I just realized something about the church down the road

[happybird]

It is directly across the street from what we called “The Trump Shrine” house. They were the ones with all the obnoxious T flags and the huuuge yard sign, from which they literally cut out the name Pence (lolol!) after the election. Thankfully, all that crap is gone now, has been for a while.

The church always has positive messages on their letter board out front. Encouraging stuff during the pandemic, and reminders about always wearing a mask, and I noticed they did masked, outdoors services on Sundays for a while. They’ve done food drives for local families and seem like a good bunch of folks (from what I’ve seen driving by it for the past year).

The letter board faces the T Shrine house. It’s situated almost directly across the road from their driveway and clearly visible from their front porch.

The board now says: Practice makes perfect, so be careful what you practice.

It finally dawned on me: they are a liberal church and many of the messages they’ve had on the sign are directed at the a-holes across the street.



I wish I could remember the wording of some of the messages. There have been a couple where I thought, “Hmmm. Interesting choice.” It’s always positive, but some seemed... strangely pointed and specific.
Now, it all makes sense.

I think I’ll pop in for the service one Sunday before work to check them out and make some new friends up here in the boonies.

[BobTheSubgenius]

1. Very nice indeed.

Please do that, and let us know how it turns out.

[SCantiGOP]

2. Stop in for an hour one day

And drop a Twenty in the basket.

[Hulk]

3. I found one Catholic Church here in Portland Oregon that is a keeper

I grew up attending Catholic Services my whole life until maybe the last 10 years. I just lost faith in organized religion.

But there is one Church, Saint Francis Assisi, that is the most socialist, sincere and Christ-like parish that I have ever experienced. They send clothing and collections to the northern triangle countries. They feed and shelter the homeless and the parish after their one Sunday mass. The have a large home next to the church where they provide shelter, and have a soup kitchen in the basement. The congregation reminds me of a wonderful group of hippies in their 60s and 70s and 80s... and I get the warmest feeling when I go to mass with them.

I think such churches are few and far between.... but they revived my faith in Christians.

[wnylib]

5. They are more common than you might realize, and

not just among Catholics.

Churches have been on the forefront of the battle for immigrant rights, providing free legal assistance, food, clothing, and medicine to asylum seekers, sponsoring individuals and families, and pressing for more oversight and humane treatment of people in ICE detention.

They operate food banks in many urban and rural settings, clothing donation drives, and transportation for medical care.

They participate in BLM protests and LGBTQ events.

Those are liberal churches, of course. They can be found in many different denominations. Some larger "mainstream" denominations have split between conservative and liberal branches, with the liberal ones being larger and the conservative ones breaking off to maintain themselves separately.

[Hulk]

6. Good to hear

I haven't done much exploring....so just in my experience. And when I hear of bishops wanting to cut off communion to President Biden because he doesn't back the pro-birther movement, and pulpits directing their flocks on how to vote....it just reinforces that belief I have learned.

Hope you are right, and religion does actually promote more good than harm.

[wnylib]

7. When the news broke

a couple years ago about children in cages at the southern border, I heard a scathing sermon in a "mainstream" liberal church about how this could not be tolerated in the US. The sermon was delivered by a retired female pastor while the regular pastor was on vacation. She ended the sermon by having all the congregation join her in singing "Jesus Loves the Little Children."

The following week, another retired pastor mentioned in his sermon that it was the duty of church members to actively speak out and do whatever they could to protect asylum seekers and children being separated from their parents.

When he returned, the regular pastor followed up by saying that he did not have specific solutions, but was open to hearing what others had in mind. A group formed to make contact with the denomination's office headquarters where there is a group in charge of immigration issues. A church member went as a volunteer to an asylum mission house in El Paso for two weeks and spoke to others when she returned. The former guy was tightening restrictions even further so members received contact information for their representatives and links to give donations to the legal assistance of detainees.

Then covid interrupted any chances of travel to the southern border.

This week two "mainline" churches are participating in local Pride events. Both churches (and pastors), among others, were at BLM protests last summer.

There are a lot of activities like this in Lutheran, Catholic, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, and Methodist churches, as well as some branches of the Baptist church, usually predominantly Black Baptist churches, plus other Black churches not affiliated with the well known "mainstream" ones.

People who are not involved with a church are generally not aware of what is going on in them. But the churches are actively involved in social issues.

[Worried2020]

4. A bit off topic, but ur post jogged a memory in this old head of mine . . .

.

This church we went to when we lived in Toronto in the sixties sported a sign "Jesus Saves".

One Sunday my father pointed out the large sign in the windows of the store almost directly across the road from the church . . .

"LOWBLAWS SAVES YOU MORE"



W

[FakeNoose]

8. I hope that church doesn't get vandalized

I sounds like they're almost looking for trouble.