You should sometimes go to church, even if you’re agnostic or an atheist

I lost my faith long ago so this is not a patronizing story. Or let’s say I became agnostic. I believed in God when I was a child and prayed every night. As I grew older though, my faith faded. I was able to accept life — the good and the bad and my own mortality — without the need to dial God. And if there is something bigger — well, I’ll know, when I get there. Separately, I resisted identifying myself with any particular confession. As I met people — some of whom became my close friends — practicing different religions, I felt less of a need to connect my own spirituality with a specific church.

A few weeks ago we went to Arizona. It was just before the New Year. My daughter was playing in a national tennis tournament. A young tennis coach joined us on this trip. We knew him through some common connections and invited him to spend a few days with us in Arizona. Fergus is from Ireland. He was moving from Memphis to California and this short stay in Tuscon was a convenient arrangement for everyone involved.

On Sunday Fergus headed to a local Catholic Church. It was raining so there was no tennis. I asked Fergus if we could join. He seemed pleasantly surprised by my question and welcomed us to come along.

The service lasted for over an hour and I enjoyed every moment of it. My daughter was patient which surprised me. We never go to Church. I expected her to get bored and when kids are bored they can be pretty vocal about it.