Back to Bloomington (Presbyterian)

I am a proud Hoosier in more ways than one.  Indiana is the state of my birth, but I also hold three degrees from Indiana University.  For four years, I was an undergrad in Bloomington.  For another six years I commuted weekly (and for part of that time nearly daily) from Indianapolis to the IU campus.  When I first arrived the city and campus wasn't that far removed from how it was portrayed in the movie Breaking Away (which is a great movie still in many ways).


 That being said, even in the years since I finished by doctorate both the city and campus have changed a great deal.  And with professional and personal obligations here in Indianapolis, I've had less time (or reason) to head down to B-Town.

But that changed today.  An old friend from middle school and high school, who is now a professor in the Kelley School of Business contacted me to see if I'd be willing to come down and talk at his church about The Mainline.   Once we settled on a good Sunday, and I'd convinced my wife that it would make a great "day trip for the kids" (since they've never been to Bloomington before), off we went down the Interstate to old IU.

And so, we arrived at Bloomington's First Presbyterian Church.  The congregation, in many ways, is reflective of the Mainline of the Seven Sisters in a college town.  It has plenty of older members, but with a strong young family contingent as well.  It is trying to have a good outreach to the campus (and if you read its history, and know IU's history, it wouldn't surprise you to learn that once upon a time, this church had a very active connection to the school, which itself was led by Presbyterians) that it is only a few blocks away from.  I had never been there before, I could certainly understand why my friend had made his church home here.



The talk, I think, went quite well.  While the group was small, they listened attentively and asked wonderful questions.  So, we got to talk about if the liberal/conservative split was also an urban/rural one, whether or not some conservative churches would ever allow women to have leadership roles, the degree to which secular culture influences the Church and the Church can influence secular culture, the role of missionaries/missionary boards (both at the denominational and trans-denominational level) were and were not in competition with one another (and how that might fit within the Global Church as well as in a Religious Right/Left divide), the usefulness of the Mainline as a conceptual tool, and even a little discussion about Philadelphia (the original home of the mainline).  These are all important lines of inquiry, and ones that I hope get more attention in the future (either from myself or from other scholars).  And if there is one thing I took away from the hour or so we spent in conversation, it was to reinforce my argument that the local matters in ways that just talking about denominations will never fully capture when it comes to talking about American Religious History.

When all was said and done, it was a wonderful day to start our "one tank getaway."  We got to eat lunch at one of the all time best pizza places, and we got to take our kids around the campus where "mommy and daddy met and fell in love."  And though our son pronounced it "mushy," I think both he and his sister had a great time (and he really enjoyed his time at Sunday School this morning).

Best Pizza in Bloomington

 And then we made the trek home, in time to take part in a "trunk or treat" event at Fishers United Methodist Church.  But the tale of candy acquired and consumed will have to wait for another day!