The Mystic Christian Reader

As those very few of you who do read my blog may (or may not) have noticed, I haven't exactly been a presence on the web in the last couple of months. This is due to a number of factors, the biggest of which has been our move back to our hometown and back into my parents' house after 4 years in California. The limitations of a dial-up internet connection, and all my books being in boxes in the garage have left me with little inspiration or patience for blogging...

Today, however, I was VERY inspired. For the first time since coming back to Michigan, I attended worship services at a Christian church. Last week, while driving between my parents' house and the home of my in-laws, I noticed a small Church of the Brethren congregation at a rural crossroads outside of Crystal, MI and decided to give them a go, as I'd found little inspiriation recently on my own, and was starved for communion with other members of the Body of Christ. My old friend Travis' blog Sister Anna Bap's Famous Radical Pie made me consider the possibility that I'd get on well with the Brethren, and since I knew that I'd never be able to just blend in and "pose as Catholic" in a town of 4,000, I paid them a visit.

Amazingly, there were familiar faces there! My High School science teacher, now retired, had been going there most of his life (his family has been members for the entire 100-year history of the congregation), as well as an old High School classmate. Their new minister gave a very inspiring talk on the parable of the prodigal son, and afterward, we spend over an hour drinking coffee and discussing scripture. I had a wonderful time, and my thoughts on God, Christ, and the intricacies of biblical translations seemed to fall on sympathetic ears. I believe I'll spend more time with them, and perhaps attend some of their bible study groups.