Church going

I am one of those kids from the 1950s who was raised Roman Catholic and attended parish- and parent-supported Catholic school from first grade through high school. Kidergarten was spent at Dayton Public’s old Belmont Elementary with Mrs. Benz, afternoon session. Other than that, it was Catholic school the whole way until I got to Wright State University.

As a young Catholic, I grew up thinking everything Catholic was good, true, and beautiful, and all other Christian church-goers were kidding themselves. We good Catholic kids were taught that we were the only ones with bona fide keys to the kingdom, and everybody else might be well meaning, but were on the centuries-long wrong road created by the likes of Reformationists Martin Luther and John Knox.

Much of that thinking changed by the time I finished grade school. One of my heroes, John XXIII, was elected pope in 1958, and by 1962 had called the Second Vatican Council in which the universal Latin mass was dismissed in lieu of using the local language. Ecumenism was also celebrated, which promoted unity among Christian churches around the world. Those are pretty big changes for a kid to digest, but they surely felt right.

I’ve always felt loyal to the Roman church and because of a ‘values based education,’ thought it essential to send both my daughters to Catholic schools as well. Neither girl currently attends church, nor did either one feel it necessary to baptize any of our three grandkids. Kind of makes a guy reassess priorities, you know?

I can’t speak for my kids. I know them and their spouses to be thoughtful adults who have made decisions about their and their family’s religion and church going. Somewhere along the line, they have decided that church teachings and promises don’t work for them in the real world. We’ll have to talk about that some time.

And for me, a divorce and remarriage put me on the outs with the Roman church. I pop off now and again saying, ‘I could have committed murder, been forgiven, and be welcome at the communion rail.‘ But divorced and remarried? No such luck. I have committed an unpardonable sin and am no longer welcome at their table. It doesn’t make sense to me anymore, which is why I left that church and am now an accepted Episcopalian. Frankly, I was amazed how familiar the Anglican/Episcopal Sunday liturgy was, complete even with the Nicene Creed, which professes the ‘holy catholic church.‘ I am not the first to refer to the Episcopalian church as Catholic lite. And the fact that Episcopalians ordain women and have this past summer invited gays, lesbians, and trans-gender folk into full communion when most other churches still think homosexual coupling a damnable sin, warms my heart. I’ve always preferred an open hand, inviting souls, rather than excluding them.

But if I am totally honest, I must admit that some of what Christianity teaches doesn’t work for me even today. I love being in community and find it important in keeping my head turned the right direction in a frenzied world. Through Christ Episcopal Church (Dayton), I have participated in work crews helping to rebuild a post-Katrina New Orleans; and currently chair Waffle Shop, our 80 year-old seasonal fundraiser, with the majority of proceeds going to Outreach Grants. The work, the talk, the sermons, the community of church-goers works for me.

But what of heaven and eternal reward? Sorry, I just don’t buy it. (If heaven is real, can you imagine how it operates? How many folks are ‘up there’ by now? Can you imagine the cafeteria line at lunch? Yipes! ;-) I have this deep-seated feeling that what we experience every day -- here -- is what life is. When we die, our turn is over. There is no heaven out there as a prize for being good. Or, unfortunately, a hell for being bad. I don’t mean to call anybody a liar. Let me just say that whatever Jesus taught about his Father in heaven, and our place in it, needs another explanation for me to understand and accept.

So, I am a professed agnostic, I suppose. I’ll believe it when I see some proof. But in the meantime, I must say that churchgoing with people who want to make a difference in the world by serving others is a mighty good way to spend some time every weekend. It keeps me focused, thankful, fed, and humbled by this wonderful world in which I live. Works for me, even if it is a hybrid belief system that doesn’t fit anybody’s orthodoxy.

Today’s elder idea: It is the role of the church to give of itself for the world's reconciliation, not preparing man for heaven.

Rev. Gordon S. Price

Christ Church Rector Emeritus

Dayton Daily News (28 March 1982)

photo: Working in New Orleans, February 2008