Journey Through July: A Conversation About Church in a Little Cafe in Tuscany

I've been MIA for a while, as I am Journeying Theough July by living out my dream of backpacking around Europe. It began with two friends and fellow travellers and I will describe some of our amazing adventures and people we met at a later time.


 I have been travelling solo for two days now and am finding pleasant surprises around every corner. Yesterday I hiked over a mile straight up a Tuscan mountain and had lunch with an entire community of Italian mountain people. A man in a loin cloth made us all pasta then proceeded to use milk from a passing goat to make goat cheese. More on that some other time...


Anyway, I was without a journal when I wanted to keep record of a conversation I had with a young guy in Tuscany. It seemed to reflect the attitude and feeling towards church in this area and (from many conversations I've had with people on this trip) of Europe in general. Since I was without my journal, I clicked it all out on my iPhone (which is all I have in terms of technology and communication until I get home and how I am posting now). The conversation was interesting ( to me, at least) in terms of cultural perceptions of Church, so I thought I'd share:


Here I  am on a Tuscan mountainside in a little town where nobody speaks English. At the mercy of kind strangers I am being fed pastries and cappuccinos and find myself telling them about churches in the US.  Many of them have told me that they have never heard of God outside of ritual and strict authority. 


"You don't seem like a Catholic," one man said.
"I'm not a Catholic."
"But you believe in God."
"Yes."
"And Jesus."
"Yes."
"And you go to church?"
"Yes."
"And it's not bullsh** to you?"
"Nope."
"Tell me about your church then."


 I begin to describe people I love. People who love and care for each other even when they don't always get along. I talk about kids growing up with a community where they know they are loved, by God and through people. I talk about going through life rubbing elbows with people who are bonded by a commitment to and a deep love for God who support each other through life. 


 "Okay, but tell me about your church."
"That is my church."
"No, but what is your church. Like the rules and the stuff."
"The rules? Uhh...I dunno. Love other people as much as you love yourself and love God more. I guess those are the rules."
 "Okay, but what about like 'no killing, no bad things, no stealing, no lots of drugs, no sex on new peoples- stuff like that?"
"Oh. Uh..well I guess when you experience what comes out of the loving part all the other stuff just doesn't seem fun anymore and doesn't really fit in your heart. There's no space for it, I guess."
"Hmm. Interesting idea."
"Thanks, but I'm not sure I came up with it." 
"Still a good one. You want another cappuccino?"
"Absolutely."