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Many churches in the northeast do this. My Lutheran church that I belonged to always handled it this way.
Great link!
I firmly believe that Tennessee is in the Bible Belt, no doubt about it. But East Tennessee - and for all I know, all of the state - is a live and let live type of place. It is very, very libertarian. Having a church on every corner and a 25 foot cross that overlooks the highway doesn't mean people are constantly bugging you to go to church. The two are not the same thing although a lot of people expect it to be.
Anyway, I know that you know this, but I'm just clarifying this for the folks that don't live here, yet. You and I are on the same page.
I think that a lot of religious talk is getting out of politics, lately. Huckabee isn't polling anything like he used to. That could just be because people are over him but the days of Reagan and the Christian Coalition are over. For now. These things go in cycles.
Interestingly, I moved here in 2005, and I find the atmosphere to be the same as it was then. No one bothers me.
Love your entire post, as usual. Your experiences are much like mine. The only time religion was brought up was when I brought it up. We did have carolers come around the first year I was here. We were renting in a very rural area of Knox County. They were quite nice - Southern Baptists - and gave my little girl a beautiful pewter tree ornament. They never pushed. Frankly, it was a lovely gesture and the thought of it still brings tears to my eyes.
You sound like a planner. So am I.
I'm a left-leaning moderate that can't stand nanny states, especially after living in the South for so long and seeing the difference as compared to Massachusetts.
I wanted a nice mix of transplants and locals as well. But there is still an enormous difference from the rural Lake Tansi area and Knoxville. At one point, I owned a home that was smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood of locals. One person mentioned that if my daughter was interested in after school sports (I was lamenting the lack thereof in her elementary school) her local Baptist church had a great program. I checked and it was very true!
By the time I arrived in Knoxville I was an atheist and stayed that way for quite awhile. Suffice to say that my dad is a chaplain and I was brought up in the church, but I was very disillusioned. I've only attended church for the past few years, and it is a very, very liberal church. I was never, ever bothered by anyone when I was an atheist. I didn't scream it from the rooftop but if people asked, I politely told them.
Speaking of which, people are very polite here. There will always be that one person but generally, Tennesseans would rather die then come across as rude.
There is a very well-respected person on the Tennessee forum that is LDS. He used to attend church in Knoxville. He might be able to guide you in the right direction!
theoldnorthstate said:
Northern churches - actually any church I have ever attended - do it this way, too. There are stewardship committees, sermons devoted to it, pledges, etc. In fact, up north, my church would have home visits to get commitments. Some Roman Catholic churches do, too if they have the personnel.
Are you implying that you feel I came across rudely? If so, that was not my intention. Rather I was just inquiring as to why you would pretend to believe in something that others take very seriously just to fit in? It would appear that if later your neighbors found out the truth, you might be worse off then where you started.
Last edited by 85rx-7gsl-se; 02-03-2015 at 07:59 PM..
So for many years I/we have been planning to retire, and Tennessee is, what I think, would be a great wonderful place to be with nice people. I have been reading these blogs /posts for years. I do have a few questions that I haven't seen asked directly, if you don't mind.
When someone new moves in and then meets the good folks you will be your neighbors, and they ask you about " Church ", is it they want you to join their church for the tithe or are they seriously believing that if you do not belong to their ( or a/any church ) you will be dammed?
Do they ask to see your W-2 like some churches do here in NJ? ( the 10% tithe )
If your direct neighbor asked you to go to their church and you do, but find out you are not too fond of it, would it have been better for you not to have gone in the first place?
I understand that I am a " Yankee " but only because I am from the north. I am not religious but have no problem with people that are. Yet, I am very conservative. Though, I do believe there is no place for religion in politics.
Would you say " Quagmire " would be something many would say about me? Whereas, I am conservative but not religious?
** 3-5 years and I am going to retire and run as fast as I can away from New Jersey. I have been to Tenn and believe I will be welcomed with understanding arms/intentions. It is just this small moment I have read can make or break a new person/neighbor. ( as welcomed )
Thank you for any interaction/ ideas - ideals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheba's Dad
This is why I posted the post that I did. I wanted to hear from Locals and or transplants that have the L'air du Temp ( temperature of the air ) of the whole evolution / inflating of folks not from TN arriving. I am not religious, so, I wanted to know; 1) how to handle it. 2) if I was to volunteer and not go to Sunday mass, could I still have some acceptance. You read on these blogs, one should research endlessly. I am, so I am willing to fit in, I just might join the local church. I mean it won't hurt me to get some '' guidance " if you will. I do get the sense that I would be like an armless man trying to join the local pool hall league.
