This is an article which was in the USA Today newspaper today march 10th. I think it quite coincidental that it should appear while we are currently engaged in a discussion religion in class.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20080310/cm_usatoday/americanfaithaworkinprogress?loc=interstitialskip
Monday, March 10, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Agnosticism and Atheism
The readings this weekend have caused me to give some thought as to where I fall in the spectrum of faith. Having been raised in the Episcopal Church I would say I have ingrained in my upbringing a certain level of faith in the existance of God. However I have never been an extremely devout Episcopalian. I have a frivolous liking for certain seasons in the church season over others based merely on the hymns sung then. This is one reason i'm not sad to have been here at school during the lenten season which always depresses me hymn-wise and also why i'm glad that the Easter season falls over spring break as that is one of my favorite times in that regaurd.
I think the reason my favorite part of church is the hymns is because I associate good memories with many of them. On the lake where I spend my summers we hold something called hymn sing on sunday nights in August. It is quite informal with only a few set memorial hymns sung at the beginning and a few closing ones reserved for the end. Otherwise people can call out whichever they wish to sing. It is here where I truly feel the closest to God. Surrounded by the mountains and lakes, with the hymn punctuated by the occasional loon call. The community spirit that encompasses the gathering never gets old and a good time is had by all as we move through the church season in whatever order occurs. They are all given attention with the younger kids enjoying christmas and easter while the adults provide selections from other sections of the hymnal. Hymn sing is one of my fondest memories and I always look forward to summers spent with friends and neighbors singing for the joy of it. Many hymns are memorized now because they have been part of the tradition since before I was born, while occasionally a visitor will present a new option to the group which is sung with the same amount of gusto and the beloved favorites.
I seem to have rambled some. My main point is that people exercise their faith in different ways and on different levels. Personally I have always felt that there is a God even if I have not always been the strongest believer. If I feel closer to that God when I am at Hymn sing in the summer than church during the year than that is just the way I happen to live my faith. Others may get more out of elaborate services and prolonged readings of sacred texts, that is ok too. Everyone is entitled to their own faith and level of it, be it prodigious or minimal.
I think the reason my favorite part of church is the hymns is because I associate good memories with many of them. On the lake where I spend my summers we hold something called hymn sing on sunday nights in August. It is quite informal with only a few set memorial hymns sung at the beginning and a few closing ones reserved for the end. Otherwise people can call out whichever they wish to sing. It is here where I truly feel the closest to God. Surrounded by the mountains and lakes, with the hymn punctuated by the occasional loon call. The community spirit that encompasses the gathering never gets old and a good time is had by all as we move through the church season in whatever order occurs. They are all given attention with the younger kids enjoying christmas and easter while the adults provide selections from other sections of the hymnal. Hymn sing is one of my fondest memories and I always look forward to summers spent with friends and neighbors singing for the joy of it. Many hymns are memorized now because they have been part of the tradition since before I was born, while occasionally a visitor will present a new option to the group which is sung with the same amount of gusto and the beloved favorites.
I seem to have rambled some. My main point is that people exercise their faith in different ways and on different levels. Personally I have always felt that there is a God even if I have not always been the strongest believer. If I feel closer to that God when I am at Hymn sing in the summer than church during the year than that is just the way I happen to live my faith. Others may get more out of elaborate services and prolonged readings of sacred texts, that is ok too. Everyone is entitled to their own faith and level of it, be it prodigious or minimal.
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