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Tuesday, June 10, 2014

are you sure that's a good idea?

It was a 50K bike ride.  That thing.  On Sunday.  Magnum found it after my fail.

It was an event to support [THIS] very friendly looking group that provides services and activities for autistic children and their families.  I'd never heard of them.  I never heard of the event.  Had I known, I would've very possibly done the bike ride.  Maybe next year?

I often hear about these worthwhile events after the fact, much like the Doggie Dash the previous weekend.  But although China's come a long way since her shelter days, she's still not that comfortable in a crowd, so maybe no Doggie Dashes for her.  But I know Alice and Bella would both be up for a Pedal Through the Puzzle!

In the meantime, we have our own interventions to be concerned with.  It's Meego.  He's kind of started hanging with a different crowd.  Magnum and I aren't too concerned as we trust he has a good head on his shoulders, but Chaco's big brother engines are revving.

Last night, he drilled Magnum and me.  Did we think it was a good idea to allow Meego to do these activities?  What about peer pressure?  He's at that susceptible age.  And just what are they teaching him?  And how?

See, Meego's gone Biblin' again.  He's volunteering all this week at a VBS down the street.  Recall that he did similar volunteer work last summer, but that was at a different church.  That was at the Methodist church UP the street, not the church DOWN the street.

SOURCE
The church DOWN the street is a relatively large evangelical/born again church.  At least it's not THAT Big BIG evangelical/born again church in our fair city that attracts all the (well deserved?) snarky publicity.  If it were there, I might honestly have some motherly concern.

I won't get into a long, drawn out biography of my own church experiences and opinions.  Suffice to say that, like many others, the hypocrites drove Magnum and me away from church.  Suffice it further to say that the biggest examples of the hypocrisy have been a couple of neighbor families who claimed both the most blatant bullies and the most disrespectful kids I've ever known.  This along with both families' hateful stances against homosexuals.  One family went to that big BIG crazy church, the other, the church down the street.  And there've been other examples along the way.  I do get along fine with the families, one has since moved.  Just let's not talk religion, and don't expect me to be best buddies.

And now Meego is a VBS volunteer down the street and I'm fine with it.  Two of his good friends are at the upper age limit and are attending.  They don't belong to the church, they're just doing five fun days of 3-hour VBS, so Meego and another friend his age from the neighborhood decided to volunteer.  The whole gang will likely do similar at the more-acceptable-to-Chaco church UP the street later this month.

"Of all the things a 14-year-old kid could be getting into, I'm okay with it being VBS volunteering", I told Chaco.

But it's nice to know that Chaco cares.
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6 comments:

ShadowRun300 said...

It IS sweet that he cares!
But I'm with you.... there are definitely worse things to be involved in. And I think it's great he gets to experience different 'cultures'. Helps build an acceptance of ALL. Which is one of the reasons we strayed away from church...

terri said...

I was slightly worried about Meego for a moment there, but having read this, I have to agree. He definitely could be doing worse things than volunteering at VBS!

I'm with you. I always meant to find another church after we drifted away from ours. But the longer we're away, the less inclined I am to join another. The whole "organized" thing just never quite fit me.

Abby said...

My thoughts too. It's good for him to experience different ideas and then be fully debriefed when he gets home!

Abby said...

Yeah, people have their own reasons for attending church and for which church they attend, and I won't tell anyone else how to live - unless they ask me!

agg79 said...

Wow. To get into VBS at this early of an age. It usually leads to other things (like bible camp and retreats). As a former Methodist, I can totally relate to your impression of some of the congregation. We had some similar experiences which led us to drift away as well. I agree with your philosophy - don't tell me how to live my life and I won't tell you how to live yours (or where to stick it).

Riot Kitty said...

That is actually a lot less worrisome than a lot of things you could be having to worry about right now. Don't get me started on the mega church concept - I suspect we'd just agree over and over again anyhow!