I went to church for the first time that night with my great-aunt in a little old traditional country church, a few miles from the nearest town. It had a steeple with a bell and some very nice stained glass windows on one side of the building. It was owned by a group known as the"United Holiness Church," which formed as the result of several members breaking away from the Free Methodist church back in 1966. Some within the church, at that time, felt that the Free Methodist church was becoming too worldly and was changing its living standards in order to stay in tune with the rest of secular society. A lot of churches try to keep up with the times and fashions in order to keep their membership level up. This was all stuff that I learned sometime later. I liked the small group at this church and went there, and to other United Holiness churches in the area for a little more than two years.
I was comfortable with the people there because they were friendly and mostly lower, middle class. When they prayed, they got down on their knees and took turns praying until everyone who wanted to pray had prayed. It was very informal and spontaneous. The sermon usually went as planned, but once in a while it was shoved aside because of special needs, in the congregation. I was going twice on Sunday and once on Wednesday for the evening prayer meetings. I also attended all of the other special meetings such as revivals, jubilee's, and love feasts. Love feasts were occasional Sunday afternoons when they would spend two or three hours together in the church parsonage and then go to the evening church service afterwards. There was always a meal, but the feast part was in reference to loving one another as in a spiritual feast. I enjoyed them because it gave me a chance to visit with others from the church in a relaxed setting where I could get to know them better.
It seemed good to meet with other serious believers. However, the only time I saw any of them was in church. Seldom did any of them visit me in my home, or call to talk on the phone. I was always warmly received when I met with them in church, but it appeared as if that was about the only time they wanted to get together. They seemed comfortable when talking about spiritual things, but a little guarded when discussing things on a practical level. I couldn't ever figure out why they called each other 'brother or sister' along with their last name, but when it came to me, it was just "Brother Dale." It was like I was missing something that only the privileged seemed to have in common...
Seeing them three times a week didn't quite fill the void in my single life at home. I needed to be with people more. Outside of church, my life was a little too solitaire and much too quiet. I studied the bible a lot, and enjoyed the outdoors, especially going hunting and fishing which got me out of the house. I also mastered using a wood stove and have cut, split, hauled and stacked my own wood without helpers from about 1982 up until 1996 when I got married. To wind down at night I'd strum on my old guitar, or try to put some cords together on an old antique piano I had. It was quite a change from the complete opposite kind of night life I used to have, playing pool and dancing in the bars... Anyway, this was all part of how my life had changed, ever since I had come to the end of the road with myself and turned to God, back in LA.
I eventually went back to college with my veterans benefits and was able to attend a holiness bible college for a year. I had a lot of good bible courses there, but only a years worth of VA approved classes would cross over to my social work degree. The bible college didn't have a social work program and so I transferred to Ferris State University in Big Rapids, MI to get the rest of my credits. In the process of moving, I attended various other protestant churches which were usually more formal and regimental. I eventually became more involved, and ran jail and prison ministries for a couple of years. I taught Sunday school for college age students in church for a few years and held a bible study for over a year in downtown Grand Rapids, MI with the indigent. I also managed a contemporary Christian band for a year or so. While working in a hospital, I led the spiritual recovery group meetings on Sundays for a year, ministering to adults who were going through substance abuse treatment.
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