Church

For Lent, I decided to do something a bit more meaningful than giving up chocolate or soft drinks or desserts. Lent is supposed to be about doing something that brings you closer to God. So, this year, I decided to give something up that would go towards that goal.

Not going to church.

That's right. I gave up not going to church. Read in English, that means that I started going to church again for Lent.

I always say that I'm going to go back at the beginning of the year. After all, January is the time when people try to start new habits. And January also singles the end of football season, which is God's primary villain in the search for Sunday attendance. The secondary villain is, of course, sleeping in.

No football in April means no problem on the first issue. But the second issue was still a problem. I hate having to wake up early during the week, and I absolutely loathe having to wake up early on the weekends. I like to sleep until 10am on the weekends, even if I didn't stay up terribly late the night before.

I also don't really like dressing up. For anything. Dressing up means ironing, or even worse, it could mean dry cleaning. Also, living in Texas, it usually means wearing clothing that is too hot for our normal temperatures.

Luckily, a lot of young people feel the same way I do. And the churches are being forced to adjust. Even my church, an Anglican church with a very formal mass every Sunday, has added a "modern" service to go along with their "traditional" service. This means that you can basically wear whatever you're comfortable with. Jeans are fine. Sandals are fine. I even saw someone wearing a TCU t-shirt. Go Frogs, by the way.

And they have a service at 11:15. I can go to church in jeans and a t-shirt and still sleep in until 10am.

Now I haven't yet done that. I've worn khakis, dress shoes, and a nice shirt every time I've gone to church (and I've gone every week with one exception, when I felt pretty sick). I wore a short-sleeved polo shirt last week, but opted for a long-sleeved shirt today since it was Palm Sunday. But it's really nice to have that option. Especially during the summer months.

In addition to the late service and the lax dress code, this service seems to be a bit more my speed. They have a full band (guitars and drums), and their priests are young and "cool." I'm not exactly sure if it's what God intended church to be like, but it's brought me back to church. And based on the attendance, it's brought a lot of other people back too.

And I think I'm going to keep going. I'm trying to re-establish a relationship with God that will hopefully make me a more hopeful (and happier) person. So far, it's working. And it's been my best Lenten promise yet.