*Photo of one of the cards they hand out at the Annapolis church I attended.
Title: churches
Existence: Religion
City: Annapolis, Maryland, USA
Year: 2025
Cold churches, warm churches, traditional churches, New Age churches, open-minded churches, queer churches, racist churches, Black churches, Indigenous churches, provincial churches, small-town churches, city churches, dark churches, gothic churches, churches with pachanga and cumbia.
All around the world churches can be pretty different and also here in Annapolis.
Personally, churches are not a places I frequent much… throughout my life, I’ve tried and felt bad for not wanting to go; I thought something was wrong with me… well, NO. There’s nothing wrong with me -or there is-, and there’s nothing wrong with churches -or there is-.. We are different entities and thus different pluriversities. I was wondering to see some churches in Annapolis, MD because here christianism is pretty strong,
These pictures are from one I attended. I felt drawn to it because it was attended by people I love very much. That was my connection. How do these friends express their spirituality in this physical place? I also like to share my spirituality, and I enjoyed attending a couple of meetings with them.
Personally, I don’t share their vision of God, nor their hierarchical logic of teaching and one-way transmission of what is considered “divine word.” Several years ago, I also felt compelled and decided to stop reading the Bible. This doesn’t mean that if someone wants to share a passage or reflection with me, we can share about it. Because instead of listening to “the Bible,” I feel like I’m listening to my brother speaking about his way of life.
Churches as a meeting point, people coming to them in search of identity and affection -generally during difficult times in their lives.
A capital God, the church as a place where one receives instruction on how to reach God; a capital Father, protector and corrector of lives, a higher being who sets the pace for humanity and protects them. Well, that’s not my way.
Talking about churches is very difficult, not only because of my experience with them, but because they are endlessly diverse; there are many groups and many variables. Here I am recounting from my particular perspective, and from the experiences I had with the groups I came to know.
I SEE Patriarchy, paternalism, colonialism,
I SEE containment,
I SEE corrective mothering, affectionate mothering,
I SEE people with good intentions, people who need, people who seek…
I SEE dark, gray, and white intentions,
I SEE intentions that exceed personal logic and that are from distant times that are still contemporary.
I see even more things… children holding each other’s hands and singing, I see families reuniting,
I see abused children, women and men corrupted in their essence and guilt,
I see affection and I see damage…
I see Jesus as an anarchist… and I love it. I also see that not everyone sees him that way.
Isn’t all of that Life? ALL OF THAT IS, everything adds and subtracts, because it is what gives us movement. Embracing “the good and the bad,” or rather, what is being. Why else?
Surely you see other things, I hope so. For we are different, aren’t we?
I embrace you… and if not, I hope at some point I can.
CHAOS
Maybe tomorrow too.
