IFC Invites You to Give Religion Another Look: An Open Invitation to the Unchurched Amoung Us

By Bishop F. Ross Boundy

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

December, 2003

Several recent surveys have concluded Washington State has one of the lowest percentages of regular religious service attendance in the nation.   Some of the reasons may include our happily frenetic lifestyle in a wonderfully mild climate makes attendance at weekend religious services a challenge; an ethic of integrity and community service that substitutes for purely religious institutions; or a secularly educated adult population that finds spiritual issues largely irrelevant or no longer vital.   There is not much we can do about the weather, and I would never discourage our community or educational ethic.   However, I would like to challenge the notion that education and adulthood obviates the need for organized religion in our modern lives.   I would like to persuade some of my neighbors--whom I truly believe are some of the finest people on earth--that it is time to give the church, synagogue, or temple another serious look.   I can think of at least four good reasons why you and your family should regularly attend religious services somewhere:

1.      You are needed .   Organized religion presents unique opportunities to be of service to each other.   Reaching outside ourselves to become involved in the lives of others is a healing balm for many of our societal ills.   Most religious programs focus on (at least at some level) the needs of the poor, the sick, and the despondent.   Indeed, many of us are like a guest in a receiving line at a reception; with our cup outstretched, waiting for it to be filled.   But the world needs punch pourers as well as cupholders; and there is something each of us can contribute to the happiness and well-being of others:   sign up now for serving lessons.

2.      You need the experience .   In our cosmopolitan, mobile society, most of us limit our friendships to people who are just like us.   Lawyers associate with lawyers, doctors with other doctors, and plumbers with other plumbers.   Most of our religious communities, however, are host to a wide spectrum of incomes, attitudes, backgrounds, and ages.   You and your children need the experience of integration in a diverse modern society, and organized religion may be one of the best methods available.

3.      You need to wrestle with the great questions of life .  Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Why am I here? The reality is that many people dropped out of religion as teenagers and haven't given the topic much serious thought since. As we have basked in the light of our intellectual pursuits and achievements, we have sadly neglected the spiritual nature of our beings.   Prayer, meditation, and religious study are all opportunities to nurture a sense of the divine and enduring.  The great religious texts of the world beckon those who wish to learn more about the spiritual side of being.

4.      You owe it to your children .   My parents were part of Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation."   Spiritual promptings came early and easy for my mother, whose parents were early Mormon colonists in southern Alberta.   My father, on the other hand, grew up during hard times in Butte, Montana, the son of Cornish immigrant parents for whom religion was a casual tradition.   Dad left school to work at 13 and was the oldest of four children when his father died.   He was drafted in the Army during World War II, with tours in India and China, and returned home a gentle agnostic. Given their different backgrounds, religion could have been a source of family conflict, but my father took pains to prevent it.   Recognizing the need to join with his family in religious activity, he seldom missed a church service, social, or opportunity to share his time, talent, and resources.   When, after fourteen years, he quietly announced his private conversion, no one was more surprised than my mother.   Shortly before he died three years ago, he described his spiritual odyssey as one of the happiest experiences of his life.   He expressed surprise that he had started the journey for my mother and me, but in the end became a believer who received great comfort and joy from his convictions and those who shared them.   I will be eternally grateful for the power of a father's example. 


Religion gets a bum rap in TV, movies, and the popular press, which consistently portray religiously committed people as foolish, duplicitous, and bigoted.   As a result, in our search for truth and meaning in an increasingly complex world, we routinely overlook religious leaders, texts, and prayers in favor of the wisdom of rockstars, sports figures, or TV talking heads.   This surely need not be the case in our community, which features multiple Christian denominations, two active Jewish groups, a Buddhist temple, and a B'hai fellowship.   For the past several years it has been my good fortune to meet regularly with the religious leaders and members of these several faiths, whom I have found to be extremely thoughtful, engaging, and caring people.   And so, as this year's President of the Bainbridge Island/North Kitsap Interfaith Council, I extend an invitation to each of you to reconsider your religious past, present, and future.   Plan now to attend the meetings of one or more of the various faith communities so readily available to you and your family.