Gettin' my church on.

Boingy boingy boingy!  Its Wednesday, March 28, 2012, every day I'm shuffling, and this is The Side.  I almost made it home yesterday.  One of the things you have to accept about the Tidewater area is that you're going to have to cross a bridge to get just about anywhere.  Unfortunately for me, the bridge that is the most direct way between my home and where I work is being replaced so I have to detour around into what is usually nasty traffic.  I managed to get through the nasty traffic, over the bridge I have to take.  I'm free and clear, and inside five minutes of the house, then the cell phone rings.


"The girls and I on on a play date, why don't you come meet us."


She didn't know I had already passed where they were, but I turned around and headed back into the traffic to go see my kids bounce around one of those inflatable places.  I still think those joints should all have big couches with a waitstaff bringing parents mimosas.

HOMECOMING

I came up in the church I teach Karate at.  Back them the majority of my family attended that church.  My best friends were at that church.  The Pastor was a really great guy who I thought a lot of.  It was a really pleasant experience for me.  Times changed.  Pastors get reassigned to different churches.  Folks get older and move away.


And some folks pass away.


I have a large family, and it seems that the only time we all get together is for funerals.  So, when the church that so many of us attended back in the day dedicated the new pew cushions in honor of my uncle who passed away last year, it was really great that so many of us were able to come back to the church.


I remember sitting down by the alter for "children's time" as a kid.  Last Sunday, I got to see my kids down in the same spot along with my nieces and little cousins.  My cousin Dustin who often had a spot right next to  is now a Pastor himself and delivered the sermon.


Then, as good Methodists, it was time for the pot luck lunch.  Pastor Penny said that Uncle Buddy's family were going to get to go first, at which point I, knowing my family well, added "There won't be any food left."  Wasn't uncommon for someone to pipe up with some goofy comment in church and it usually came from someone in my family.  Traditions are important, don't ya know.


I ran into my Dustin in line and we got a glance at the food for the pot luck.  I remarked that I had a chat with a friend who is an atheist who asked me what sets Methodists apart from other branches of Christianity.    "We have better pot lucks."


And without missing a beat, Dustin responded, "And we'll talk to you in the ABC store."


Dustin's son quickly got a hold of me to look over his latest cartooning efforts.  He's on the right track, so I gave him a critique and few pointers.  This was in between chowing down on some incredible food and don't even get me started on the desserts.  Pretty sure a put on a few pounds.


There's these times that strike just the right amount of nostalgia and yet give us a great appreciation for growing up and seeing the wonderful things that come from potential.  Giggly kids meeting people and finding out that they're family.  Seeing a next generation hanging out with each other just like their folks used to in the same place.


It was a get together for a great reason and a lot of fun, before we all had to scamper off to meetings and birthday parties and the like.  It was a really great day.


And congratulation to Salem United Methodist Church because after 150 years they finally got cushions for the pews.

MOVIES!!!

Was watching CELEBRITY APPRENTICE and saw one contestant "singing" and sounding horrible and them a producer turned it into something listenable.  Them I heard some of the other contestants singing without a fancy producer and just sounding great.  When you need someone else to make you sound good, you probably shouldn't have a singing career.  Here's some guys who keep it real.





That'll do it for me.  I'll see y'all Friday.

Marty versus the church

I teach Karate at a church. It works out nicely. After we beat the crap out of each other we pray for each other to get better. My father started the Karate Club at the church in 1990 and I helped out as best I can. With his retirement and moving from the area I took over since I'm not only his son, but his senior student. I run and adult class and a kids class. I charge a small fee per month which is less than half of what a person would pay anywhere else. I also offer discounts for people with multiple family members in the program. It's not about the money. It shouldn't be.

So, what happens when someone else decides that it should be about the money?

I've been affiliated with this church for a very long time. I grew up there. The church grew with me. Additions were built onto the building because the church kept attracting new members. The pastor at the time was very well liked, was good at tending the needs of the congregation and knew the value of fellowship.

However, things change and so do churches. Pastors get reassigned. A new pastor was brought in and it did not go well. You see, it doesn't take all seven of the deadly sins to kill a church. Pride and greed did a very good job on their own. The church was no longer about fellowship and the Word of God. It became about getting the money out of the people's pockets. I stopped attending church services there after a month long series about how we need to give more to the church.

Events like out annual Bazaar and Vacation Bible school were continued but diminished. Things like our annual talent show and Halloween party just went away. People left. Most of my family did. My father and I continued to teach there and continued to make monthly donations to the church from the fee we charged out students.

So then I hear complaints about keeping too much Karate gear at the church. Valid complaint and I took much of it out of there. Then they decide that I need to pay more rent. I don't pay rent. We've never paid rent. We made month donations. We were never asked to pay anything. I raised the amounts of my donations. I continued to tend to the upkeep of the areas we use. I continued putting together Karate shows for the annual Bazaar. I continued to donate months of lessons to Church fund raising events.

And I show up last night to find all the doors locked to every room that has a lock on it. Including half of the bathrooms. I confronted some of the people in charge. They told me what I was going to be paying weekly and that was going to increase next year and that I would not be allowed access to other areas of the church.

And I told them that wasn't going to happen.

I'll be appearing before a committee meeting in a couple weeks. See, unlike the vast majority of the people would run these meetings, I remember what made the church grow and I remember what nearly killed it. They want to keep using the same methods that broke the church to fix. Honestly it's not their fault, because they don't know any better.

You don't demand more money from programs that are serving to bring new faces to the church. You don't put the squeeze on your supporters.

There's a new pastor now, the second in about as many years. She seems to be a good egg. Quick to pour oil over troubled waters. She seems to be the type of person I can work with to keep not only the doors of the karate Club open, but the doors of the church as well. Like I said, I grew up in that church. Despite much of the drama that's reared it's ugly head there recently, it's still very dear to me.

Churches need money to survive. This is true and unavoidable. More than money, it needs people. You don't keep people by demanding their money.

Seems I may have to teach more than just Karate very soon.