Refreshing intolerance
Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 8:30PM
A couple years ago, I decided to attend church one Sunday at the local United Church of Christ. This is the ‘rainbow’ church, where anyone in the building gets to be who they are without judgment. I knew plenty folks from there and decided to visit.
Were I living in a big city, I might never have happened upon such a place. There is no liturgy in sight, no organ, no vestments, no suit coats other than the one on me. There is a screen, but it’s not nearly as intrusive as the screens in other churches. There is a little band who plays for the services, consisting of piano, double bass, guitar, and anything else that shows up. There are hymnals, but there are plenty supplemental things put up on the screen or more often duplicated with music and everything.
Sermons are admonitions to serve others, to maintain a serving culture, and to carry good news. This congregation is ‘intolerant of intolerance’ (my words). They are not willing to live in a judgmental world without trying to do something about it. And they understand the importance of gathering together each week to recharge before heading back into the trenches. I quickly discovered that these are real people, and they are my people. The whole place may be summed up by a t-shirt I saw there that said “It’s just love.”
They know I’m a musician, but no one makes any assumptions that I am there to work. Although I’m glad to, the pastor allowed me to set those parameters without judgment and without pushing. And since I’m constantly on the road, then I wouldn’t be much use to them, anyway.
Worshipping God is the Church's charge. But doing so in a vacuum was never part of the deal. We have to get together with each other -- we need the strength we can draw from that. It is more than a little tragic that humans are the only species who constantly have to be reminded to do the right thing. But the High Country United Church of Christ in Boone, N.C., shows up for their weekly recharge, and they go out into the world to 'power' others in need. That kind of sounds like the very definition of Church.