Post Script

Okay... just wrote a whole post, and then it didn't publish - it disappeared into the shadows somewhere. Most days I love technology, at this moment I'm not so sure!

I was reading this and this, and they made me add a postscript to my thoughts from my previous post.

I mostly wanted to say that I really don't think it is an absolutely necessary thing to attend church like a robot, whether you want to or not on any given Sunday. However, I do think that church can be a beautiful, important, and life-giving part of the week.

I've been wounded by the church a great deal over the years, and I continually find myself asking why I go back? What, you ask, is my answer to that question? It's quite simple really. I keep attending church because I meet God there.

Now, let me be clear. Church is not the be-all and end-all. I meet God in the words of a beautiful song or poem, in a stunning novel (I met Him just yesterday in an obscure passage of Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis), in the beauty of nature that surrounds me (both in the city and out), in the words of a friend in crisis, in the tears that slip down my face when no one's looking, in my friends and family, on the bus, in the bathtub or shower (God has this odd habit of speaking to me in the shower!), in so many random and beautiful places. But, there is something beautiful about knowing that, by scheduling time for him (church) if I come with open hands and a willing heart, I will meet him in that time.

Should church attendance be mandated? No. Do I think it is important? Yes.

However, my thoughts continue to be muddled on this issue. My decision about church is just that - my decision. This is one of those issues that I think must be decided individually, between a person, and God.