Realization

Yesterday I came to the painful realization that Matt and I need to once again go church shopping.

About three months ago Matt and I went to a church and found it to be wonderful and exactly what we needed at the time. But slowly over the months I have been having my concerns about different parts of the church that are vital for me, that I have not been seeing or getting. Let me explain:

1. Matt and I are the only young married couple that regularly attends. For Sunday school they did not know whether to put us with a Sunday school class for marrieds that have children ages 5 and older or to put us with the college students. Yes, those are the only two options... We chose the one for the married couples, but still did not feel like we fit in. The pastor was considering trying to get us to move to the college area, but we do not see that we would fit in there either.

2. One very important area that I am looking for is a good childrens program at church. When beginning to attend I saw that the pastor's and the music director's families made up most of the childrens program. That made me happy since I could see that with the children belonging to those who are "highest" in the church, it would not go away. However, that also means that there are only about 10 children in the youth program from the ages of 2-12. All in all, that is ok, but since there are no young married couples and no real evident source for children that would eventually be the same age as ours, our child would not have any peers their own age.

Don't get me wrong...

I love being in handbells.
The church is nice.
The pastor is wonderful.
We enjoy the services.

But, I see myself as part of the handbell choir and not part of the church (since we do not truly have fellowship there). And since I do not work at a particular job (I am a substitute teacher at the moment) church would be the best place for me to find friends and fellowship, and this church is not providing it.

We have met a few really good people at this church, and we will miss them. But between the age differences, and where they are in life - they really seemed to be more like aunts and uncles, rather than close friends. Happy to bring us a cake or a good word when we're in trouble, but not close enough to stay and chat.

So off we go to another church-hunting expedition. It is painful since we have really enjoyed this place so much, but I think that in the long run...we may eventually find what we need somewhere else.