A turn in the road, and I must follow.

So for the past couple weeks, I've been trying out Grace St. Pauls here in Tucson. They are very progressive as far as Episcopal churches go, and the Episcopals are generally more progressive than other sects.

But they are still too conservative for me. Too Catholic, actually. Too in love with their Episcopalness. They are also a wonderful congregation and let me join them readily. But our paths diverge.

I came back to Christianity via the Tao, quantum mechanics and Zen, but I am not a Christian. I am a lover of Jesus but have no Christian (or Catholic) baggage to shed. Not anymore. I look to Christianity for its mystics. Catholicism for all its ills housed some amazing mystics among its monastics. There is love for that mysticism among this congregation, but they are too tied to the ceremonies of their youth.

To me, all the mainline Christian sects are the same: All Catholic in the original sense of the word. Then there are the Bible-toting yahoos, but there is no mysticism there. Not a whole lot of Jesus or Christ or God there. Just fear.

The people at Grace St. Pauls are wonderful and spiritual people. They are happy in their journey. I wish I could continue to be a part of that journey, but my path goes that other way.

I must follow it.