What This Is All About

Late last year, I began a new search for a church home.

I had done this before, and while I liked some aspects of the church I picked, it didn't quite align with I thought God, faith and religion to be. I believe in a God that accepts people for who they are, no matter what their faith is, who they are inside or out. I believe in a forgiving God, an accepting God, a God that has a sense of humor, a God that loves all people all of the time for all time. As an aside, I took to heart the book, If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person.

I had stopped going to the old church, spent some time reevaluating my faith and was in the course of reading 52 books in 52 weeks, a lot of them with a spiritual component. Spending time in reflection, I decided that I needed a new home. I browsed some websites and got advice from someone who had a strong connection to the UCC. On that, I decided to find a UCC branch close to me.

I did, finding the Fredericksburg Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, and I haven't regretted it. For a small congregation, there's a wonderful wealth of compassion, caring and diversity among the people who fill the small coffee shop every week.

On October 1, our church's sixth anniversary, I will, officially, become a member.

So why the name Respect The Comma?

The UCC has something called God Is Still Speaking, which uses the comma as a symbol of this. It comes from a Gracie Allen quote, "never place a period where God has placed a comma."

I plan for this to touch upon what's happening in church, but even more importantly, in life. I plan for this to be a conversation, and while I'm the only one talking for now, I don't plan for it to stay that way. It'll have reflections on sermons and activities in church, sure. It'll also have reflections on what's going on in the world outside our window--to borrow a title from a Tanita Takirim song. But the thoughts really go to a Bruce Hornsby song, Look Out Any Window:

There's a man workin in a field
Sees the rain and its burning
He's saying this can't be real
As he sees the color of the fields turning
Far away the men too busy getting rich to care
Close their eyes and let it all out into the air
Hoping nobody else would care

Look out any window
Look out any open door
Look out any window
See whats going on in the world around you

There's a man working on a boat
Pulling lines from the water
Just trying to stay afloat
Filling the nets is getting harder
Far away they bend the rules so secretly
Close their eyes and let it all out into the sea
Hoping nobady else would see

Look out any window
Look out any open door
Look out any window
See what's going on in the air around you

Far away too many leaders let them get their way
Close their eyes and let it all out into the bay
Say they'll clear it up another day

Look out any window
Look out any open door
Look out any window
See what's going on in the air around you

Look out, look out for the big boys
Telling you everything they're gonna do
Look out, look out for the fat cat builder man
Turning this into a wasteland
Look out, look out for the back room boys
That say the smoke is gonna blow away
Look out, look out for the men who say it's okay
Sitting in a building far away

With all that, let the conversation begin

,

Comments

[Chuck Currie]

Thanks for your site. Glad you found the UCC and that the UCC found you!

[Jimmy]

I've never heard him speak, but I've read a couple of his books now and have gained a lot from them. I hope I'll get the chance to hear from him someday. Thanks, Craig, for dropping by, and for the kind words about the UCC.

[Craig]

Hello! I am a universalist and a Quaker. If Grace is True is a wonderful book by a wonderful guy, Phil Gulley. Phil has spoken here in Greensoro several times and he always is amazing! Glad to hear you have a new church home...the UCC rocks. It's not Quaker, mind you :-), but its good...real good!