Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

Colorful dreidels for sale in Machne Yehuda ma...Image via Wikipedia
My daughter doesn't know who Jesus is. Oh, she knows the Jesus that hangs off of her nonno's necklace and she's been to 2 church funerals but other than that, nothing. And I'm sure right now many of you are debating to unfollow me or gasping for air while saying a prayer for me.

This time of the year always gets me thinking and now with a child I'm feeling the pressure. I do celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus; I also celebrate Hanukkah; Buddhist Chants are a nightly thing around here; and I respect Islam. All right, now you're really praying!

Brief Background: I was raised United Pentecostal until I went away to college. While in college I questioned things and dabbled in what the "church people" would consider free passes straight to hell. After college, I went Non-denominational, and now I consider myself just spiritual. 
This past summer while out for a walk my daughter pointed to a building and asked what it was. It was a Catholic church. When I told her she then asked "what do you do in it?" "They talk about Jesus" "Who is Jesus?" That's when it hit me hard. My husband and I have talked about "going to church" but the problem is we don't know which one. How do you choose for someone else something that will potentially determine their eternity?

So, it's Christmas time. My daughter knows what Buddhist statues look like, she's infatuated with dreidels, and I've got a story to tell her about that little baby in the barn under the tree.

In true Jesus fashion, this holiday season I'm going to lead by example.  Living a good life, fostering an environment free of self-righteousness, shame, and guilt, encouraging questions of faith and beliefs, and stalling as long as possible before choosing a family church!

Has this been an issue for anyone?
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2 comments:

  1. I don't have this exact problem. I am a Christian and we do attend a Methodist church (which quite honestly is more non-denominational than anything else), and LOVE it.
    That said, I don't think you are alone. I'm sure many feel torn like you do. I know I grew up Catholic and as an adult it just wasn't doing it for me. My husband and I church "shopped" before having children and when we came to this church, we just knew.

    Have you heard of Unitarian churches? They sound like they might be a good fit for you until you figure out where your beliefs lie:
    http://www.uua.org/

    As a Christian, of course I encourage you to explore that side of your faith, but it can be a tough road. I definitely know that!

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  2. You're not alone. We moved from Upstate New York (snow belt)to North Carolina (Bible belt). We are not church goers, not because we don't believe, but we just don't go.Living here for the past two years had made me start to question whether or not we should start and then comes the same question you ask: Where?

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