WHY I DON’T GO TO CHURCH by Imani

When I tell people I don’t always go to church, I’m usually given the look. The one that combines pity, because they fear for the future of my soul -- with confusion, because as a Black woman, especially one who lives in the South, church is the rule not the exception.

When I tell those same people that I am the granddaughter of a pastor, and have more ministers in my family than not, those same looks turn to disdain. After all, I know what’s “right,” and have no excuse not to do “better.”

And, just when they are about to condemn me to hell and damnation, I explain that I have the utmost respect for the institution and even moreso for God, I just don’t believe my church is limited to the four walls.

You see, I was one of those people who was in church more days than not – from Sunday School to midweek service and choir rehearsal and back again. I was an usher, a faithful soprano in the choir, a Bible school teacher, and I did the church announcements. I could quote scriptures for any and everything, recite the books of the Bible on command, and even knew to start my church comments with “Giving honor to God, the Pastor and members of the pulpit . . . .” In other words, I got an A plus in church participation, yet I didn’t really know God.