You got us, we all want your money. Then we will take over your mind then your possessions and before you know it you will be indoctrinated into the CHURCH!!
Seriously, with the exception of the few extreme fundamentalists or nut jobs, no one cares. They ask you because it is the polite Christian thing to do and although they most likely are sincere about wanting you to visit their church they are not going to think anything of it if you decline.
If you are asked just say you appreciate the offer but your not religious, or your not a church goer or your Catholic .
I grew up southern Baptist in the north, moved here as a teen (~ 40 yrs. ago) and attended a small rural church for awhile until they changed preachers. I don't know what they were but my reaction was holy chit and I didn't go back to church for a long time. I've been back and forth most my life mostly forth. My siblings are very religious now although they didn't go to church when they were younger. I started going with my sis for a while and most of the folks on my road go to that church. I never joined, there were no tithe regulations nor did anyone harass me to join. I stopped going and no one black listed me or condemned me to damnation. Occasionally someone will say something like you should come back to church. We have had two fairly recent transplants (CA) move in our neighborhood. Of course my sis invited them to church, both declined, end of story.
I have been visited on occasion by the Jehovahs, Baptists, and a religious school asking for donations. I don't let them in. When we moved to the farm some Baptists came, luckily I was out in the hen house so my son, who is an atheist, was the one to greet them. He was actually reading scripture with one of them who happened to be a bit mentally challenged and read very, very slowly . That went on for about 20 minutes while I laughed my behind off hiding in the hen house. I'm sure I will answer for that one day, but I'm thinking God has a sense of humor too.
You can attend a church without joining. It is commendable that you would like to volunteer and I'm sure many churches would appreciate your charity and not require you to attend their church. There are also many places you can volunteer in the community that are not religious affiliated.
^Some good points here. Religious is a loaded term in and of itself and plenty of churches these days are anti-religion. As she also stated, attending and joining a church are two separate things. Everyone is welcome to attend a church, but most churches that I know of require some profession of faith to formally join.
I moved to Seymour, TN a rural community just south of Knoxville not quite 6 years ago. Are people religious, yes, but they do not shove it on you. Be polite and that will bring acceptance as people here are very accepting and friendly. Now many who do go to church will be friendly but you may never be clsoe to them, but they will not reject you and your family.
Volunteering is common and a good way to meet people. A bad thing is to give anyone the idea that where you are from is better, because if it was why move? Worse is to infer that things need to change to be like what you left behind.
This especially applies if you are from NJ
I have a good friend who just moved here from NJ and loves it. Planned the move for years. When he meet someone he says "Yes I am from NJ, please don't hold it Against me, I was just born there, but this is my chosen home".
Location: In Thy presence is fulness of joy... Psa 16:11
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My family and I moved to very Eastern Tennessee (Elizabethton/Hampton area) in the summer. I am retired Navy, and we had 7 years in the Midwest; but lived many places before that (including other parts of the South).
We are here to start a church plant (I don't preach tithing or care about someone's W-2, by the way; and I don't take a salary). This is a local, independent Christian church, aimed at ministering to the poor and those looking for a church home.
Looking for a rental, I was informed by a "good ole boy" landlord that he didn't really cotton to Northerners, and informed me that if I skipped a payment, he'd evict me right away. (I'm not in the habit of skipping out on my debts, poor as I am.) We got that kind of suspicious treatment from quite a number of people at first.
Moving into our place (different from the one where the landlord was so suspicious), we were invited bi-weekly to the Baptist Association's revival services--which ended up lasting a whole month! Our absence was noted, and we got avoided by a number of "good Baptists" for a time.
Interestingly, our most welcome reception has come from hillbillies, Black people (we aren't Black, and aren't prejudiced either) and Asians. The poor that come to our services are poor white people so far, but we've made it known wide and loudly that we welcome people of all colors.
Nearer to the bigger cities, there is a little more interaction between people, and tolerance of others; I believe.
If you show yourself kind, friendly and interested in others, you'll gain acceptance, I believe...whether or not you go to church. Everyone responds to kindness.
Are you implying that you feel I came across rudely? If so, that was not my intention. Rather I was just inquiring as to why you would pretend to believe in something that others take very seriously just to fit in? It would appear that if later your neighbors found out the truth, you might be worse off then where you started.
Yikes! I didn't mean that you were rude at all. I apologize that it was put in such a way that you thought I was referring to you. I wasn't actually calling anyone rude. I was simply saying that people around where I live - Knoxville - tend to be polite. They'd rather die than come across as pushy or nosy.
