming to you.  So, for my part, I thank them for opening up their church to me – a church-going atheist with the desire to learn.

Now…for the criticisms…which I don’t have many.  The worship services are long.  I admire their dedication for those who sit through all of it.  I mentioned to them that it tested my strength to a degree, as I was used to services that last for about an hour.  I was raised in a church where people fidgeted around the 45-minute mark, so if you last the whole time, kudos to your depth of spirituality (or curiosity).  The theology of Mormonism can be really overwhelming to someone who isn’t familiar with it, and I was able to understand it only because I was raised Christian, and I research Mormonism independently.  The services were too conservative for my taste, and I felt the services were essentially an 1850s spin on the old-time religion.  Doctrine aside, this felt like I was going to a Baptist church in Kentucky.  Also, I have to dock points for not being able to find information easily.  If I hadn’t run into one of their Elders, I wouldn’t be doing this review.

1. Congregation
1. Friendliness (1/1)
2. Message
1. Topic Interest (.7/1)
2. Inspirational/Educational Value (.8/1)
3. Clarity (.7/1)
4. Applicability (.5/1)
3. Worship
1. Content (.6/1)
2. Audience Participation (.5/1)
4. Outreach
1. Community Involvement (.9/1)
2. Variety of Activities (.7/1)
5. Information
1. Accessibility (.5/1)

Total = 6.9