I Reviewed My Old Church

[sriracha]

I haven't talked much about myself or my experiences in my old church much here. I think it's because I left almost five years ago and am largely over it; as a happy atheist I can look back with the ol' 20/20 hindsight and it's sometimes almost funny, yanno?

 

But make no mistake, we all have our baggage and I guess we never really let go of it, we just learn to stow it well in the overhead compartment. My former fundy days are just one of my carryon bags. I am not sure why I am thinking about it today, I do still think about it occasionally and still do find a lot of things interesting about discussions of religion.

 

Anyway before I digress further, I wrote a review of my old church on YellowPages and I thought you guys might enjoy it.

 

http://www.yellowpages.com/bremerton-wa ... d=17780598

[PBrooke]

...But tell us how you REALLY feel. :clap:

[sriracha]

AAh, I am sure I must come across as bitter, but how I REALLY feel is that I wish I could sneak back in as an unrecognized JAFO just to see how much has changed/not changed. Like I want to watch them like we watch the Duggars. They'd know who I was though, since I was "stripped of my membership" in shame back in 2007. To be a fly on the wall when the gossip flew!

Oh, the stories I could tell about that place. While we were extremist fundies, we sought out the other fundies who were a hair more liberal like we were; that is to say, the ones who watched movies and might listen to secular music, and be willing to engage in furtive criticism of the pastor's sermon on wine. LOL.

When we first joined that church and had people over, I thought nothing of leaving our wine rack out in the kitchen where it normally resided, but my then-husband was ADAMANT that it be hidden in the spare bedroom where fundy eyes would not see it, which I thought was stupid, as I wasn't at all emotionally tied to this church and felt like I could leave anytime and wanted to be myself. Only later did I realize why his decision was probably a lot better informed than mine was.

I remember my ex also being adamant about leaving me by myself to go do church maintenance projects; when I complained that we never spent any time together anymore (due to a lot of other things), his response was to tell me that if I wanted to spend time with him, I needed to come with him and help him paint the church storage shed because the church came first in his life. No joke. It was kinda all downhill from there. I had my share of Quiverfuller comments aimed my way and "when do you plan on having kids" inquiries. Truly it was a horrible time in my life. I came to hate it so much that every Sunday felt worse than going to work and I sank into a bleak depression. I used to cleverly schedule myself to be in the church nursery (which I hated) so I could avoid the horrible guilt pit that was Communion Sunday, receiving thanks and praise in the process. Trippy, eh?

[NurseNell]

Anyway before I digress further, I wrote a review of my old church on YellowPages and I thought you guys might enjoy it.

http://www.yellowpages.com/bremerton-wa ... d=17780598

I love this:

beware of any pastor who wears his hypocrisy around his waist)

[emmiedahl]

Sriracha, I have family in Bremerton! It is not a very big town, do you know many people there?

[StacyW]

That must have been satisfying to write. Your post inspired me to check Yelp for reviews of local churches and I was so disappointed, none of them were as interesting as yours. Complaints were mostly about the sloppy dress of some attendees.

[Kitty]

I saw "Kittyhawk" in the address for the church and was all excited because hey, a fundie church not far from my Hometown where I can sneak in unrecognized and see what it's like! But then I realized it was Kittyhawk Drive, not Kitty Hawk. Now I has a sad.

That's a pretty interesting review, and I wish more people were that honest about their church experiences. I think though that some just don't want to sound bitter or hateful; your review though definitely doesn't come across that way. Like StacyW, I'm inspired to look up reviews for local churches.

[Peas n carrots]

That was brilliant. I also enjoyed this comment:

If you don't want to hang yourself from a shower rod out of sheer boredom and depression, you're probably simple-minded enough to love this place. That is, until you realize one day that the pastor is doing a sermon specifically about you. And it's not one of praise.

:clap:

[sriracha]

Sriracha, I have family in Bremerton! It is not a very big town, do you know many people there?

I don't know anyone in that area anymore, just the people I went to church with lo those going on five years ago. We were such zealots that we travelled there all the way from the Puyallup area every Sunday. :shock: One woman in the church does have a blog but she's not very active and it is boring as hell. blessedalatte.blogspot.com

Long after my deconversion I had a fling with a sailor who was posted over there three years ago. :lol: I now have a good friend who lives in Manchester as well so sometimes I make it nearby and she and I will go antiquing in Bremerton but my ties with the town are now pretty flimsy.

You all can hear the sermons of my old church online. I keep waiting for him to do his 1 Timothy series again because there were some real misogynist wowzers in there, a real goldmine of "women should not wear pants and should be staying home to pop out babies" etc. I played the worst one for my dad when my divorce was starting and he was not only shocked but pissed (and I believe it was the one about me - women should not be wearing pinstriped work slacks and heels and having jobs outside the home if they're of breeding age - and I was THE only woman "of breeding age" in the church who worked outside the home and that was my exact Monday-Friday outfit as I am an administrative assistant). My dad, a weak Catholic, had no idea what fundamentalism was let alone what I had gotten into. His support of me at the time was way awesome.

www.cbcbremerton.org/sermons.html Before listening I warn you to have either a quad-shot latte OR a Xanax (depending on your mindset in life).