--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before I knew anything about church, I'd…" description: "\"“Before I knew anything about church, I'd assumed that most Christians spoke the same language, shared a sense of fellowship, and beyond minor differen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/sara-miles-29458_christian_before-i-knew-anything-about-church-i-d_1929170.jpg" --- # Before I knew anything about church, I'd assumed that most… ![“Before I knew anything about church, I'd assumed that most Christians spoke the same language, shared a sense of fellowship, and beyond minor differences had a faith in common that could transcend political boundaries. But if I had imagined that, initiated as a Christian, I was going to achieve…” quote by Sara Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/sara-miles-29458_christian_before-i-knew-anything-about-church-i-d_1929170.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/sara-miles-29458_christian_before-i-knew-anything-about-church-i-d_1929170.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/sara-miles-29458_christian_before-i-knew-anything-about-church-i-d_1929170.jpg) > ““Before I knew anything about church, I'd assumed that most Christians spoke the same language, shared a sense of fellowship, and beyond minor differences had a faith in common that could transcend political boundaries. But if I had imagined that, initiated as a Christian, I was going to achieve some kind of easy bond with other believers, that fantasy was soon shot. Just a few months after I began going to St. Gregory's, I found myself at a restaurant counter in the Denver airport, waiting for a flight home from a reporting trip. A woman—perhaps noticing the silver crucifix I had recently and self-consciously started to wear around my neck—caught my eye and smiled as she took the stool next to me. She had short blond hair and a cross of her own, and was wearing some kind of sexless denim jumper that reeked of piety. I smiled back, and we exchanged small talk about the weather and flight delays, and then she asked me what I was reading. I showed her the little volume of psalms that I'd borrowed from Rick Fabian. “From my church,” I said proudly. “What church is that?” the woman asked. She leaned forward, in a friendly way. “Saint Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, in San Francisco,” I said, as her face rearranged itself, froze, and closed. It may have been the “San Francisco,” I realized later, but the city's name was a reasonable stand-in, by that point, for everything conservative Christians had come to hate about the Episcopal Church as a whole: homosexuality; wealth; feminism; and morally relativist, decadent, rudderless liberalism. The church I'd unknowingly landed in turned out to be a scandal, a dirty joke at airport restaurants, a sign—in fact, thank God, a sure bet—that I was going to eat with sinners.”” [Sara Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-miles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator expected shared Christian fellowship but encountered prejudice and division, realizing that denominational labels can create barriers and that some churches are viewed negatively by others. **In simple terms:** Assumptions about unity were shattered by bias and stereotypes. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge stereotypes within faith communities. Themes faith prejudice identity community division Mood reflective somber thoughtful Type personal anecdotal critical When to use this quote - airport encounter - religious dialogue - personal reflection - interfaith understanding Key Concepts denominational bias social perception cultural clash Questions to Reflect On - How do labels affect our willingness to connect? - What steps can bridge gaps between differing faith groups? 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I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) [Browse all 14,306 Christian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Before I knew anything about church, I'd assumed that most Christians spoke the same language, shared a sense of fellowship, and beyond minor differences had a faith in common that could transcend political boundaries. But if I had imagined that, initiated as a Christian, I was going to achieve some kind of easy bond with other believers, that fantasy was soon shot. Just a few months after I began going to St. Gregory's, I found myself at a restaurant counter in the Denver airport, waiting for a flight home from a reporting trip. A woman—perhaps noticing the silver crucifix I had recently and self-consciously started to wear around my neck—caught my eye and smiled as she took the stool next to me. She had short blond hair and a cross of her own, and was wearing some kind of sexless denim jumper that reeked of piety. I smiled back, and we exchanged small talk about the weather and flight delays, and then she asked me what I was reading. I showed her the little volume of psalms that I'd borrowed from Rick Fabian. “From my church,” I said proudly. “What church is that?” the woman asked. She leaned forward, in a friendly way. “Saint Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, in San Francisco,” I said, as her face rearranged itself, froze, and closed. It may have been the “San Francisco,” I realized later, but the city's name was a reasonable stand-in, by that point, for everything conservative Christians had come to hate about the Episcopal Church as a whole: homosexuality; wealth; feminism; and morally relativist, decadent, rudderless liberalism. 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