There are two things you should never write about, religion and politics. These two topics always lend themselves to heated discussions. I try and stay away from these heated discussions since I don’t like controversy. However, today, I am going to break my rule.

On a recent Sunday morning on my way to a church service I lost my cell phone. Instead of worrying about where it was I decided to put my worries aside until after the worship service. I then lost my gratitude bracelet. Luckily a young lady found it on the floor and gave it back to me.

Then my pen literally fell apart in pieces on the floor of the church as I was filling out a visitor card. I wondered if someone up above or down below was giving me a message. It seemed all these things were trying to distract me so I would not hear the day’s message. But I did. The message was about placing your trust in God.

I have a hard time with trust. It seems at times the people that we love the most and are supposed to trust are the ones that let us down. It is hard to have trust in our society when there is so much distrust and corruption.

The sermon reminded me that I need to place my trust in God. Our nation was founded on that premise. In fact, “In God We Trust” is still on our coins. Different religions have different names for God and many people rely on a higher power to help them navigate life. Many times these differences lead to what my friend would call “holy wars.” She recently made the statement, “There is nothing like the holy wars we have in our churches.”

So now I am back to the “trust” word. Church attendance is down. Spirituality seems to be important to people but they are not following through on that by attending church. It seems they have lost their trust in established religions. I honestly cannot say I have any true insight into the reason some people feel this way. But I cannot help but wonder if it has to do with trust and the fact we have lost our trust in so much.

I can preach in this column about trust, but if I don’t follow through with my actions I lose my credibility. I can’t help but wonder if that is what is happening with some churches. We are supposed to put our trust in God or a higher power and not worry about our finances, or whether we will have food on the table to feed our families. We are to love all people equally and kindly. We are to love the sinner but not the sin. After all, we are all sinners and what better place for us but in church?

What message are people getting when they visit our churches? Churches sometimes are not any different than us. We get caught up in the materialistic society. We need more money and so we worry about it instead of praying about it. We need our building or our home to be shined and everything properly in its place and if something is worn we need to replace it because it doesn’t look the best.

What would someone coming to visit us say if our floors were scuffed and worn? We are told we need be kind and love everyone but make sure that you are dressed properly and haven’t done anything wrong otherwise I might be scared to hang out with you when you come to my door. Are we making people feel that their money and our buildings are more important than wanting them to have a place where they can go and be accepted for who they are?

Are we practicing what we preach or are we so busy bickering about things that don’t really matter that we are losing sight of the true reason churches exist? Are we cruel when we confront issues in our church so that people feel attacked instead of being able to state their opinion openly and honestly.

Are we sending mixed messages? Are we supposed to trust that the Lord will provide in our personal lives when it comes to finances, food and relationships but are our churches giving us the same message? Or are they worrying by constantly trying to fix their finances and their numbers in church and their programs instead of relying on what they are telling us we need to do?

I don’t pretend to know any answers as to why church attendance is down. All I know is that when I am broken I need a place to go where I am accepted in my brokenness no matter how much money I have, no matter how I dress and no matter what I have done.

Is it any wonder that if we bicker about the small and immaterial things that we are not trusted with the bigger issues that people are facing in their lives. But then for those of you who are disenchanted with our churches, remember churches are made up of flawed people just like you and me. Is it any wonder that we are not perfect? The sermon that I heard on Sunday reminded me that I am to trust in God or a higher power. It is up to me what I do with that message.

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send e-mail to her at thecolumn@bevcomm.net .