Perry Bacon Jr.’s Aug. 27 Opinions Essay, “I left the church — and now long for a church for the ‘nones,’” really hit home. Nearly a year ago, my husband and I left our mainstream-denomination church after a long process of soul-searching and disappointment. Like Mr. Bacon, we didn’t leave the church for any one reason. But, as time went on, we felt more and more uncomfortable for a reason he stated: “And I couldn’t ignore how the word 'Christian’ was becoming a synonym for rabidly pro-Trump White people who argued that his and their meanness and intolerance were somehow justified and in some ways required to defend our faith.”

Plainly put, if that’s what being a Christian is, I want no part of it. And so we left the church. Though the common term is “nones,” we prefer to think of ourselves as free-range Christians. We wander freely, taking a bit of spiritual inspiration here and a bit of enlightenment there without locking ourselves into any particular religion or creed.

I understand Mr. Bacon’s longing for a church that meets his needs and despairing of ever finding it. We’re there, too. Yet we find glimmers of hope and inclusivity as we wander. Several pastors and former pastors have acted as mentors, offering resource tips, spiritual guidance and unconditional acceptance. Christian writers have helped us understand we are not alone in our search.

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Mr. Bacon has many nones (and some free-range Christians) in his corner. I hope he finds a church that will allow him and his daughter to have a meaningful spiritual relationship based in inclusiveness, social justice and other tenets of what Jesus taught.

Barbara Krebs, Annapolis

When I read Perry Bacon Jr.’s essay, I was reminded of speaking to a visitor at church a year ago. I found myself saying: “I don’t believe in God, but I do believe in church.”

Mr. Bacon spoke to a need felt by many: to be a part of a community that values human connection, ethics and service without a burden of intolerance and an obligation to profess belief in the unbelievable. Unlike Mr. Bacon, I found that in a Unitarian Universalist congregation.

There are other congregations where you can anchor yourself to models of generous living while accepting that some views of the divine might differ from yours. That works best when we accept that what we believe about heaven is less important than how we live this life.

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John Hansman, Bethesda

Perry Bacon Jr. echoed conversations I’ve had around kitchen tables as clearly as it did years of studies about the decline of religious life in the United States. I am a young, queer member of the Unitarian Universalist and Ethical Culture clergy, serving as senior leader at D.C.’s Washington Ethical Society. The challenges of modern, non-creedal religious life are my day-to-day concerns.

Mr. Bacon wasn’t wrong about the demographics of many of our communities. But the times are changing in these spaces. The possibilities of what could be are beautifully open. At this moment, with so much broken in our country and our world, we can choose to show up together, to be together, to build congregational communities that are vibrant and engaging and that don’t require us to put away our full selves to fit in. The first step is the simple decision to show up — to practice faith in what could be — and get involved. And yes, bring your friends!

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I don’t promise it will be easy, but I promise you won’t be alone. We don’t have it all figured out, but we can make something better if we work together. People in leadership and lay positions in Ethical Culture and Unitarian Universalism and many other faiths are ready to be here for you, work with you and grow something that helps us explore our values and encourages us to bloom in full.

KC Slack, Washington

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