A non-believers view of church

I came across an article written in the Welsh language magazine 'Barn'  by Beca Brown, a couple of months ago.  Beca had found herself, to her surprise, in a church. Even more to her surprise, she  quite enjoyed it, although she is a self confessed atheist.

Was she converted .. well no.    ' Am  I looking for something to fill the emptiness in my life?  Well', she says. 'aren't we all!'

What happened was that her 8 year  old son  was given an invitation  to Sunday School and wanted to go.   Rather than go with him (as she would for almost any other activity) she  thought of sending him on his own...  and then realised the stupidity of this.   Previous bad experiences of  church and of particular  Christians shouldn't get in the way of motherly duty.  

Having faced the pain of the recent death of a dear friend,  Beca was, she writes,  looking for answers - ' not for God and not even for the ability to  believe in something better to come, but I needed  a different kind of comfort.  I needed to belong to something which is more than the circle I have created for myself over 40 years of living'.

This is perhaps one of our most deep seated and universal 'religious' needs - to belong to something bigger. It reminds me of  the  illustration used by Janet in a recent sermon about how young children draw their own portrait with a line underneath, for the ground, and the sun shining in the sky.   The picture expresses what  children know but could probably never say in words... that they are not free floating beings, but belong to something bigger.

The dilemma  that Beca then identifies is this:   'its a terrible thing not to believe and yet to want  a bit of  the comfort and social  life that  comes with chapel life...   there are obviously people like me who are looking for the inclusive experience  that chapel can give, a chance to share  and listen and   consider, and to be quiet for an hour in the middle of a busy life'

Sadly,  her past experience of sermons  has been less than encouraging.   They left her feeling  that 'I will always be second rate, and marginalised because of that'.

The Sunday Assembly is, according to its website 'a godless congregation that meets on the first Sunday of every month to hear great talks, sing songs and generally celebrate the wonder of life. It’s a service for anyone who wants to live better, help often and wonder more.' It's a bit like a church , but without God.

Is this the answer? Should churches 'play down' God so as to attract more people? I don't think so. Pleasant as the Sunday Assembly sounds, it isn't church.. If churches stopped being prophetic and challenging, as well as comforting and inclusive; stopped working for justice and peace, as well as being 'interesting'; stopped trying to 'connect' with God through prayer and worship; stopped trying to grapple with what the Bible means, and what Christ, through his Spirit among us, is calling us to be... then it wouldn't be church.

We need God for more than comfort and a sense of belonging, but (and it's a big 'but') isn't it time that we listened to the likes of Beca Brown, to understand which bits of 'religion' make the most sense to a confessed nonbeliever?

Beca Brown's article 'Mynd i'r capel (Going to Chapel) was published in Barn  No 601 February 2013