NOM

When I was a teenager in Chicago I used to go with my Lutheran friends to all of their youth activities. They were so fun! We would go ice skating or have lock-ins at the community center. They played really fun music at their dances and it was just a fun party all the time. They never really tried to tie it in to churchy stuff. They always just let us have fun. I've never been to their church services, but I've always kind of liked them.

I've gone to Wiccan Sabbats. The group in my area hold 8 of these a year for each of the 8 Wiccan holy days. It's a nice way to celebrate the changes of the seasons or the solstices and equinoxes. It's a nice way to connect to nature. My kids love spending the day outside with other kids. They love seeing the costumes the group in change of the Sabbat are wearing. If the temple is a trigger for you I probably wouldn't recommend them. Wicca was started by a guy who was a freemason and studied The Key of Solomon - just like JS. In a weird way Wicca is kind of second cousin to Mormonism. On the other hand, it's nice to see familiar things in a context that truly celebrates and empowers the feminine along with the masculine.

Good luck on your journey. I don't think there is anything out there that will be the perfect fit that Mormonism tried to convince us it was. Also I think our spiritual needs change was we change. At least we all have NOM.

Wow, your description of Wiccan ceremonies is very interesting. I'm thinking it wouldn't be the thing for me, though, haha... I also just remembered that I attended a friend's Lutheran youth retreat sometime when I was in middle school. It ended up being really weird for me. We spent the night in the church basement watching Christian movies (something akin to the church produced movies of my childhood), and then the next day the pastor gave us all lessons in preparation for confirmation. I remember wishing I could escape. Ah, well, I'm sure my friend meant well (and maybe he or his parents were hoping to get me converted).