The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

The view from our Vienna apartment looking towards UNO City.

While in high school, my family moved to a different town and joined a church that periodically used the worship service to propagate American patriotism, usually around patriotic holidays, by singing patriotic anthems, such as "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and praying for the troops. Prior to joining this church, I was never much exposed to such a display in a worship service (other than praying for the troops) and it took me a while to get used to it. I didn't think it was wrong, just different than what I was accustomed to. Then, in college/early adulthood, I was a member of a church that made grand sweeping gestures of patriotism and nationalism. It was commonplace in Bible classes and worship services to endorse the American agenda, especially the Republican perspective of the American agenda. As I married and settled into the routine of life, all of this seemed normal. It seemed right; it seemed good.


Then, for a short while, I was a part of a church planting team in Vienna. We were working to help people see how the little story of their lives connected to the big story of God the creator and His interaction with creation. I didn't last very long in Vienna, but it was long enough to make a significant impact.