Simon Robson - Blog 11- Student Chosen Topic

My Ritual Preferences 

   Simon Robson

12/13/2020

     Today I was sitting and thinking about my own personal beliefs and how they line up with those around me and how they don’t. I was raised in a Christian, church-going household. Actually 2 different Christian, Church-going households as a result of my parents divorce. Also as a result of this I spent most of the time with my mom and my step dad who was a military man and as a result we moved around to multiple different places including 2 different houses in Kansas and then another one in Okinawa, Japan. So because of this there have also been to multiple different churches and been to many of them somewhat frequently. No two were ever quite the same. My dad has gone to the same church for as long as I can remember and this church held a lot of very traditional values but led more of a contemporary service and worship.

Our church in Okinawa was pretty similar. There weren’t a ton of choices for American churches and we still had to go to a different military base to get there. Obviously everyone was military there and it was a contemporary, non-denominational church. Then when we moved back to Virginia we started to attend a Lutheran church that my grandparents went to. Lutheranism is usually a more traditional denomination and has a lot of similarities with Catholicism. After this church we moved to another Lutheran church that was closer to our house. It was similar in its traditional beliefs and services and I often felt like I did not gain very much from when I attended these services. 

Finally, a last church that I attended somewhat regularly was a contemporary non-denominational church that was in Harrisonburg and was largely attended by and meant for college students at JMU. The pastors and worship leaders were a tight knit group of African american people so they brought a lot of that energy of a southern black church to the services. This church is where I felt like I got the most out of my worship and lessons. The messages were often more tailored toward people my age. The worship was much more upbeat and happy. The joy and gratitude in that church made it feel like more of a choice for this rather than an obligation. These kind of settings make me feel as if there is a real presence of God there.

For me and from my experiences I believe that the relationship between one and their God is more important than the special rituals and songs and traditions. Of course it is important to attend church and praise your god and perform rituals but I have found that I feel a much stronger spiritual connection in an upbeat and exciting environment than in the slow and quiet Lutheran services. It is important to find what is right for each person but the relationship with God is the most important thing so whatever is needed to usher that relationship is the best thing.


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