by Sandy » Mon May 29, 2017 9:27 pm
I realize there are many sentimental feelings associated with events in local churches, as Stephen mentions in talking about the church where his momma was baptized. I have a little bit of an understanding of how that feels. My parents, along with about half the congregation of the church in which I grew up, walked out after a very contentious business meeting after being invited to do so by a dictatorial pastor. My mom loved that church, and served for years as its hostess, organizing hundreds of pot luck dinners, refreshments for VBS, wedding receptions and mission dinners. When she passed away two years later, having her funeral in a different location was strange, especially driving past on the way to her burial plot in the cemetery directly behind the church. My Dad also loved and served that church as a deacon, a trustee, and chaired the pulpit committee that called the pastor who eventually issued his "my way or the highway moratorium." By the time he passed away, it was different, but still a bit strange when his procession passed the church on its way into the same cemetery.
It wasn't spiritually healthy to dwell on sentiments. Surely, even in back'ards Rick and Bubba country, there are a couple of churches in Collinsville that would provide a warm welcome and a compatible atmosphere, an Episcopalian church, perhaps, or D of C, or Methodist. If I lived in that part of the country, and had a similar experience, I'd head to the other side of the tracks and find an African American Baptist church to join.