My church held its last service today.
I was just there a few hours ago. Very tough for everyone involved, especially the pastor above all else, who picked an appropriate topic for a final sermon about how God can call people to wander sometimes without a place as we all find ourselves now. But its closure in hindsight is not unexpected. It began three years ago as a project of some young Christians who wanted to create a type of unabashedly progressive evangelical church, and for three years has grown greatly, but has to function off of volunteer staff. One of the founding pastors resigned last year since he was unable to balance his pastoral work with his day job (bartending at various bars), and the lead pastor and his wife realized that they couldn't sustain essentially both of them working full time with only one getting paid, especially if they wished to start a family. And with lack of outside funding and a very young congregation that couldn't afford massive donations, they are unable to add any paid pastoral positions. We're having kind of a farewell dinner next week at a local restaurant and might continue in some capacity, such as the small groups, but tonight was quite tough.
As for me now I'm not sure quite what I'm doing. I might just go back to my original church in the morning where I was baptized two years ago, also a kind of progressive evangelical one with a young congregation. I know of others in the area that also meet in the afternoon and are known for also being predominately young and in a similar style. But for now as said, I'm kind of a wanderer and a nomad, as I was years ago, and years prior to that. It's sad in seeing something like that go down, but I feel kind of free, and since the community doesn't have to disappear with it, I can't say I'm overwhelmingly sad. We'll see what the future brings.
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I'm not a religious person, but I think I can still understand what you lost. I wish you the best of luck filling the void in your life. I sense this was a really painful moment for you. My heart is with you!
Lots of love and best of wishes to you! Life can be unsettling at times for all of us. I hope things work out for you and you're able to move forward in a way that makes your life whole again soon.
