Tour of Macon Churches: Take 2

My second round of church tours came about in a rather… unexpected way. This past Friday a group of us were concerned about an act of vandalism against the local Islamic mosque. (Mosque? Temple? I’m honestly unclear as to which word is the one to use.) We stood outside with signs as passersby honked their support, blew kisses, and waved. There were several different Christian ministers there, as well as at least one Jewish Rabbi. It was a proud moment for me- so nice to see so many in our city come together. One of the ministers, I believe from the Unitarian Universalist Church, prayed over us as we started.

 

 

(Note- regarding the caption on the above photo, the boys were talking about video games.)

 

There was only one person being ugly yelling at us from his large, white pickup truck. Well, and then there were some bad babies from Bibb County Public Schools yelling at us from a bus. I say bad babies, but I think they were middle or high school students.

 

I personally had one more ugly interaction. Apparently I wrongly parked in private parking (whoops- I really didn’t mean to) and once I walked out to my car a skinny older lady came out to personally curse me out from the office of Vineville Christian Towers and threaten me with having my car towed “if any of us parked here again”. Gotta admit, I’m not certain which group she was lumping me into or if it’s a common problem but I’ve never parked there before. Anyways….

 

That evening was a Friday and my friend and fellow Leadership Macon classmate, Arielle, took me to the evening service at Temple Beth Israel. Y’all might know her father: Rabbi Schlesinger. It was my first time at a Jewish service and I was super nervous.

 

One thing that stood out to me was how there were phrases (said in English) that were either very similar or identical to things I’ve heard in church myself. I wasn’t exactly surprised, after all as one of their members said to me later “but of course! Where did you think Christianity came from? Welcome home!” Touche.

 

Overall I really enjoyed the service, even if I did feel a little lost. Everyone was welcoming and friendly, and they even had dinner after the service.

 

So, I managed to cover all three major religions in one day, which I thought was pretty cool- especially given today’s political climate.

 

That Sunday I met my friend Sybil at Forest Hills United Methodist- except I got lost on the way. I’m not really sure how I did that, because I buy a pumpkin there every Halloween. But somehow I got it in my head that this church was what turned out to be Northminster Presbyterian. I pulled up in the parking lot, proud of getting ready in 30 minutes (because my friend texted at 7:30 “do you want to go to 9:30 service instead of 11?!”)  and walked in behind others.

 

Only to find that a- I was at the wrong church b- the early service was ending and c- the minister was at the back of the church and he knows me. Whoops. I told him I was looking for a friend, walked out, texted my friend, and realized I was at the wrong church. On the wrong road. With 5 minutes to get to where I needed to be.

 

Luckily, it was only about 5 minutes away – I made it in time- and someone inside was super helpful to show me where to go.

 

This service is very family friendly, and I was not the only one walking in late. The minister was super nice and introduced himself, there was coffee service at the back of the church, and a very casual setting. People were in everything from coats to blue jeans. I didn’t find my friend until after the service, but that was ok.

 

I’m also realizing now as I type this that the service, according their website, actually starts at 9:45. So I wasn’t actually late. I also noticed that when people walked in late behind me, they quickly added more folding chairs (everyone at the service was in folding chairs) because someone was handicapped in their group and couldn’t proceed to the front. That struck out to me. They moved quickly and readily and struck me as being incredibly welcoming.

 

While this service was modern praise and worship, they do have a traditional service at 11:00.

 

All of this being said, I thought this was well suited for families and those wanting a casual worship service. And I’ll have to go back to Northminster, since I crashed their service late last time.

 

Forest Hill United Methodist Church in Macon is at 1217 Forest Hill Road, Macon, Georgia, 31210.

Temple Beth Israel is at 892 Cherry Street in Macon, Georgia, 31201  and is a Reform synagogue.

The Unitarian Universalist Church, which led the prayer Friday, is at 1085 High St, Macon, Georgia, 31201. (And I intend to visit there sometime as well.)

Northminster Presbyterian Church, where I went by accident and intend to return to, is located at 565 Wimbish Road, Macon, Georgia, 31210.

 

Love to all y’all,

 

Molly