Good Friday Thoughts

I have not been in an overly religious mode this Lent, although my church attendance has been more consistent. No doubt this is in part because the Lutheran Church is less obsessed with fasting, no meat on Fridays, etc., than the Catholic Church which likes to exercise power and control over its lay members. I will be visiting my mother for Easter – the roommates will baby sit the dog who HATES riding in the car – and am debating on whether or not I will submit myself to the torment of going to Catholic mass with my mother and my sister and her family. There is a gay affirming ELCA parish – St. Mark’s Lutheran - a few blocks from the Catholic parish my mother attends which has a service at the same time. Specifically, St. Mark's specifically affirms:

That gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons are beloved children of God

That gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons, partners, and families are welcome to share in the full fellowship we all enjoy as brothers and sisters in Christ.

That gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons, partners, and families are welcome to participate in all aspects of the life and ministry of St. Mark Lutheran Church as members of the congregation.

This obviously is quite different from the Roman Catholic Church's view of gays. Therefore, I may attend the ELCA service and then reconvene with the rest of the family afterwards. I simply find that when I am in a Catholic church, I have a very hard time overlooking the corruption and hypocrisy of the Church hierarchy. As a result, I have anything but Christian thoughts in my mind. Especially when I think about the way the Church continues to denigrate and describe gays as inherently disordered, thus fucking up countless young gays.

Other than not wanting to attend Catholic Church, the trip up should be fun. Easter dinner will be a relatively small affair at my sister’s house with her family and my mother and me. My oldest kids will spend the day with their mother and my youngest plans to remain at college, so I will see her Sunday evening on the way back to Norfolk. I talked to her today and she is excited about me seeing the house she and a group of friends will be leasing next year near the VCU campus. Since the university is only a few blocks off the Interstate, it is extremely convenient stopping off to see her.

My roommates are planning on going to church at my usual parish. Bother are Catholic but ceased attending Catholic church for reasons much like my own. Like many gays, they have simply not been going to church in light of the unwelcoming and condemning atmosphere of so many “Christian” denominations.