by Jared Mooney
For the past few weeks I’ve been going to church somewhere new. I have always enjoyed learning about other faiths and have never considered myself an insular Mormon. I have visited other churches for a long time. I served my mission in the Southern United States and have visited every imaginable Christian denomination. I have attended Synagogue and visited a Nation of Islam Mosque. I have reverently observed Shinto and Hindu rituals.
In all of these experiences, I have always had the perspective of being a visitor. I respected what was happening there, but I wasn’t actually worshipping with them. I was Mormon, and I worshipped my God in my personal, Mormon way, even in these non-Mormon settings.
The past few weeks have been different. Feeling driven to indefinitely discontinue our involvement in the LDS church, my family has begun attending a United Church of Christ congregation in nearby Somerville, Massachusetts. As a lifelong Mormon, I more or less expected to have that visitor feeling again. To feel very much like an outsider, observing and participating respectfully, but decidedly apart. Instead, I am genuinely surprised at the extent to which this hasn’t been the case.
The United Church of Christ is an American protestant Christian denomination. They have a pluralistic government, meaning each congregation may view non-essential doctrines somewhat differently. They practice open communion, meaning anyone can partake of the Lord’s Supper. They hold communion monthly rather than weekly. A foundational motto of the church is, “In essentials–unity, in nonessentials–diversity, in all things–charity.”
Prayer here happens in a spontaneous and distinctly unorganized manner by Mormon standards. They pray in three places during the service, which may change from week to week. They offer Prayers of Seeking, where congregants seek and petition God for their righteous needs and desires; then Prayers of Gratitude, where thanks and appreciation are expressed for God’s grace and blessings; then Prayers of Blessing, where prayer is turned outward to the needs of our fellow man and the world at large. In each of these prayers, a minister begins aloud and then space is given for congregants to offer their own prayers aloud or in silence. The whole prayer becomes an offering that we make as the body of Christ, as we are led by the Holy Spirit, as individuals. Hearing what one or two phrases people choose to offer in these moments is instructive and perspective-shifting. On my first week there I heard a woman say, “for children in group homes and foster care, that they might have comfort, safety, and find loving homes.” I almost bawled on the spot. Though I have felt passionately about foster care for years, I have never prayed that prayer once in my entire life, but I may pray it now every time for the rest of my life. One congregant has prayed in every service for nearly a decade “for meaningful action on global climate change.” When he is unable to come, someone always offers that prayer in his stead. Often you might hear people say aloud something that is obviously deeply personal and unique to them, but their willingness to offer it aloud gives you an incredible insight into the individual struggles each and every one of us has in life.
The first time you visit a new faith community, it’s hard not to focus on your Mormon-ness. The things that make you different and the ways your own religious and spiritual life might differ from others. In another Christian church, you eventually start to shift focus onto your common
