A Thinking Reed

"Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed" – Blaise Pascal

Boston!

Well, the move from Philly to Boston went about as smoothly as you can expect these things to go, though we appear to arrived in the middle of monsoon season. Next time we move I’d definitely like to avoid doing it ourselves.

Technically, we’re living in Somerville, which is outside of the city near Cambridge. It has a cool college-town vibe (Tufts, Harvard and MIT are all nearby), but there also seem to be a lot of families and working people living here. The last few days have been pretty hectic, but I think we’re going to like it here.

We’ve already found a good grocery store, a Target, a coffee shop, an excellent bookstore, and a place to buy beer – all the essentials of life. We’ve also been doing fun things like unpacking, calling the phone and electric companies, and dealing with cats traumatized by the trip.

Abby started a new job today, while I started working at my company’s office here. So far so good. This weekend we may start checking out churches. Lutheranism doesn’t exactly have a commanding presence in the northeast, but there do seem to be several ELCA churches in the area. It’s possible that we might even look outside our current denomination. I’m not sure how much institutional loyalty to Lutheranism we have, especially if we were to find another church we like better. Of course I know that sounds horribly consumerist.

7 responses to “Boston!”

  1. Chip Frontz

    It’s not consumerist if you are looking for a church that is committed to doctrinal orthodoxy. It’s only half consumerist if you’re also looking for good liturgy. If you’re looking for the best coffee bar, that’s consumerist and you will be shunned.

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  2. Gaius

    You will find plenty of bookstores, theaters, movie houses, libraries, museums, concert halls, orchestras, dance companies; opera, grand, comic, and light; and so on, and so on.

    You will love the Boston area.

    And you will love being so near the ocean, and two beautiful capes, and the lovely coast of Maine.

    I so envy you.

    PS. Should you be looking for good day care?

    😉

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  3. Joshie

    As D.S. Warner would say, denominationalism is the Kingdom of Babylon. Loyalty to Christ and the Kingdom of God trumps all other loyalties. And it’s the total package that counts, coffee included.

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  4. kim

    Ah, Somerville (or Slummerville), my old stomping grounds! (Actually, I lived in Cambridge, about 20 ft. from the Somerville border, but spent lots of time there, including the Target.)

    I visited an ELCA church between Central Square and Inman Square in Cambridge a few times when I was looking for a church; I remember the congregation was rather low-key and the pastor was very nice (he invited us out to coffee the first time we met him) and a good preacher. I also seem to recall that they had some good outreach in the community. Of course, this was almost five years ago, so everything may be different now. Good luck getting settled and have fun exploring.

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  5. Lee

    I think this Sunday we’re going to check out the University Lutheran church at Harvard Square. The associate pastor at our previous church spoke highly of it, though based on the website it may be a bit on the liberal side for me (a university church at Harvard?? Liberal? Shock!). The funny thing is I think I’m pretty “liberal” in the social and political sense (or at least I’m liberal on some issues and political liberalism doesn’t bug me), but I’m definitely not “liberal” in the sense of thinking that Marcus Borg is a great theologian, for instance. But a lot of “liberal” churches seem to be “liberal” in both senses…

    Oh, and no day care just yet. 😉

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  6. Chip Frontz

    Ronald Bagnall, the editor of Lutheran Forum, pastors Zion Lutheran Church in Worcester. But unfortunately, it’s an hour away from you (I checked).

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  7. Lutheran Zephyr

    Of course, we Lutherans believe church is that gathering in which the Word is proclaimed – regardless of the sign out front. That being said, I’m a denominational loyalist and would exhaust local Lutheran options before jumping into other places. And as a former pastor of mine used to say, give any church you visit two or three Sundays: one Sunday they may be “off” or out of sorts, and another Sunday you may be “off” or out of sorts. By three Sundays, you should have a good intial feeling for the church. Don’t just decide based on one Sunday . . . Good luck finding a new church home!

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