United Church of Non-Theists?

A few months ago I mentioned that I miss singing in church. The other night, while visiting with family members, I wondered what church for non-Theists would look like if it had a reason to exist.

There would be a communal meal, of course. Tables piled full of everything from vegan macaroni and cheese to fruit salad to Buckeyes to steak. All of which was prepared in clean kitchens and properly cooked and refrigerated before the meal began.

There would be what I used to refer to as fellowship, too. Laughter. Stories whether happy or sad. Small children crawling onto the laps of the closest grownup and listening to us talk about philosophy or ethics or whether it was the chicken or the egg that really came first. Coffee and tea. Some people slipping off into the dining room to play card games. Second-or-morehand bits of news from those who have moved away and married, had a new baby, wrote a book, finished chemo.

I can have all of these things without any sort of church experience, of course. There's nothing to stop me from having a potluck dinner or spending a secular evening chewing the fat with old friends. So why do I still miss the religious versions of these things?