I’m sure the camp I was thinking of was Camp Quest Ontario, and it seems to still be up an running. (For sure it was in 2007 when I last looked it up.) I wouldn’t rule it out at this point. It’s a bit of a haul (but not as far as Ohio). Summer vacation time is a hotly contested item.

Glad you found the summer camp. Going to try it?

I hate to hijack this thread, but since it’s your thread, it’s okay … right?

Have you heard of Parenting Beyond Belief?

Don’t get me wrong. There is a lot that I have indeed figured out. I’m just saying keep plugging away, but don’t get discouraged if it all doesn’t fall into place in 5 or 20 or 50 years.

From time to time I do run into an elderly lady in town who wants to know why I stopped going to Mass. Except she really doesn’t want to know. A few times I have tried to tell her that 1) I want more out of life than prayer meeting, Rosary, Marian apparitions, etc and 2) following the Church’s teaching on no sex if you are single has left me lonely and unable to find a partner in life–why should I take Her teachings seriously when it turns out Her priests are having a jolly old time of it with altar boys and Her bishops are turning the other way. Hey, I took no vows! But these men, they took public vows before God, before the altar, and they want to tell me how to live? She just says “Oh, but you used to be in the choir.” Didn’t hear a word I said. Didn’t sink in at all. “Talk to Father X. He’ll listen.” Well, Father X is from a different country and a different culture, not that I am prejudiced because I am not, but I do not think that he has enough familiarity with either the language and the culture here to understand what i am saying, And we haven’t even touched on the heart of the matter–does God even exist?

So while there are some aspects I miss, the colorful ritual (especially at Christmas and Easter) for the most part, I get along very nicely. As far as my family is concerned, we have a don’t ask don’t tell policy and so we get along just fine. When I visit them I do the church thing and it keeps them happy, Although I am surprised to find that my mother lately has been reading books like “Misquoting Jesus.” We’ve discussed it in an abstract way but not too deeply.

I joined the Lions Club a few years ago and I guess you could call it my church. It provides me a way of helping others (one of the positive things I learned from church) without demanding that I subscribe to a set of beliefs or check my mind in at the door. What I like about Lions is that you can be anything or nothing and still be a Lion in good standing. Except–lately one of our newer members is saying he wants to be our chaplain (some clubs have them, ours doesn’t). I am not sure how I feel about this new development. If he can keep it somewhat neutral I can go along with it. But if he tries to turn it into a “Christian” organization then I will have to speak up. Time will tell.

Your comments on finding a “replacement” hit home. It is not that what I had was good (obviously), but it is harder for me to find community connections since the church was how I was part of the community since I was a child. I have been volunteering in a couple of secular organizations, which I like. I also stumbled across a local freethinkers group in town that I think I am going to try out the next time they meet. It is hard to figure out how to find connections when the only place you’ve had them in the past evaporates.

I maintain a few relationships that I acquired over the years through my theistic occupations as a missionary and musician, yet I find myself increasingly frustrated by the lack of common language. Most of them have no idea that I am an atheist. I’m remaining relatively secretive for the time being to reduce the toll on my elderly parents who would be so heartbroken to learn that their golden-child missionary/rockstar was going to hell.

I want to find a group of people with which I have common ground but even the atheists that I’ve found around here are kind of difficult to hang out with. Your post gives me hope that I will eventually land in a place where I can have a productive social life outside of the world of Christianity.