Southern Surprises at Church.

This morning I attended Circular Congregational Church. It was founded in 1681 as a diverse congregation that believed in equality. The church today still holds strong to these values, and is vocal about the importance of inclusion of all people regardless of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, or any other social category.

When describing the Old South, the adjective "progressive" is not usually the first to come to my mind. Participating in worship today was a refreshing reminder that the South is filled with many types of communities, not all of which fill the stereotypes and ideologies that frequently are associated with the region. I have attended Christian services where leaders spoke of acceptance towards the gay community, but never one where the conversation was quite so blunt and honest about the needs for the church to participate in the fight for equality. I did not expect to have that experience in downtown Charleston, but I am very glad that I did.