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4/12/09

Quest for a new church: Week 2

We are still searching for a new church home – one that will be closer to Fort Belvoir.  Our move is set for the 1st week of May, so we still have some time to look around before we get down there.  It’s just one of those things that I don’t like so much to have to do.  I hate being a visitor.  I want to be a part of the greeters, not the one being greeted.  That’s just me. 

So about today’s visit…It went better than last week, and as far as meeting some of my “musts”, we met some of the major ones.  For last week’s summary and my lists of “wants/needs” please click
HERE

As far as their children’s program…holy moly.  It doesn’t get any better than what they have.  Not only were there a classroom full of kiddos in his 2 year-olds class, but they have an indoor play area that was ammmmaaaazing.  It encouraged the kids to spend time together before and after church, which I just absolutely love.  Churches should be filled with joy and laughter and friendship…so often they are so quiet and not so inviting.  This one was full of love and friendly people.

The ONLY thing that didn’t feel right about it was the song service.  I grew up going to a church that had all acapella music.  And we knew when we started looking for a church, that in this area, we might have to be a bit more open in order to find a church that had any children or active young people.  DC is definitely NOT in the Bible Belt, and we are feeling it.  I am alright with some instrumental stuff.  I actually really like it, so I’m not opposed to it, as long as the fundamental beliefs are the same.  But this was a bit much…It would have been fine, but it was too loud.  I couldn’t even hear myself singing, and that was disconcerting.  Norman felt the same way, and it really is an issue with us.  We will see.  We really love everything else about the church, so we might try it one more week before visiting somewhere else. 

Chase’s class did do an Easter Egg Hunt, and he picked up soooo many eggs!  The classes have a great curriculum, and the sermon was outstanding.  We really enjoyed that, and Norman didn’t even fall asleep once!   (That is big for him!!!) 

So that’s about it.  Here are some pictures I took today.  Wouldn’t you know, Chase has an adorable Easter outfit, but he didn’t get to wear it today; it was FREEZING!!!  Oh well…such is life…  He didn’t know the difference…  :)

*This was taken at church…

Easter09a Taken at Olive Garden during lunch after church…
Easter09c

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Easter09d

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope that you all had a blessed Easter, and that you have a wonderful week!!! XOXO

8 comments:

  1. Ooohhhh...is that a bag of Easter eggs I see??? :)

    We also went through a period of church-hunting...kinda like Easter egg hunting... what we have discovered...is that what's important is that when you walk into a church, you feel that all the hearts in there just want Jesus. And that's just it. :)

    The best church services I've ever been to were up in the mountains in the rain in the mud and people were pouring inside to huddle together under a tin roof to worship Jesus...siiigggghhhh....I miss those days... :)

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  2. I hope you find the right church. I think it´s really important to "feel" some kind of connection to the church where you attend. Even if you consider the doctrine and all the other things that are important, if you don´t somehow feel at home...it will be hard to get comfy there. Just my opinion. :)

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  3. I completely agree with what Betty said...what a wise woman!! : )

    Since you went on Easter, the music might have played a bigger factor than it normally does. I would try it one more time to see if it not so dominant and/or if is just a special occasion thing.

    Love the photos.

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  4. Melinda I'm hoping you are right. We were told yesterday that we should go back for a "regular" service, so I think we will give that one another shot.

    All 3 of you are right. There are just sooo many things that factor in to churches that make it so difficult, and with so many options sometimes finding the right one is like looking for a needle in a haystack ;). Stay tuned...no telling what week 3 will bring ;)

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  5. so, where all have you guys looked? Feel free to email me any time! jayna.perry@gmail.com I know and understand the stress of finding a church home outside the beltway, much less a church home in DC. Feel free to ask questions! I'm here! and hopefully we can meet sometime. (I'm not that crazy, and don't believe anything Melinda says)

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  6. Well, we had gone to Arlington C of C, but want to find something closer to Belvoir. We tried Springfield C of C, and that was my first church search blog. We just haven't found any that are larger with a lot of children. Where do you guys go?

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  7. Hey Stace! I know we visted I think 4 different churches before finding the right one. Ours does do music more like you said...it's instrumental and can be fairly loud. But, one thing to consider is that with the more contemporary services, they tend to change a lot week to week music wise. Sometimes we have guests come in, sometimes we have more people playing than other weeks, different people singing, sometimes just soloists, other times it's a whole group. It's still a little more singing than we tend to like, but since ours all happens at the beginning of service, we tend to just go a little late and catch the end. lol

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  8. Sorry for the delayed response. We go to Arlington!! You can give me a call and we can chat about it if you want. I think Melinda has my number!

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