I’m not virtue signaling here but I went to church services twice yesterday. Yep, voluntarily. I am a reader and was assigned to read at the 9am service and another reader needed a sub at the 11am service so I filled in for them. Again, voluntarily. I love going to church. On Christmas Eve, I served at three services. Loved it! It is not an act of obligation or something I do because I am trying to earn my way in to heaven. It is actually something that I do for me. My time in church fills my cup. I think of it as a weekly wellness retreat for my soul. I think if more people looked at going to church differently, they might find the same. 
I didn’t always feel this way. We have recently rejoined a church we love. We have pastors whom I look forward to listening to on Sunday mornings. They are gifted motivational speakers and I feel like I am getting a biblically based kick start to my week every Sunday morning. When I can’t attend for some reason, I watch their sermons on YouTube because I hate to miss it. Plus sometimes, they reference last week, and I hate to not know to what they are referring.
Meditation is something that I want to do more. On Sunday mornings, I can start my week with deep meditation. I arrive early to spend quiet time with God. I have so much for which I am grateful. I spend time thanking him for the many blessings in my life. I have read that the opposite of depression is not happiness but gratitude. Since I have been attending church very regularly, my dopamine levels seem to have increased significantly and stay higher all week.
Church also offers an opportunity to be surrounded by a community of positive and loving people. When I returned to my previous church home, I was immediately surrounded with warm “welcome backs” and even kissed on my head at the altar as I received communion. It brought tears to my eyes. We signed up to return that day. It is so important to have a community of people that love you unconditionally and about whom you feel the same. Priceless.
This summer, I am going on my first ever mission trip with my church. There are built-in opportunities to serve in most places of worship, something else that is good for one’s soul and mental health. Places of worship are also good for the community and society. Through their members, they do good works by helping the poorest among us in our local communities and the world. I think that places of worship are good at reminding you that there are bigger things than you in the world; bigger problems, bigger needs and greater love.
If you belong to a house of worship and don’t feel excited to attend on Sundays, you might need to try a few different places to find one that does feed your soul and fill your cup. We once joined a church because it had great youth programing.That was the right decision then. Now, that we are empty nesters, it is about our needs so we kept searching for a few years until we ended up back at home. Chemistry is important, but I have a desire for communion each week. It is important to me but it narrowed my options. Figure out what is most important to you and then don’t compromise. I know that good preaching is vital. I love to have my mind challenged and even be made uncomfortable in the already slightly uncomfortable pew, occasionally.
Covid broke the habit of church attendance for millions of Americans. Social scientists aren’t sure if most will ever return. Record numbers of American citizens identify as “none” when asked to which religion they affiliate. Our country was founded on religious values of doing good work and taking care of our neighbors. Meanwhile millions of Americans, especially the young, are suffering with crippling loneliness and mental health issues. What if free treatment were available at your local house of worship? I contend that it is.
As you read this, you could replace church with synagogue, temple, mosque, shrine, tabernacle or meeting house. You could even replace it with other places where you regularly attend surrounded by a like-minded community of positive people with whom you share similar values and who you love and they come to love you. I think the important thing is the intentional act of starting the habit of a positive act of investing time in something larger than yourself that adds to the good of the community and your soul. If you don’t already, give it a try. Soon. It might change your life.