no thank you

just got back from a nice long winter walk by myself. would've enjoyed my boyfriend's company but he was at work - because i need money. at least, that's what he says. (of course, he's just teasing me. it's part of our routine...)

i really like walking in our neighborhood. there's such variety in building types & styles... as i was walking, i realized there are quite a few different places of worship in charles village. we've got all flavors of christian churches: catholic, episcopal, baptist, methodist, lutheran, & christian science, along with a masonic temple & a quaker meeting house. i'm so appreciative of my neighborhood & all of the different places i get to pass by every day. i've even checked out a few of them. the catholic church when the inlaws were in town once - they don't know i'm a heathen yet. i went to the episcopal church once w/ my friend katie - just to check it out. for the past few years i've really wanted to have a stronger spiritual connection of some sort, so i decided to give the episcopalians a whirl. one thing i like about catholic church is, generally, there are a lot of people present & it's not difficult to feel anonymous, which i enjoy. anyway, so the episcopal service i went to was in a cute basement chapel. it was pretty small & there were less than 20 people present. anyway, i was mostly comfortable until everyone got up & formed a circle on the altar. (i didn't realize this was communion time... ) so the priest blesses the hosts & wine & walks around the circle to each person, passing out communion. the fact that i don't take communion because i don't believe in jesus christ is something i feel strongly about, even if it makes me feel awkward. so, the priest gets to me (mind you it's so silent you could hear a pin drop) & i loudly whisper "no thank you." i think i actually had to say it twice because he didn't hear me the first time. anyway, he stopped & said a special blessing over me - probably so i don't go to hell - & continued around the circle. not sure i've ever felt quite so awkward. i was thinking about checking out the quaker meeting house on my walk & then i remembered the episcopalians...

i gotsta get myself in bed. it's getting late & i have a crappy cold that requires lots of rest.