.
Nashville, TN: A few weeks ago, over coffee & chocolates, I was telling a friend about
The Great Church Search. Since I only have a few Sundays left in town, I want to make sure my discoveries are meaningful and perhaps a little more intentional. One location, in particular, happens to be down the street from him house and he said he wouldn't mind finding out what the place was all about. So this past Sunday, Dela and I headed to
The Center for Spiritual Living.
Aesthetics: Located across the street from
Nashville West, The CSL is held in a simple building, with a church-like service area (ie. pews and a stage/altar) and second level of classrooms.
Greeting: On the website, it said the service started at 11am but there was a meditation that begin 30 minutes prior. I decided to head over early and start the morning with quiet reflection, but as I walked towards the doors, I could hear funk music playing. My look of confusion must have been apparent when one of the greeters at the entrance to the service area walked over to me. "Um, on the website, it said there was a meditation..?" my voice trailed off as I searched for candles and people chanting, cross-legged. She smiled and pointed upstairs, towards the classrooms.
On the second level, I followed a sign that said "quiet please" and entered a small room with chairs in a circle, candles lit on a center table and six people sitting, in silence, with their eyes closed. This is what I was looking for. After settling in, I got into the zone and only nodded off once. A true feat for me, considering mediation is what I normally use when trying to sleep. When the thirty minutes was up, I headed back down to the service area, where I was impressed that the funk music still being played by the band did not interrupt the quiet refuge only one flight away.
Community: The community was comprised of approximately 125 people, 12 kids and a mix of Caucasian, African American, Hispanic and Indian nationalities. Most seemed to be in their late 30s to 60s and I noticed their style of dress seemed to be comfortable: some of the women specifically, in long, flowing dresses.
Music: The band was comprised of drums, sax, trombone, keys, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion and four female backup singers. I have been to
other services where the music is upbeat and makes you move. But here, the songs they performed were completely secular. The setlist included:
Dance To The Music,
Will It Go Round in Circles,
Dancing in the Street and
Power of Love. (Yes, THAT one by Huey Lewis & The News.) It's true - the music made you want to move and people in the crowd stood up and danced in the
streets pews. It just felt a little strange that this was a Sunday "church" service and there was no music specifically about God or Spirit or Higher Power. That said, I did know the words to the songs, which doesn't always happen when I go to a new church.
Service: After music and a few jokes from the band leader (not sure if I was in a lounge or church service), a bubbly blond woman welcomed the community and told newcomers,
"this is how we roll!" After some announcements and dismissing the children, she introduced
Dr. Tim Stewart, who is an ordained Divine Science minister. Tim began with a short meditation and went into a talk about your "Dream Destination." To wrap up the service, the community recited the "Abundance Affirmation" and during the closing song, held hands while swaying back and forth to the closing song. (Which, funny enough, felt like the most 'church-like' out of all the music.)
Message: As usual, I looked for the golden nugget of wisdom in the message. For the most part, I understood -- and appreciated -- the point he was trying make: we look at a thing (whatever your thing is) as 'your dream destination.' If we can do/get this thing or go to that thing/place, we will be happy. But the power actually lies within. We first, however, have to face our fears before we can get what we want. As he was explaining this, I couldn't help think of a
familiar story... which was exactly what he started describing. For the next 30 minutes or so, he went into great detail on recapping how the scarecrow already had a brain and the tin man already had a heart and the lion... well, you already know this story. Everyone knows that story. Which is why it felt a little mundane to review such a well-known tale. It made me wonder if this is what bible readings/reflections in Christian churches sometimes feel like to those who know the stories in great detail. Or, perhaps, maybe re-examining actually sheds a new light on them.
Denomination: Science of Mind (also referred to as
Religious Science) is the core teaching of the Center for Spiritual Living Nashville. The teaching was established in 1927 by Ernest Holmes and integrates spiritual truths with science and physics. They believe that God is in the universe (not just present in heaven, or in assigned deities) and "is already in our own soul, already operating through our own consciousness."
Overall: The bubbly blond at the beginning of the service reflected on her personal experience: "my relationship with church has been very sterile. This - and the classes that are offered - are where you put your principles to work." It makes me wonder if this place, whose mission statement is "to pray, teach, serve and celebrate life as we empower and transform ourselves and the world" is a safe haven for people who have struggled with or been burned by past negative church experiences.
Contact:
6705 Charlotte Pike
Nashville, TN 37209
www.nashvillecsl.org
Reflections on the Journey Thus Far: I am so grateful I got a chance to see what this place was actually about. I've been curious and instead of merely coming up with my own guesses and judgements, I decided to put myself out there and have my own experience. I feel like this journey is making me braver and allowing me to try things I might have not done before -- because of fear or simple laziness. And, although it does makes me giggle a little, I do know that holding hands and swaying with a bunch of strangers doesn't seem as strange as it once did. It goes to show that we're all just people looking for connection.
One More Thing: Dela and I spent a good chunk of time traveling around the world together. That tour was, in fact, my
"dream destination." It's nice to know that six years later, we can still find time to meet together -- this time, in West Nashville.
Aesthetics: Located across the street from Nashville West, The CSL is held in a simple building, with a church-like service area (ie. pews and a stage/altar) and second level of classrooms.
On the second level, I followed a sign that said "quiet please" and entered a small room with chairs in a circle, candles lit on a center table and six people sitting, in silence, with their eyes closed. This is what I was looking for. After settling in, I got into the zone and only nodded off once. A true feat for me, considering mediation is what I normally use when trying to sleep. When the thirty minutes was up, I headed back down to the service area, where I was impressed that the funk music still being played by the band did not interrupt the quiet refuge only one flight away.
Music: The band was comprised of drums, sax, trombone, keys, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion and four female backup singers. I have been to other services where the music is upbeat and makes you move. But here, the songs they performed were completely secular. The setlist included: Dance To The Music, Will It Go Round in Circles, Dancing in the Street and Power of Love. (Yes, THAT one by Huey Lewis & The News.) It's true - the music made you want to move and people in the crowd stood up and danced in the 
Service: After music and a few jokes from the band leader (not sure if I was in a lounge or church service), a bubbly blond woman welcomed the community and told newcomers, "this is how we roll!" After some announcements and dismissing the children, she introduced Dr. Tim Stewart, who is an ordained Divine Science minister. Tim began with a short meditation and went into a talk about your "Dream Destination." To wrap up the service, the community recited the "Abundance Affirmation" and during the closing song, held hands while swaying back and forth to the closing song. (Which, funny enough, felt like the most 'church-like' out of all the music.)
Denomination: Science of Mind (also referred to as Religious Science) is the core teaching of the Center for Spiritual Living Nashville. The teaching was established in 1927 by Ernest Holmes and integrates spiritual truths with science and physics. They believe that God is in the universe (not just present in heaven, or in assigned deities) and "is already in our own soul, already operating through our own consciousness."
One More Thing: Dela and I spent a good chunk of time traveling around the world together. That tour was, in fact, my "dream destination." It's nice to know that six years later, we can still find time to meet together -- this time, in West Nashville.