Once again, I didn't think you sounded rude at all. I included your post to relate to you that when I moved here I was very much an atheist. I didn't get in anyone's face about it. I did what the locals do. If someone talks about something that I don't believe in, I simply smile and nod my head. Dick Cheney is a great example. I don't believe in Dick Cheney. I don't believe in John Edwards, for that matter. But if you said those two were your favorite people on the face of the earth I would smile, nod my head and say, "I see. Interesting!" When in Rome.
Emigrations, point very well taken. I should have said "Knoxville" and not the entire East Tennessee Grand Division.
2Mares, lovely post. I think God has a wonderful sense of humor. He created me, for instance.
expatCA, I firmly believe that I was meant to be in the South. I always say that I'm an American by the Grace of God but became a Southerner thanks to my attitude and Eagle Talon.
My family and I moved to very Eastern Tennessee (Elizabethton/Hampton area) in the summer. I am retired Navy, and we had 7 years in the Midwest; but lived many places before that (including other parts of the South).
We are here to start a church plant (I don't preach tithing or care about someone's W-2, by the way; and I don't take a salary). This is a local, independent Christian church, aimed at ministering to the poor and those looking for a church home.
Looking for a rental, I was informed by a "good ole boy" landlord that he didn't really cotton to Northerners, and informed me that if I skipped a payment, he'd evict me right away. (I'm not in the habit of skipping out on my debts, poor as I am.) We got that kind of suspicious treatment from quite a number of people at first.
Moving into our place (different from the one where the landlord was so suspicious), we were invited bi-weekly to the Baptist Association's revival services--which ended up lasting a whole month! Our absence was noted, and we got avoided by a number of "good Baptists" for a time.
Interestingly, our most welcome reception has come from hillbillies, Black people (we aren't Black, and aren't prejudiced either) and Asians. The poor that come to our services are poor white people so far, but we've made it known wide and loudly that we welcome people of all colors.
Nearer to the bigger cities, there is a little more interaction between people, and tolerance of others; I believe.
If you show yourself kind, friendly and interested in others, you'll gain acceptance, I believe...whether or not you go to church. Everyone responds to kindness.
Some churches, no matter where (including Knoxville), tend to have a good number of sanctimonious folk that are more concerned about the speck in everyone else's eye, as opposed to the log in their own. As I'm sure you know, only thing you can really do is feel bad for them. They don't know how good it feels to be kind to their neighbor, even dreaded Yankees!
Seriously, can you imagine being them?
Jefferson Bethke says, church isn't a museum for the good people, it's a hospital for the broken. He asks, "If Jesus came to your church, would they actually let him in?" I believe most churches would throw the doors wide open, but some would judge him, whisper behind his back.
That area of northeast Tennessee, where you are, is very poor, very uneducated. It sounds like you are providing a wonderful place for people to worship. It is possible that they were not welcomed elsewhere.
Location: In Thy presence is fulness of joy... Psa 16:11
299 posts, read 263,875 times
Reputation: 380
"That area of northeast Tennessee, where you are, is very poor, very uneducated. It sounds like you are providing a wonderful place for people to worship. It is possible that they were not welcomed elsewhere."
Thank you, hiknapster. We don't want to 'steal sheep' from already established churches, but help those who aren't at home somewhere else.
Yikes! I didn't mean that you were rude at all. I apologize that it was put in such a way that you thought I was referring to you. I wasn't actually calling anyone rude. I was simply saying that people around where I live - Knoxville - tend to be polite. They'd rather die than come across as pushy or nosy.
Once again, I didn't think you sounded rude at all. I included your post to relate to you that when I moved here I was very much an atheist. I didn't get in anyone's face about it. I did what the locals do. If someone talks about something that I don't believe in, I simply smile and nod my head. Dick Cheney is a great example. I don't believe in Dick Cheney. I don't believe in John Edwards, for that matter. But if you said those two were your favorite people on the face of the earth I would smile, nod my head and say, "I see. Interesting!" When in Rome.
Emigrations, point very well taken. I should have said "Knoxville" and not the entire East Tennessee Grand Division.
2Mares, lovely post. I think God has a wonderful sense of humor. He created me, for instance.
expatCA, I firmly believe that I was meant to be in the South. I always say that I'm an American by the Grace of God but became a Southerner thanks to my attitude and Eagle Talon.
Its all good. I was just making sure I wasnt the "there will always be one person" lol
I've attended many evangelical type churches in IN, MO, TX and NJ and no one has ever mentioned the word "W2".
As an aside, the church I currently belong to requests that visitors do not give and just take in the music and sermon. After all, they're guests.
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