Sunday Morning Observations

I love sitting in front of television on an icy, sleety, snowy Sunday morning when they are telling everyone to stay in because the roads are just too treacherous to attempt. I curl up with those Sunday morning news shows, booing, hissing, and only occasionally atta-boying the guests of honor of the misguided panelists. At the same time I am keeping one eye on the closings list scrolling across the bottom of the screen. I have learned that Baptist churches are the first to close and even during the Christmas Eve blizzard, the Catholic ones remained open…probably because the priest lives in the house next door and just has to walk across the lawn or parking lot, instead of driving across town.

I love watching the names of churches scroll by. Arise Ministries International. Smack dab in a very modest working class, almost redneck neighborhood, I wonder where the international fits in, because I know it's no where in the surrounding several miles. Church of the Harvest unfortunately makes me think of Children of the Corn. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Madhani Alem. OK, now that’s a church worth investigating. It evokes richly ethnic sounds, smells, and visions, similar to a bazaar scene out of an Indiana Jones movie. I see a church where people are completely involved in the faith and the community rather than, ‘it’s Sunday, get dressed, we gotta go to church.’

So many churches let you know exactly where they are: Blue Ridge Boulevard United Methodist, Independence Boulevard Christian, Rosedale Congregational, Welborn Community United Church of Christ, Pittman Road Church of God. Their names tell you not only the denomination but thanks to the location, a lot about the people who go there, much like the nickname my sister-in-law gives her own church....Our Lady of Mercedes. Other churches let you know what they offer: Shower of Blessings, Miracle Temple, Redemption Ministries, Atonement Lutheran, Works of Faith Ministries, Full Faith Church of Love in Jesus Christ, Mercy Church, River of Love Church, A Place of Praise, Celebration Community Fellowship, I Can Ministries, New Beginnings, and Refuge of Hope. I can practically see the congregation for each one.

I am confused by the many types of Baptist churches: Baptist, ABA, American, Cooperative Fellowship, Free Will, GARBC, General, Independent, Independent Fundamental, Missionary, National, North American, Primitive, Regular, Southern, and Sovereign Grace, and I want to shout, can't you all just get along? LOL

There are churches for everyone looking for a mainstream religion - Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Congregational, Catholic, Orthodox, Buddhist, Gospel, Assembly of God, Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal, Zion, Charismatic, Seventh Day Adventist, Latter Day Saints, Nazarene, Evangelical, Mennonite, Jehovah’s Witness, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Christian Scientist, not to mention the small, non-denominational ones like the Refreshing Waters Worship Center.

And today, thanks to ice, sleet, and snow, they’re all closed unless the pastor or priest lives next door. Feel free to give thanks in the privacy of your own home.

The Smile Experiment

I used to smile a lot. Heck, I could even be accused of downright grinning a good percentage of the time, however as the years have passed and life has gotten more complicated, I’m seeing that a smile on my face is a rarity. I’m more apt to be seen frowning, grimacing, or just staring blankly. I admit it – I have become a monumental grouch. Oscar in his garbage can has nothing on me.

I’ve noticed it in others also, whether it be at work, sitting at a stop light, at a restaurant, or the grocery store. OK. Given the poor excuse I have for a grocery store, I can truly understand that one, but it’s genuinely rare anymore, to see a smile on a friend, let alone a stranger.

When did the world stop smiling? When did we start thinking unkindly of those who think differently from ourselves? When did we become so busy we can’t look someone in the eye, acknowledge their presence, smile, and say good morning? Wouldn’t the entire world be more civil if everyone smiled at just one extra person tomorrow, two the next day, three the day after that, and so on?

Thus comes my challenge.

Smile more.

Smile when I don’t want to.

Smile when I don’t think I can.

Smile at people I don’t know and wish them a good day....and mean it.

Smile at people I know and with genuine feeling, ask them how they are...and listen to their answer.

I have a feeling that if I practice what I preach, I’ll be out of those grouchy, bitchy doldrums in no time flat, and I just may make a few others smile in return. Coca Cola wanted to teach the world to sing....I'd like to teach us to smile. It’s worth a try.