I was born and raised a Roman Catholic. As a child, I gladly took part in every part of my religious upbringing, from First Communion to Confirmation. I was an active member of youth group, and I loved participating in the Life Teen Mass on Sundays. Chris, however, was brought up Southern Baptist. Not simply Baptist--Southern Baptist. He was raised without dancing, drinking, and everyone singing praise music at church. When we decided to get married, we were both faced with questioning our religious stands. Though both of us are strong Christians, we didn't feel that getting married in the Catholic Church or Baptist Church was the right fit. We ended up getting married at a Methodist Church. It worked for us. We both still attend the churches we were raised in sometimes, but we also have attended Methodist churches.
Yesterday, we had an opportunity to attend a new church. Chris saw a Methodist Church just down the street--Prospect UMC. It was a smaller looking church, and Chris thought it might be nice to attend a smaller church, just to see what it was like. To begin with, the parking was a nightmare! However, once we went inside, many people were happy to help us figure out where the nursery was. We got Noah settled, and Katie and Aidan went to regular church until they called the kids for children's church. As soon as we got into the santuary, something seemed vaguely familiar. There was a screen in the middle of the alter, and the choir was very animated, singing praise music that was quite unfamiliar to me. Immediately, I felt uncomfortable. Growing up Catholic, I prefer a very specific format at church, and not a ton of music. Chris has never been comfortable with a lot of music during church. Some people really love churches that are contemporary, with videos and lots of music, but that's not for Chris and me. This church reminded me of my in-laws' Southern Baptist Church! They sang about 10 songs, and there was nothing familiar during this service. Chris said that he'd heard of Southern Baptists, but never Southern Methodists! When we picked the kids up, they were so excited and loved the church! Naturally!! However, I think it's safe to say we won't return to that church--it was not our cup of tea!
That's funny you mentioned that, because I never thought about the contemporary Methodist churches to be termed "Southern Methodist". It makes sense, though. The church we grew up in and attended for about 15 years was nice and traditional....until a new pastor brought the praise music, band, etc. and a lot of the "oldies", including my family, left and headed toward more "traditional pastures". The church that was less than 5 minutes away from our home in FL was very contemporary (video screens, no pews - folding chairs instead, praise band, and even communion each week which was completely new to me) which is the reason why we never joined. The more traditional ones I was used to were over 30 minutes away. We're still members of the church we got married in but are looking at ones closer to where we are now. Good luck in your search!
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