I guess God don't want me!

 For the last 25 or 30 years I have been in church every Sunday morning.  For many years I went to the Christ Congregational Church in Belmont until the politics of that church and the powers that controlled the church no longer meshed with my beliefs.  When I left there I went across town to the historic First Congregational Church on Evans.  The one in Belmont had been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and was progressive while the one on Evans was built in 1868 with red sandstone from Beulah.  It is on the national register so it is very historic as is the organ that pumped out music every Sunday.  Ken Joyal plays it and is accompanied by Becky on the piano and Karen and Jerome playing violins.  I was very happy there and never missed a Sunday.  

But, alas, those days are behind me!  In March our church closed the doors to let the pandemic work it's way out.  They closed for just a month or so.  Let me see; March, April, May, June, July, August.....and holding.  Sadly, the church has not opened.  They broadcast a service once a week and hold "virtual communion" and "zoom" meetings, but that does not cut it for me!

I want to set in the pew.  I want to hold the hymnal in my hand.  I want to sing with other people doing the same thing, but it is not happening.  So here is the deal; I am searching for a church.....

And here is what I want.  I want a preacher in the pulpit who will give me a sermon about love, compassion, good deeds and a God that will welcome me, a sinner, into his heaven.  I want a congregation that will welcome me and validate my worth.  In return, I will be there every Sunday.  I will tithe, just like the Bible says to do. 

I want a smaller church.  I am not into mega churches.  I want a liberal church that is open and affirming of all races, and gay friendly.  I do not want to be judged and I will not judge you.  Maybe we can have coffee after, maybe not.  I want to support the homeless.  I guess I am looking for a church the Jesus would go to in his tattered robe and slippers.

If you attend a church you think I would like and you would accept me, contact me through this blog down at the bottom.  

I would love to hear from you! 

This was Saturday when the smoke was at its worst at my house.

 

This was the sun about mid morning on Saturday.  I pointed the camera straight at it and clicked.  Normally all I can see when I do that is the glare, but this was filtered through a lot of smoke from the fires all around us.  The air was filled with a smoky smell and a haze hung over everything.

 

 

About 1:00 in the afternoon we caught a break and I got this picture of a helicopter on its way to one of the fires.  See how blue the sky was?  The smoke smell lifted for this period.

 

 

And then in the early evening it all came back.  Guess the cool morning and evening air held it closer to the ground.  My friend, Wanda, lives over at South Fork which is now under pre-evacuation warning and she said they can not even smell the smoke.  It apparently goes straight up and then down to the valley.  Lucky her.  Well, not really lucky her, because she is still in danger of losing her home.  I would not like to be in her shoes at all!

 

I picked Doug up for church yesterday morning and he said it had rained at his house the night before.  He said it was really nice.  I would not know since it did not rain at my house.  I have not even seen a rain cloud;  just smoke clouds.  I have been talking to the good Lord about this situation and I am sure he will remedy it soon.  Think how fast he could put out those fires, if he had  mind to.

 

But you know how this goes.  It is called nature and ever so often the forest fires thin the underbrush and the dead and diseased trees.  When we were down on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, they had a practice of going in and cutting down the dead trees and hauling them down to the road for people to use as fire wood.  Forest fires there are very rare, but of course the naturalists think that is interfering and a fern may loose it's happy home on the forest floor.  I do not know what the answer is.  I do know that there has been very little loss of life this fire season, which is indeed a blessing.

 

But I have been thinking, if I could get all my friends to pray for rain, maybe it would happen.  If you don't do the praying thing, try the karma and send good thoughts this way.  Just picture a nice soft rain falling all over Colorado.  Not a heavy downpour, because we have lots of areas that are now without vegetation.  That would cause flooding.  Just a little soft rain.

 

I would very much appreciate it!