Yesterday we went to Aley UMC, visiting with a nurse practicioner from my wife’s OB practice. Similar to Hillside, this was a place that we enjoyed almost in spite of itself. A few bullet points or appreciation:

• The first use of the liturgical calander we have seen, something I have longed for.
• I liked the rambling feel to the building: Stairs and hallways and rooms scattered everywhere.
• It had a real "Tom Fisher" vibe to it. (This comment doesn’t have to make sense to you.) I’m sure part of this is because it was UMC, but there was more to it than just that.
• Their youth group is running the Labrynth Prayer Path (from Group, I think) for the second year this coming Saturday. Kerri & I signed up.
• We got a phone call that evening to say, "Thanks for visiting; Hope you enjoyed yourself, and hope to see you again."

Two other, more general realizations occured on Sunday. First, I can accept that Samantha really isn’t going to be much help. I was hoping she would be able to give some sort of meaningful input about the churches we visit. No such luck. She’s all about her buddies. The actual church gets lost behind how many of her existing friends are with her.

Second, Kerri and I still can’t nail down what we’re looking for. The closest I can describe it is Apex meets Aley UMC. In so many ways these two churches couldn’t be more unlike one another, but there are elements of each we really want that aren’t found at the other… much less at the other churches we’ve visited.