Hi all,

This will be my first blog entry...I find it hard to believe anyone will want to read any thought i might have so I plan to just right for me and see who if anyone relates to this...I was reading through some other blog posts and I began to wonder--why do people go to Church? It seems like a lot of people on this website have questioned their faith, or aren't even sure they believe in God or in Christ. But everyone, or at least most people, have been to church at one point in their lives and seen value in it. I felt compelled to write about why I choose to go to church and what it adds to my life. The reason I love the United Church is because there is such a diversity of belief within congregations and that is accepted and embraced. But the most important aspect of church is the strength gained from a community of likeminded people--people who are on their own faith journeys who share their struggles and questions and strenghten my own faith when i feel it lag. To go to a sunday service and hear the music, and see the congregation singing hymns is one of the most uplifting experiences. The capacity for human joy is so well expressed in the voice, and the beauty of a choir singing in unison is hard to match. God is Love...but to my mind, God is also beauty--and there are few things that are more beautiful than a choir skillfully and joyfully singing a hymn.  To go to Church is to set aside an hour or so each week to take stock of the great and wonderful journey that life is, to give gratitude to the One who gave us life and quietly contemplate lifes joys and struggles in a universal context. Yes, sometimes i would rather be in bed on a Sunday. But I see the value in taking that moment to see my life in the broad and beautiful context of creation writ large, to raise my voice in praise and love, and worship the beauty and order of the universe that created me.