Letters From Leavers

I left my church in December 2006. In February of 2007, I wrote a letter and forwarded it to the Pastor, the board of directors, and to my church administrator. I left it in their hands whether or not to distribute to the congregation. To my knowledge, the letter was never distributed. I do not harbor any resentment toward them based on an obvious majority decision not to share this letter with their congregation. I found this site in February and it was a source of support for me, but my feelings were raw and I wasn’t ready to share my experience. Six months later I have found life still exists without my church and I want to share my letter with others. Fortunately, I still keep in touch with a few close friends that continue their membership and attendance there. I do not regret leaving. Here is a copy of my letter:

A Parting Letter to the Congregation of [Undisclosed Church]
February 21, 2007
By [Undisclosed]

____________________________________________________________________________

TO THE MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF [UNDISCLOSED CHURCH],

After careful consideration, I have finally requested to withdraw my church membership from [undisclosed church]. What I will briefly attempt to clarify in this letter is (-who) what, where, when, why, and how my decision to leave was made. I’ve borrowed the format of this letter from another letter I found searching the Web. With the minimal research I’ve completed on the subject of leaving a church, I found parting and farewell letters written by pastors and church leaders. However, I found nothing by members. One recommendation I did find for members leaving a church was to say “Goodbye.” A simple word that until now, I had not been able to bring myself to say or write to the faith family that accepted me as a member. Please accept my apologies for my procrastination and thoughtlessness. My intent has never been to offend my fellow sisters and brothers in Christ. If in my decision to leave the church I have offended anyone, I am sincerely sorry.

To the majority of you, I really want to express my deep and heartfelt gratitude from the bottom of my heart for everything: your prayers, your patience, your friendship, the generosity of your time for good causes and your ability to follow and lead by example in your service to God. Through my membership in 2006, I received countless blessings.

On January 4, 2007 I had a meeting with the Reverend. At that time I shared with her that my recent decision to leave the church was due to my own shortcomings and personal needs. I explained that there were other reasons that also influenced my decision such as conflict with another member and doubt about church teachings. We did not discuss the member conflict. No name was mentioned, and no question was asked. If any blame is in need of being accepted, I take complete responsibility. We talked about my doubts concerning tithing. Last year in Bible study what I learned included how much I still needed to learn about God’s Word, the Holy Bible. I’ve never read it from cover to cover. The Lord has put upon my heart an obligation for a complete independent study of all of the books. I need to receive the knowledge in the way that the creator would have me to comprehend it. It was driving home in the rain from the 2006, [undisclosed church] Christmas Eve service that I realized that my time at the church had come to an end. Yesterday, after another member brought it to my attention that my manner of choosing to leave left a lot to be desired, I knew it was time for real closure. It is my hope that I may receive your blessing in my decision to let go. God be with you.

Sincerely,
[Undisclosed]

*****

In January 2007, I started my cover-to-cover independent Bible study. I needed to try to figure out where I belonged in respect to religion. What are my positions on religious subjects that involve controversy, the Bible, and the Lord Jesus Christ? There was no way for me to answer those questions without reading and contemplating the scriptures. The Bible is not what I thought it was. I’ve managed to get half way through it, and it’s been an uphill climb. It’s a goal that I’ve always wanted to accomplish and somehow in the past always inevitably failed to be able to follow through with. If you are curious about my journey so far or my continued progess, please check out my Bible blog.