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Church Question
I know it's a long shot because not too many Nesties live down in BUFU where I do, but...
DH and I are looking for a new church. I'm Catholic, he's Baptist, but only because we liked the respective churches we grew up in and not because of the doctrines. Neither of the churches we currently attend are close to our house in Crittenden, so we're looking for something in Crittenden/Walton/Verona. Doctrinally, we'd like something that's Christian and isn't too evangelical - we don't get too hung up on the denominational labels so we don't care what type of church. We don't mind small or big. It's just a little scary to "church shop" when you don't know what to expect, KWIM?
Also, does anyone happen to know what the Violet Ridge Church of Christ is like? It's literally a mile from our house but neither of us have ever been to a Church of Christ so we aren't sure what to expect.
Thanks, ladies!
ETA: I know All Saints Catholic Church is down here in Walton, but I think DH doesn't really care for the Catholic worship style, so we're looking to go outside of our respective "boxes" and try something more suited to both of us.
Re: Church Question
Baby Blue Eyes
I'm really happy to hear you and your DH want to go to church. I think it's great that you are living your faith.
You also mentioned that you are Catholic. So I want to suggest, totally out of a heart of charity towards you, to consider going to a Catholic church. I know that the worship at Mass is difficult to get used to and even confusing for non-Catholics, but if the Catholic faith is important to you and you truly believe in the Church, then the Eucharist is the center of the Mass and also the center of your faith. You will want to get this sacrament as often as possible. I am also not hung up on denominations or labels, as I believe that all people are equally children of God. But it is a fact that the Eucharist where it is believed there is the True Presence of Jesus in body and blood is not available in any other church except for the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. You will be missing out on this if you were to choose any other church.
I will respect whichever church you and your DH choose to go to.
all I have to say is, Whoa.
Amanda, I would just go check it out since it's so close, but you run the risk of it being one of those churches where they corner the new people. LOL. At least they probably have free donuts.
I feel like you should abide by the "the family that prays together, stays together" motto here, and find a place of worship where both of you are happy. If that takes months, then at least you will have stories to tell about your adventures in church hunting.
I grew up catholic and H's family didn't do church. He was not a fan of Catholicism and how they worshipped. We compromised and go to a non denominational church in Burlington that we love!
Good Luck finding something you both like and can agree to.
TBH, I don't necessarily believe in the Catholic doctrines, I just felt really comfortable with the worship style growing up. DH and I believe more in the general principles of Christianity rather than denominational principles, so when we look for a church, we are looking purely at comfort level with the worship styles for both of us.
See, that's what I'm worried about - getting cornered or being made the center of attention, or dressing really differently and standing out like a sore thumb. Then we'll feel so uncomfortable that it will be hard to go back for a second test try.
We definitely agree, though, with the prayers together thing - even though we haven't been to church in months, we both still pray and keep our faith and we've tried really hard not to lose that. We aren't looking for faith - we have that - we are just looking for a place to help us express that faith.
Baby Blue Eyes
Thanks for the information - we had heard that Methodist or Lutheran are probably going to be close to a marriage between what we would both like, but we hadn't seen any in the area. We'll look at Presbyterian, too, then.
Baby Blue Eyes
I myself haven't been to any Pres. services so don't take my word 100%! There was a split a while back & some are very tradtional in their beliefs, some are much more progressive (same for Lutherans). Churches that market themselves as non-denominational or just "Christian" can be a wild card. In my experience (ok, based on where my parents go!) they might have a casual, modern feel but very conservative theology. It doesn't work for me but others might be happy with it.
Catholics believe in transubstantiation, that the Host (the Communion wafer) is transformed into the actual body of Christ, and that the wine becomes the actual blood of Christ. So it's not a symbol of body and blood, it's actual body and blood (that look like a cracker and wine).
Anyway, I don't want to hijack this or turn it into a religious debate, when poor Amanda is just trying to find a new church for her burgeoning family.
Ditto Meg on this (transubstantiation, not wanting to hijack A's post)! I had another response earlier this morning but I dd that b/c I was getting snippy. Anyway Andrea, as to your comment, your observation hit on a HUGE point of contention between Catholics & Protestants, one that's been going on for 500 years (yeah, I'm not just a former Catholic, I'm a geeky history major too). Anyway, I'm mostly just a jaded heathen supporting my Methodist husband, so I'm going to step away from any more talk of religion!
Thank you for explaining it to me. I've never heard the term transubstantiation. Like I said, I was just asking simply out of curiousity.
Amanda - I wish you and your husband the best in finding a church home - one that you can both be comfortable in while growing in your faith at the same time.
Oh, wow, I created a little bit of drama there. Oops.
For any future responses: I do NOT want to continue going to a Catholic church. I don't think I can say it any more clearly lol but apparently the giant hints of, "it makes my husband uncomfortable," and, "I joined because I liked the church itself and not necessarily because I believed the doctrines," didn't work lol. And neither did the hint, "we don't like churches that are super evangelical," because I still got evangelized to lol.
Thanks to everyone who listened and gave good feedback :-) I'm just nervous about going to someplace completely unfamiliar, ya know?
Baby Blue Eyes
I would also like to suggest Lutheran. My family is Lutheran and my husband's family is also Lutheran. I have found that Lutheran churches overall, especially ELCA Lutheran, are very open and accepting, and since you were raised Catholic the service will feel familiar, but it's definitely more relaxed than Catholicism. Lutheran's are also not super evangelical, but they are big givers to society, rather than trying to convince everyone to be Lutheran.
Good luck!