Church Shopping

I AWAKENED this beautiful Sunday morning not sure where or if I was going to church. Last week I went to the tiny country Presbyterian church deep down in the valley, so, that's out. There were ten people in the building last Sunday, about the usual number. How much longer can our little church hang on, and keep living? My church going future, I think, is at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship twenty miles away; I hate driving, and the distance is a problem for me. Whether I want to fight the traffic today is doubtful, even though the traffic isn't too bad on a quiet Sunday college town morning. I haven't recently been to either one of the two Methodist churches I visited about a year ago; I liked them both, maybe I should go back sometime soon. Sometimes the most appealling option is to stay home, drink coffee, and watch the Sunday morning news programs with cat on lap. The notion strikes me that my approach to church going is somewhat remindful of and similar to shopping, for groceries, houses, whatever. Weigh all the options, choose one Or maybe choose none. The great American comercial consumer capitalist system in action, invloving individual freedom and choice, that we Americans so highly praise and venerate. Some might say that this approach demeans religion, putting it on the level of crass materialism. These same people are willing participants in the great American materialistic culture, and it could be said that my church shopping, shopping but never buying, actually elevates religiosity to the exalted level of American capitalism, the most sacred and popular religion in the country, as far as I can tell. I am pretty sure that there are boh Islamic and Judaic houses of worship within a twenty mile radius of my humble home, and, yes, I feel an interest in visiting them both, and in visitng any and all churches. Whether I ever will remains doubtful, but possible. I would probably ask permission first, and seek out a church escort to enhance my credibility. What I would ultimately like to do, given my aversion to driving, is to attend church within walking distance of said humble abode, and consider the possibility of attending it regularly. That would be ideal. But, alas it must be compatible with me. My open mindedness only extends so far, to a certain point. There are actuallly several, maybe two or three, churches within a few blocks of my crib, easy walking distance. However, as far as I know, they are all Pentecostal or fundamentalist in nature. That is the type of church I am likely to visit once, but not twice. Or, who knows? The ideal situation for me would be for the UU Fellowship (the Unitarians don't seem to be too much into calling themselves a "church", but rather a "fellowship") within a block or two of my lovely home, or hell, maybe even next door. I think they would make good neighbors...The cat show no signs of awakening and leaving my lap, I've plenty of coffee, and am not inclined to drive anywhere this lovely late summer morning. I may end up watching the Unitarian service on my laptop, always a convenient if imperfect option, certainly better than nothing. Church hopping is even more fun for me since I am content with my pantheistic religiosity, an since I know that I will always have a home among the Unitarians. And I will always have a home in a universe in which countless billions of sentient entities seek truth in their various and unique ways, or, as Goethe accurately said: "When I realized that everyone invents his own religion, I decided to invent mine."