Connection Cards

Here’s a sample of what I’m thinking about when I go to church:

Does anyone fill out Connection Cards? I mean I guess people do or they wouldn’t offer them. Also the more I think about it the more I think I am not their target audience. I don’t know what I want out of church, so I’m not sure I want to connect. I just want somewhere to sing and listen for now.

But also, sitting elbow to elbow with everyone else and pulling out your connection card and carefully filling out your name, phone number, and checking whether or not you’d like to Learn More about the women’s ministry… It yells, “I’m new here!” in a way that gets my hackles up. I don’t mind if you notice I’m new here, but I don’t want it to be because I’m doing the clunky New Person connection card thing. I want you to notice because you didn’t see me last week, so you say hello and ask me how I’m doing.

But I’ll take a thirty second pitch for the connection card any day over the “Gift Bag for the New People,” that I’ve seen at some churches. This made me laugh at the absurdity last time I got one. Usually it’s a coffee mug or something similar — the last one I got included a church branded cold cup and a handful of vinyl stickers. I guess in one way it makes sense? Like, oh, I’m making my coffee next week and pull out the cup, oh yeah, maybe I should go to church again next week? But all I could see was advertising. The stretch and reach of it. The desperation to fill seats.¹

Jesus wasn’t desperate to fill seats. Jesus was passionate about helping the castaways and pointing out to the bigwigs that they couldn’t see past their noses. The crowds were a by-product. There was no marketing campaign, just words and works that gathered people like moths to a flame.

This is probably a good summary of my spirituality: I don’t know if I believe any of it, but I could write essay after essay about how I think churches are doing it wrong. Maybe that’s part of my disbelief: the inconsistencies pile upon each other and I’d rather stand on the sidelines and look on in skepticism, not required to participate in the messiness of human community. I realize this is a cheap stance. More later, maybe. Hopefully less cheap.

This Week

It’s been the kind of week that makes me thoughtful about when I am employed again. C got an ear infection over the weekend, so Monday I took him to the doctor and Tuesday I kept him home for more recovery. He’s back at daycare today, and then tomorrow he and I are driving to Chattanooga to visit with my mom and see the Tennessee Aquarium. The vacation is one thing; I planned it specifically to take advantage of my sabbatical. But it was a certain kind of ease to not work through which one of us had more PTO available, had less meetings, and could stay home with C while he was sick. We’ve done it, and we’ll do it again, but one more coin on the balance of what-kind-of-employment-do-I-want-long-term.

Anyway, the week has nearly been a wash on the sabbatical projects front, unless you count watching Cars five times in four days a project.

Today I

• mowed the lawn (I meant to do this last week but I forgot and I am only just getting to it oops)

• figured out how to transfer the music I own (24 whole songs) from iTunes on my old Mac to my Google Pixel — this involved uploading to Google Drive first because Macs don’t talk to Androids ugh

• ran 9 miles (ow)

• am writing this post

• will make packing lists and grocery lists for our trip this weekend

• might take a nap before picking up C (I want to get him right after nap time because he’s better but he’s probably still tired/fussy)

This week I’m feeling

I’ve recovered just fine from my hysteroscopy. Recovering from the anesthesia got me down the most of everything.² I didn’t even take any ibuprofen after I got home (though they had loaded me up while I was at the surgery center on Tylenol and Motrin). I’ve been tired, since C kept us up a couple nights with his ear pain. But I’m feeling good. I like my pace the past couple weeks, of working on projects, job hunting, and I’ve been reading more of the Project Management Body of Knowledge.

I’ve been phone screened for a couple positions but I think I will do some more job board searching next week. I’m worried that I won’t get call backs because my job history is so different from what I’m applying to, so I might need to take drastic measures and, well, pick up the phone. We’ll see.

Connection Card?

It’s been a second since I’ve checked in with y’all. Leave a comment or reply with your own connection card: how are you doing during the mid-year, what’s coming up for you?

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Catch you next week.

1. But also, really, I just visited for the first time today, where and why am I going to use the vinyl sticker of your logo?

2. E, who drove me, was severely disappointed that I didn’t say anything goofy or loopy on the drive home. I was just really tired. Sorry, babe.