On our way to a Lundeberg family get-together in Portland on Dec. 27, we stopped by this church in Salem so I could try, finally, to see the image of Jesus that supposedly was depicted by this design on an outer church wall.

(As reported here a few days later, I did in fact see Him).

As we departed the church parking lot, I said to my son Bob, “You can tell your grandmother you went to church today.”

My mom, at age 83, remains an avid churchgoer and likes others to be the same way, which we are not (more on that in a minute).

“That isn’t exactly what we did,” Bob said.

“You can tell her you stopped by a church to try to see Jesus,” I replied. “She’d like that.”

“If you have to offer some kind of explanation,” Bob countered, “then you probably didn’t really go to church.”

Fair enough.

Myself, I attended church pretty much every Sunday throughout my childhood and never minded doing so; my wife Roberta’s family, meanwhile, had stopped attending before her childhood was over.

After we got married, we were fairly regular churchgoers for a few years before she lost interest. For a few years after that, I was still a fairly consistent attendee, and I brought our two young kids with me.

As our kids got older, I decided on a new strategy: I’d happily take either or both of them to church if they wanted to go, but I wasn’t going to force them to go, and I wasn’t all that interested in attending alone. I’d done my best to help get them in touch with their spiritual side; if they wanted further help from me, they knew where to get it; if they didn’t, well, everyone’s beliefs or lack thereof are ultimately their own responsibility.

My kids, btw, are now 21 and 19 and living on their own.

Nowadays, what I like to do on Sundays is go for a long walk in the woods, nature’s cathedral, with my two dogs.  Nothing against actual church attendance, but I can relate to God just as well if not better among the firs, ferns and fauna.

And to be 100 percent forthcoming, I’ve grown weary of folks who sit in church on Sundays and then live their lives in various ways completely inconsistent with what they’re supposed to be learning in God’s house.

Obviously, there are many righteous folks amid the hypocrites, but still the phoniness is extremely souring — especially when compared to the generous, considerate lives of many who never open a Bible or set foot in church.

To the people connected to your life, walking the walk is way more important than talking the talk.