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Help me find a vibrant Protestant church in the Cleveland area. I'm between denominations.

debbie_ann — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:54:45 -0800

Help me find a vibrant Protestant church in the Cleveland area. I'm between denominations. I love the idea of going to church, but I've yet to find one where I feel comfortable coming week after week. Maybe you know the denomination I'm looking for.

I presently go to children's weekday Mass at a wonderful little Catholic church. I love it for the following reasons
+ The sermons are wonderful. We always learn about a Saint or a story about Jesus, and then the Priest helps us understand how to apply the lessons to daily life.
+ We all sing together. 100 school children, their teachers and many grandparents sing a simple song every week. Last year it was "we are made for service".
+ There is a fantastic sense of community. I know everyone. Everyone knows me. When we pass the peace, we mean it.
+ We all pray together.
+ I leave feeling refreshed and inspired to be a good person, with very clear directions about where a good person should head this week

However, I am not Catholic for all of the reasons that Protestants usually state. I'd like to find a church where I can take communion. I've tried the following... and had the following problems.
- Going to my parents Presbyterian church. It's mainly blue-hairs. I feel lonely during coffee hour. Everyone who talks to me pretty much just asks how old I am now, and tells me how much I've grown.
- Going to a Unitarian service. It seems to be more of a theological class than a worship service. We didn't pray.
- Going to a born again nondenominational church. We sang and prayed for a half hour, which was AWESOME..... but then the sermon would invariably be a half-hour pro-life rampage and during coffee hour teenagers would pass around petitions to overturn Roe vs. Wade.
- Going to a Non-denominational Contemporary church. Very vibrant, but the service lasted for hours. I had to leave because I was faint with hunger....and my ears rang all day from the excessive volume.
- Not going to Church for years. It leaves me with an emptiness... a yearning.
- Going to a Lutheran church. I felt bored and couldn't sit still.
- Going to a different Presbyterian Church. Great sermon.... but we're given about 5 seconds to 'privately confess our sins' before being forgiven. I find myself both too hurried to reflect, and bored after the sermon. Also, just a handful of adults under 40.

The issue is rather pressing because I'd like my son to have Sunday school experiences. I'd like to find a church (in or near Cleveland) with the following qualities, where I can settle down . . .
+ Young people. I'm in my late 20's and would like to be part of a community that includes a substantial number of adults under 50. Other families with kids would be great. People in their 20's and 30's would be awesome!
+ Protestant denomination
+ a sense of community
+ reasonable amounts of singing
+ prayer
+ sermons that teach about Jesus, God, the Bible and how to be a good person
+ vibrant worship (as opposed to the soul-stifling sound of an entire congregation boredly reciting 'Alleluia' and 'it is right to give thanks and praise in unison)

Transitus in San Francisco?

jgirl — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:13:19 -0800

Where could I attend a Transitus service in San Francisco? Where could I attend a Transitus service in San Francisco? The St. Francis shrine is closed for renovation. Thanks in advance.

My first question!

Need help with a worship song key change transition

beammeup4 — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:37:31 -0800

Church worship leader needs help with a key change transition for a Christmas song! I'm singing a Christmas song called "Who is He in Yonder Stall" which is played in the key of G, and I want to sing the final verse a whole step higher in the key of A. How can I make the transition to the new key smooth and pleasing sounding (I'm playing it on my acoustic guitar)? I want to change key during a short instrumental transition. What chords should I play?

The last line of the chorus goes like this:

----------------C-----------D--------G
Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all!

And the following line the first line of a new verse, when played in the key of G, goes like:

---------G--------------------C
Who is He that from the grave

Que milagrosamente te apareciste al indio juan diego manifestando tu presciencia con divinas rosas!

bookish — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:36:35 -0800

Is there a specific name for the Catholic candles you can get at Mexican grocery stores? The ones in glass jars with pictures of saints, Marias, or Jesus? And can anyone tell me more about them, such as how they fit into Catholicism or their cultural resonances? I'm curious about them, and I've found remarkably little info on the internet-- which leads me to wonder if I'm not using the right search term, or if (egads!) there actually is not a website out there with information.

