[Iowa Granny]

Sticking my nose in, and offering an unsolicieted comment:

My parents were missionaries with the Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) Church which later merged with the Methodists (and they added the "United" part of the EUB name).

From my experience, going from EUB to the Methodists is quite a 'leap'. In the early 60's I went with a guy who's family attended a small EUB in SE Iowa. I went to church with him almost every Sunday,,, except the Sunday's when he went to the Methodist Church with me. Altho there wasn't 'that much' difference back in those days,,, today the Methodists in SE Iowa might as well share a building with the ACLU,, as they promote the same agenda.

I left the Methodist Church in 1967 when I married a Catholic. I joined the Church. I figured I wanted my entire family to go to church together,,, and that was a sacrifice I was willing to make to assure I was able to raise a family surrounded in a faith community.

[Mr. Mulliner]

I've always thought the EUB and Methodist merge seemed odd too. There were some EUB churches which didn't go along with the merge, but I don't think there were many who stayed out.

What makes my parents' reunions with their old missionary friends is that they are now Southern Baptist and, if anything, more conservative than ever, while many of their friends went along with the Methodist merge and are as liberal as ever. When one of them found out my parents were Southern Baptist, he said something very offensive, as if they were now communing with the devil himself.