Temple, Synagogue, Ashram, Garden, Yurt - “Church” is where you make it. [Episode 4]

Isolation vs Community, Connection, and Belonging

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY BRITTANY C & KRISTIN C

...thank you for your support!

Introduction

What is “church”?  In this episode of Unboxing God, we delve into the true meaning of the word and why we feel we need it.

Join us as we explore what “church” means for a few of our friends: Kyle details the experience of skating top speed on the roller derby rink, completely focused and in the moment, as his “church”;  Anthony finds his “church” out on the open road; and Scott chronicles a sailor’s lifelong “church” out on the open water.

Summary

• Why church? Where is church? What’s in a church anyway?

• “Yes, but…” is a dead-end; “yes, and…” is the path forward.

• Churches universally provide: a place of safety and support, belonging and community, and inspiration and growth.

• Belonging is a universal human need, just like the need for food and shelter

Quotables

• “It doesn’t have to be in a building for me; it doesn’t even have to be inside at all.  For me, the feel of that road just running underneath me, and the breeze in my face, and the sun beating down on my shoulders… That’s where I find my church.  That’s where I’m closest to my God.” -- Anthony

• “...I use a sailboat analogy in my 12-Step recovery to picture the Serenity Prayer… I think of the Serenity Prayer, asking for the “courage to change the things I can” being the courage to change my sails because I can’t change the waves and the wind.  …[I]nstead of fighting it ... so that I can experience the serenity that it provides.” -- McCall

• “More and more as I get older [in the sport of sailing] I find that I do my best when I just let go.  I ground myself firmly in the present, I don’t look back, I strictly breathe deeply, and try to figure out how to make the most out of the moment that I’m in."  -- Uncle Scott

• “When you’re thinking about it, you don’t sail well.  When you just let go and experience it, you do very well.”  -- Uncle Scott

Recommended Resources + External Links

• Support Unboxing "God" here

• The Quorum: A Place of Belonging by Elder Carl B. Cook, from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

• Create a Sense of Belonging by Karyn Hall, from Psychology Today, 2014

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Cleveland Sailing Charters, Lake Erie Cruises with Captain Scott Sanders