SOUTHAMPTON, VA (WWBT) -
About an hour's drive south
of Richmond, there's a small congregation that doesn't care about
"material" things. They worship the same way we were all brought into
this world, naked.
Even in February, when
temperatures can average in the 20s, members show up in various forms: some
fully clothed, others topless, many still completely nude.
Pastor Allen Parker says
it's not about the clothes, or lack thereof. He says it's about baring his soul
to Christ and leading his flock down that path of righteousness, no matter what
they're wearing.
Every Sunday in the front
few rows of White Tail Chapel, you'll find Katie and Robert Church. Katie
wasn't a nudist when they first met, but quickly fell in love with both Robert
and the resort. They married at White Tail Chapel and say the church has given
them a sense of Christian community with none of the pretense of a traditional
church.
"Once we were married,
and we were here, this whole place became our family," said Katie Church.
"I feel like I can turn to anyone in this church, or even in this park,
and they will be there to help me."
"People are more open
as far as hearing the word of God, and speaking the word of God," agreed
Robert Church.
If you think anyone here
finds church attendance titillating, you'd be wrong. They're here to find inner
peace and Pastor Parker believes that starts with accepting themselves.
"There's not a feeling
that you have to be better than one another, physically," Pastor Parker
said. "We're humans, we have scars, and we have what we have…it's learning
to love and accept that." More wnem.com
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