I heard this place of worship was pulling a lot of young people in so I wanted to see what it was all about. I felt pretty deflated with my experience there. I'll chalk the whole thing up to a 'learning experience'. 

I don't think those who are involved with this church are intentional in the dysfunction. I know there are some wonderful, caring people who attend. There is simply lots of room for improvement.

Then again, one of my friends, upon hearing the whole story of my visit to this place, quoted from the podcast 'My Favorite Murder'  - "You're in a cult. Call your dad."

This place in my '52 in 52' was not what I was expecting. Tune in to hear my adventure of somewhere I misunderstood as a Humanist place to congregate. Sometimes not researching a place of worship turns into an adventure in learning. 

Next week is even more of a challenge of my expectations. So...here...we...go...

On Superbowl Sunday morning I went to a church that emailed me they were having a Superbowl party that night. I figured I'd go there during the day for my '52 in 52' and check it out.

The place has lots of nice people and an easy to listen to message from the pastor. It was a nice place to stop by for the first half of the Superbowl game too. 

 

https://catalyst.church/

 

Feel free to email me if you have questions or comments or want me to visit a specific place of worship. 

Until next time - Face The Sun!

I've attended several places of worship over the past few weeks. I'm looking forward to posting those experiences over the next few weeks. For this week's podcast, please enjoy my interview with Lance Bane of Gateway Christian Fellowship in West Haven. 

Please click the link below to become more familiar with Lance Bane of Gateway Christian Fellowship in West Haven: https://www.lancebane.com/

 

I hope you enjoy. Please feel free to email me with any questions at [email protected]

I've been to this temple before. Sometimes it's been good and interesting and other times not so much. This past visit it was a bit disappointing. I think that's because I am on a quest for community and this place felt very disjointed. It wasn't as bad as my first visit - #1 in '52 in 52' which was a Christian place of worship that was politically hostile. Rather this place seemed to lack engagement and any assistance to newcomers. When you listen, you may get an understanding of what I mean. 

I tried to be upbeat when I'd record the episode but I would use my energy to spiral into some negative rants. This is my fourth recording of the place. At least I'm giving the best view I can that is as truthful as I can get from my perspective. 

If you'd like to reach me, please feel free to email me at:

[email protected] 

 

Buddhist Faith Fellowship

https://bffct.org/bff/

We're on to the third place of worship in my project, '52 places of worship in 52 weeks'. This week was at Gateway Christian Fellowship in West Haven, CT. I went with a friend of mine who has attended the church for a year or so. He just retired so he's feels like he has the time to drive a bit more out of the way to get to a place that is multi-cultural, open and helpful teachings.

It was enjoyable to visit as everyone seemed friendly and the pastor, Lance Bane, was clear in his message. For my visit to Wethersfield (#2 of '52 in 52') I spoke with the pastor before visiting on a Sunday. I didn't reach out to this pastor since I was going with a friend who was familiar with the place. I hope to connect with Lance of Gateway soon and get some more background regarding his church and his story.

Gateway Christian Fellowship: https://www.yourgateway.com/

For this week's place of worship, I went to Wethersfield Evangelical Free Church in Wethersfield, CT. I spoke with the pastor, Scott Solberg, before my visit. It helped to communicate with him via email and visit before going. Several decades ago when I was a Christian I had gone to that Church after visiting a number of Christians churches. It's changed a lot. Thirty years ago everyone dressed up and there were pews. Now everyone was dressed from business casual to relaxed casual. With the pews gone, the room opened up. It wasn't a stiff and formal church. A nice, welcoming place. A place that also was pleasant but not overly so to a visitor like me.

Wethersfield Evangelical Free Church

http://www.wethefc.com/

For the year 2020, I've decided to take on a project of sorts that I'm calling '52 in 52' - which is 52 places of worship in 52 weeks. The first place I decided to go to was a Christian place of worship in Middlesex Co. It was an interesting experience. One I'm hoping to not repeat.

In this episode we discuss the, "A Manual for Creating Atheists" by Peter Boghosian.

Chuck and Gaia talk about those who have left the church & those who no longer believe and what they are looking for in a place of worship.

We also mention a project of mine for the year 2020 - "52 in 52". I'll be going to 52 Places of Worship in 52 weeks. Stay tuned for more information this month and throughout the new year.