Hail to the Chief

l33tpolicywonk — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 19:13:20 -0800

Trying to figure out if there is an "ism" or "acy" word for a governmental system of ruler worship (i.e. like the ancient Egyptian systems which considered their rulers Gods). Any specific terms for this?

Churches in Seattle?

bamassippi — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 15:04:35 -0800

Churches in Seattle? I've just moved to the area and I'm church hunting so-to-speak.

However, I'm not just looking for a place to go to once a week to keep from feeling guilty or to meet girls.

I'm looking for a quality church with steadfast values.

The kind of church I'm looking for:

DENOMINATION: A Christian church. I come from a Baptist background, but I am not tied to the "Baptist" name. Presbyterian, Methodists, Community, and Independant churches are all along the lines of what I've grown-up with and might attend.

VALUES: A church with traditional values, but a heart for the present world we live in. This does not mean "a bunch of overly-opened minded push-overs"... 'cause we're still all sinners, and we still all need good 'ole Jesus. I want a church that knows what it believes. A church that loves the world but isn't swayed by the culture and climate of the world.

MUSIC: I have a passion for music. I'd love to find a church that embraces traditional as well as contemporary music. A big choir is a PLUS.

SIZE: I love big churches, that's where my spiritual gifts are best put to use. "Big" being defined as 2,000-15,000 members.

LOCATION: I live in Queen Anne, HOWEVER, I am not opposed to driving up to 45 minutes to 1 hour for a quality church. The members of this church will be like members of my own family... I'd drive to the ends of the Earth for a quality church home with quality people.

AUDIENCE: I'm 25 (soon to be 26) years of age. I'd like to find a church with a strong sigles/young professionals program.

OVERALL: I think I've outlined what I'm looking for. Any suggestions you have will be much appreciated. Please contact me if you have any other questions.

Why do we worship 'higher' beings?

TheDonF — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 12:29:01 -0800

Why, throughout history, has mankind always seen the need to worship some kind of higher being? I was watching an episode of the BBC's What The Ancients Did For Us the other day and it struck me that for thousands of years BC (if you believe there was a 'C') the human race has always worshipped something. The something could be one of the countless Egyptian deities, the Christian god, one of the Hindu gods, something like the 'goddess of spring' (if there is such a thing), Buddha or something else entirely.

Worship of these beings seems to have happened throughout time, in individual cultures separated by thousands of miles. Why do we feel the need to have to worship something higher/better than us?

What is tat?

LeeJay — Mon, 30 May 2005 13:35:37 -0800

Every so often, when reading online discussions between Catholics and/or Anglicans, I see people mentioning something called "tat". What the heck is tat? Putting the word in context it seems to refer to a certain style of worship, one that is a little over the top, or to something that happens during worship. I am not at all sure about this though. Googling does nothing except bring up a few instances of folks using the word but not defining it and a whole lot of misspellings of the word "that".

NYC Weekday Church

ThePinkSuperhero — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 11:16:54 -0800

I want to find a church in New York City that has services on days other than Sunday. I work all day Sunday, so services on Sunday morning and night are out of the quesetion. Some specifics: I'm looking for a Protestant church service (not a worship service or a prayer service; an actual real service like they would do on Sunday). I grew up more contemporary than traditional, but I can do traditional too. I'm not too comfortable with charismatic stuff. Midtown Manhattan/UES/West Queens preferred.

When did they stop worshiping the Greek gods?

ikkyu2 — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 17:02:56 -0800

AncientHistoryFilter: When did the worship of the gods of the ancient Greeks - Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, and so on - die out? (+) It appears to me that no longer do men accomplish proper hecatombs to Zeus, nor do they singe the rich thigh pieces, edged with fat, in his name - nor do they scatter white barley to placate Poseidon the Earth-Shaker -

but I could be wrong?

Can I get an AMEN!?

ruelle — Fri, 12 Nov 2004 08:12:05 -0800

How many religions say "amen" - or a similar sounding word - as a part of prayer/worship? I thought I heard something like "Amen" at a muslim prayer, but I hesitated about asking just in case I misheard (or just in case it gets taken in a wrong way)..
Anyone got a clue?