{"id":1334,"date":"2013-07-12T17:25:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-12T17:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/07\/adventures-in-churchgoing.html"},"modified":"2013-07-12T17:25:00","modified_gmt":"2013-07-12T17:25:00","slug":"adventures-in-churchgoing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/07\/adventures-in-churchgoing.html","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Churchgoing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
It\u2019s hard being a feminist and visiting a new church.\u00a0 I\u2019ve recently moved to Texas from California and I\u2019m looking for a church to attend.\u00a0 There are many things I love about church: corporate worship, talks with people of faith, gatherings where friendships are built, and opportunities to serve and to learn. I also love to sing, and my not-ready-for-primetime voice would love to join a choir with and contribute to other people\u2019s worship experience.<\/span><\/div>\n
In my past, I\u2019ve been a member (or regular attender) of churches where I felt welcomed and affirmed. Yet, I always feel defensive when I seek out new places to worship.\u00a0 I question whether a church will be affirming to women and girls as whole selves \u2013 as embodied, thinking, feeling beings.\u00a0 I mentally prepare myself to hear male imagery and language for God and I pray themes of male headship vs. female servanthood are not expressed. \u00a0I feel like an investigator seeking out clues to determine our compatibility.\u00a0 It\u2019s no wonder that I\u2019ve recently heard several people compare visiting churches to dating.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
When I go to a new church, there are all sorts of characteristics I imagine people note from my physical presence: my race, my approximate age, my gender.\u00a0 If they are looking for such clues, they may note my lack of a wedding ring or my lack of a Southern accent.\u00a0 But I do not wear markers of my political associations, my feminist commitments, or theological views. \u00a0I must look for signs that when revealed, my beliefs will be compatible with the prevailing spirit of the place or gladly accepted into its diversity.<\/span><\/div>\n
Read the rest here<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hard being a feminist and visiting a new church.\u00a0 I\u2019ve recently moved to Texas from California and I\u2019m looking for a church to attend.\u00a0 There are many things I love about church: corporate worship, talks with people of faith, gatherings where friendships are built, and opportunities to serve and to learn. I also love […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2251,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nAdventures in Churchgoing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s hard being a feminist and visiting a new church.  I\u2019ve recently moved to Texas from California and I\u2019m looking for a church to attend. \" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/07\/adventures-in-churchgoing.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Adventures in Churchgoing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s hard being a feminist and visiting a new church.  I\u2019ve recently moved to Texas from California and I\u2019m looking for a church to attend. \" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/07\/adventures-in-churchgoing.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rhetoric Race and Religion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-07-12T17:25:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andre E. 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