Graduating – sort of

(With parenthetical clarifications for the non-Mormons [both of them!] who read my weblog.)

So a couple of years ago I realized I was growing rather tired of attending a singles ward (congregation for non-married [fairly] young adults) and began to contemplate attending a family ward (congregation for, well, normal people, who manage to get themselves permanently married before the advanced age of 33) instead. Switching to the Cambridge ward never felt quite right to me, though, and so I’ve remained in the singles ward, looking around every once in a while and wondering if there was a better option*.

Thanks to C-t-P, I’ve found it. She asked me to sing in the Spanish branch (small congregation) a week and a half ago, and I was happy to comply. I was surprised to find that I understood much more than I thought I would – my comprehension when the gospel is the subject matter is generally about 90%, depending on the accent of the speaker – and since C-t-P had kind of floated the idea of my becoming a member of the branch, well, I’ve decided to go for it. It’ll be a great way for me to improve my Spanish, meet new people, help out (they need musicians somewhat desperately), and – most importantly – get the he[ck] out of the singles ward. (I won’t be “graduating,” as that’s accomplished through matrimony. But I can see it as earning an associate’s degree, perhaps.)

Oh, and the Spanish branch meetings start at 1:00 PM. No more getting up early and zombieing my way through church and associated socializing!

*Mormon congregations are geographically based; members go to the ward whose boundaries they reside in (rather than to the ward their friends reside in, in some cases). In areas that have singles wards, unmarried folks have the option of attending the singles wards. And in areas that have language wards, everyone who speaks that language has the option of attending those units. But in areas that have neither, folks go to their assigned ward.