Sunday shopping

Yes - shopping. For a church.

I've mentioned before that Tim and I don't really have a church to call home. We've only lived together since our wedding and lived in two separate Florida towns before that (and before that, lived in two separate states for all but three weeks of our dating relationship). My work schedule hasn't lent itself to attending early Sunday morning services any where. (Especially when I was opening on Sundays at my part-time job last year). Working until 1:30 a.m. and then driving 40 minutes home makes it hard to get up early, y'all. And then for a while we weren't sure how long we'd be in Florida and weren't sure how far to go in terms of "putting down roots." But we've been here for several years, and we have no real reason to think we're leaving any time too soon - roots have been growing, and we still need a church.

Tim was raised Methodist, and his home church is very close-knit. I was raised Catholic, and while I attended the same church while in elementary, middle and high schools, I never really had a "home" church after high school graduation. I attended several while in college and while living in Michigan and Pittsburgh, but none got to the point where I'd say we had a "relationship." And while I love the history and tradition of the Catholic faith, to make a long story short, I've wanted to explore other faiths that might be less strict.

Because every post should have an Elle photo!
We made sure to say a prayer for the
black and gold while at church, too.

So we've been looking. And before Elle was born, we tried out several. We went to two or three Methodist churches with not-too-early services. And they were nice ... enough. But there wasn't that automatic "This feels right" vibe. And there didn't seem to be a lot of younger families there.

We're not extremely picky. Tim isn't interested in a Catholic church. We're both looking for a church that is youthful (quite a challenge in Florida, I must say) and family friendly. Something not too big or too tiny. Something not too far away. Something not too uptight.

For the last few months, getting Elle baptized has been on my mind. So I've been mindful of what requirements might exist to have her christened in a church we've yet to find. And I've also wrestled with returning to my Saturday night late shifts and worrying about disrupting Elle's napping schedule. (Memo to self: It was easier to church shop when hugely pregnant, even though I didn't think that was true at the time.)

I'm officially back on the market for a church. Late shifts and nap times will not hold me back.

Lately, a lot has been going on that has left me craving the sanctity of church. I'm not going to go in to it right now, but events of the past two weeks have me saying a lot of prayers for various family members and friends. And even though I'm not super religious by any means, there is something about attending church that brings me a sort of peace, like a return to routine, a clarity in the midst of chaos.

Last night I looked up the mass times for two Catholic churches that were recommended to me by friends. This morning, Elle and I got up, and I took her to her first out-of-utero church service. The parish is huge, and the mass was packed. We arrived a bit early and sat in the back in case we needed to make a quick exit (and we ended up sitting next to an adorable family with a 7-month-old baby girl who looks exactly like my niece. And the baby growled. It was hilarious). Elle was extremely well-behaved, staring at the baby, looking at the windows, occasionally smiling and laughing at me.

Today's visit wasn't a test drive for a family church, it was about something I needed. Next week, we'll check out another church - we've got some shopping to do.