Field Report: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

[Moogy]

Sunday before last I finally managed a visit to the DOC in a nearby town. (Note that the definitions of both "nearby" and "town" are a bit different when one lives in the middle of nowhere, like I do.) I had attempted a visit a while back, but the building had no meeting time posted. It appears to me, as a city person transplanted to the boonies, that small town people often assume that anyone who wants to attend their church already knows what time to show up. So the first time I tried to visit this DOC, I went a bit before 11 am, and when I approached the door, I could hear that they were already in the middle of services. I could also tell from the volume that the door opened directly into the church, with no little entryway to help a late-comer ease into a seat at a non-disruptive time. So that time I just didn't go in. (On another occasion, with a different church in a different small town, also with no service time posted, I went into a Christmas Eve service even though they were already started. It turned out that I had slipped in barely in time for the last song, Silent Night.)

Anyway, on to the recent report. I was on time, thanks to a recently posted sign announcing the service time of 10:45. I was a bit shocked to see that there were only 10 people there, including me. They appeared startled to have a visitor. Everyone was in my age group--60ish. No children, no elderly ladies.

The songs were pretty much familiar COC songs, but with a piano. The sermon was nice and short, lots of emphasis on helping others instead of hoarding more than we need. Preacher was female, also about my age. She was a good speaker who used proper grammar (one of my pet peeves is bad English in public speaking or formal writing.) Lords Supper was pretty close to the COC method, with tiny separate wafers (no "breaking of the bread"!) and shot glasses of juice (not wine). Quick and not very solemn.

I was looking for a church that is more liberal on same-sex marriage. My usual United Methodist Church has still been disciplining pastors who perform these weddings, and I disagree with that. The DOC leaves the decision to each church and each pastor.

I was also looking for a place that I might make more social connections, since I am still basically without local friends.

I missed the more liturgical aspects of the UMC. I like reciting the Apostles Creed, and the liturgical readings that accompany UMC communion. I also missed having an organ and a choir to round out the music.

I don't know if I will return there or not. I think I am fuzzy about what I want in a church.

[FinallyFree]

I have been attending a DOC that has 2 services, a contemporary and a traditional. The traditional has a piano and organ and a choir. I like having the two services to choose from and we switch up. I also like the DOC because they support civil rights for all people. I have a gay son and was tired of hearing gay bashing at CoC.
Communion is done differently at each service. At the contemporary, people line up and go to the front of the church and tear of a piece of the loaf and dunk it into the juice. At the traditional, the bread and juice are passed together, and everyone takes each item at the same time.
Very small churches just don't have as much to offer. Since that congregation is so small, that is how it would be.

[cathym]

The DoC I've been attending has 75-100 people on Sunday. There's a small choir, on break for the summer, a piano, and sometimes a guitar or other instrument -- one of the young men did something on euphonium a couple of weeks ago. The pastor is female, and around my age (late 30s) -- which I know because it turns out she went to college with one of my HS friends! Mind you, we live in Southern California; I went to HS in North Carolina, and the college was in Minnesota -- it's a small world, nonetheless!

There's a wide age range, and the racial blend is reflective of local demographics, I'd say -- mostly white and Hispanic, with a couple of African-American members.Most of the singing is accompanied-congregational, with usually one song per service that's just the choir or a solo or such. Some of the songs are familiar, some aren't, but I've found that to be true visiting other CoCs, too -- there are the old standards, but also local favorites that I may not know.

It feels a lot more like a family to me -- CoC was always "can't do anything that draws attention to an individual", but real family shares each other's achievements, sorrows, and joys. I really like that our service includes a passing of the peace. It's more liturgical than the CoC services, with vestments, and candles, and things, but not as much so as "high church" churches -- and it manages to feel more relaxed and casual and more formal all at the same time, somehow. I love watching the little children go down the aisle to light the candles each Sunday -- sometimes girls, sometimes boys, but it clearly makes them part of the worship, not just "sit still and be silent" like my childhood was.

Communion, which is weekly, is with a nice round loaf of a slightly sweet bread and I'm honestly not sure if it's juice or a wine, because the quantity is so small -- it's the little plastic cups just like in the CoCs I know. It's not a strong wine, if it is; I'm usually pretty sensitive to the taste of alcohol. It doesn't quite taste like Welch's, either, though.

We had a guest speaker on Mother's Day, who was the former pastor of another DoC church in the area, and also in a long term lesbian relationship -- and had just adopted her teenaged nephew's unplanned child, who had a lot of health challenges. it was the best Mother's Day service I've ever been to; I hope we have her as a speaker again -- not that I don't also like our regular pastor!

[margin overa]

I was looking for a church that is more liberal on same-sex marriage. My usual United Methodist Church has still been disciplining pastors who perform these weddings, and I disagree with that. The DOC leaves the decision to each church and each pastor.

Most of the West Coast UMCs are pretty relaxed about same-sex marriage. One of my local friends is a UMC minister, and he and I have talked before about the various conferences and their acrimony over this issue. He voted for the "We will not be silent" motion in his conference.

[GuitarHero]

I tried the DoC. It was cool for a while, and I dug the contemporary service. The music leader was a professional musician who had a couple of Top 40 hits back in the early 90's, so everything was pretty slickly produced and enjoyable. There was lip service paid to unity, and on the exterior they claimed to be open and affirming. But it became fairly clear to me early on that this congregation meant unity by believing what the pastor believes and not differing in any way. The conservatives made a big push to "take back their church" and alienate the gays, too. I ended up leaving that one and attending a smaller one that was much more social justice oriented.

However, with my unforgiving work schedule and burgeoning atheism, I eventually ended up letting that one go too. The last church I ever attended with any sort of frequency was a United Church of Christ, and it's the only church I would consider attending ever again.

[B.H.]

My childhood non-sunday school Church of Christ started off as a very conservative Christian Church. They decided to go over to the Church of Christ when I suspect the lines were finally drawn over things like instruments, inspiration of the Bible, virgin birth ect.

Corsicana had two Christian Churches while I was growing up. One is mostly black in membership and is a BCABIN (Baptist Church all but in name) in theology. The First Christian Church was affiliated with the Disciples of Christ and it burned down around 2000. This was the one across the street from HEB. They built a new building out past the big Church of Christ on Hwy 22 but folded up a few years after that. It's a daycare and special event center now.

[Melanie]

My two younger kids went to Disciples of Christ for a few years after leaving cofC. It was mostly much older people, and although they were very nice, my kids decided to move to a larger more contemporary styled community church with Baptist leanings. There are more young people there and a better fit. DoC was ideal as a transitional choice, though, since, like cofC, it has its roots in the Restoration Movement but without the rigid legalism and judgmental attitudes.

[agricola]

My dear uncle is a DoC preacher, and he (and his kids and grandkids and GREAT grandkids) couldn't be nicer people if they tried. I have a soft spot of DoC (and dearly wish my dad had 'convered' mother to DoC, instead of the other way around).

[FinallyFree]

My husband and I are currently attending a Sunday School class that is for people new to the DoC. The minister is discussing the history and beliefs of DoC. It is very interesting and enjoyable. I am more and more convinced this is the right place for me!

[B.H.]

My husband and I are currently attending a Sunday School class that is for people new to the DoC. The minister is discussing the history and beliefs of DoC. It is very interesting and enjoyable. I am more and more convinced this is the right place for me!

I have a introductory history of the Stone Campbell Restoration Movement written by a DoC minister for people joining the DoC. I must say they put a different spin on their history than the CoC do. You do know that after the CoC split off from the Restoration Movement the Christian Church and the Disciples of Christ had an even nastier split in the 1930's.