S
stromssa
Guest
Greetings to all,
My name is Sara and I am a Methodist married to a Catholic. We have been married for 3-1/2 years. We were married in my home church with my pastor and the local priest present, after getting permission from the Catholic Church to do so. It was a very meaningful service that recognized both of our faiths.
I was raised in the Methodist Church from birth. My parents are devout and attend every week. However, now my husband and I live in a nearby town about 20 miles from my hometown, and, more often than not, I find myself attending the local Catholic Church with my husband.
Though my husband and I both respect each other’s faith backgrounds (he comes from Irish Catholic ancestry on his dad’s side and German Catholic ancestry on his mom’s side), admittedly, when I first starting attending Mass with my husband after we were married, I felt like I had literally walked into a foreign country. The whole service was very different than what I had experienced, especially the ritualistic aspects and the emphasis on the Eucharist (which my church did once a month as opposed to every week. I also initially felt somewhat put-off that, even though I had been raised a Christian, I was not allowed to take Communion in a Catholic church. Though I understand the reasons why now, I still find it somewhat troubling, as a fellow Christian).
Now, the more I attend Mass with my husband, the more I think about whether or not I should convert. I do have some issues with Church teaching (mainly the role of women). Anyway, I am studying many scholarly books on the history of Catholicism and trying to wrap my head around a culture that is completely different from the one in which I was raised, though I am also intrigued by it.
Also, interestingly, if my personal history had played out differently, there is a strong possibility I would have been raised Catholic: My mother’s father’s family had French-Canadian roots and was Catholic, at least until the early 1900s. At some point in my family’s history, a baby was born but had died before it was baptized, and so had been buried in “Hell’s Corner” in a cemetery. After this, my mother’s family left the Church and became Methodist. Do I understand right, however, that this practice of burying unbaptized babies in such a location is no longer official teaching (was it “limbo?”). This is a real sticking point for me since it directly affected my family; I would hope someone would be able to shed some light on this.
I am primarily thinking of converting for the sake of Christian unity with my husband and for the sake of any children we may have one day. To their credit, my husband nor his family have ever pressured me to convert until I am ready to do so. Because I was raised Protestant, I tend to think like a Protestant, and it is difficult for me to reconcile that with a lot of the mystery and metaphor that surrounds the Catholic experience (though, as a very creative person, I can appreciate this aspect of the faith, which is much different from my experiences in the Protestant church, which have lately, in my home church at least, come to involve a lot of New Age-like things like reading poetry, doing breathing exercises and throwing packets of seeds around the congregation (in celebration of the story of the sowing of the seed in the Bible-I guess it made a point, but the seed-throwing seemed so unnecessary). In contast, I recently attended mass in a beautiful cathedral in Minneapolis with my parents-in-law and husband, and it was a very moving experience for me).
Obviously, I have a long way to travel before I make this decision. I have been reading these forums for some added education, and find them very interesting. Thanks in advance for any (name removed by moderator)ut/thoughts/ideas.
Sara
My name is Sara and I am a Methodist married to a Catholic. We have been married for 3-1/2 years. We were married in my home church with my pastor and the local priest present, after getting permission from the Catholic Church to do so. It was a very meaningful service that recognized both of our faiths.
I was raised in the Methodist Church from birth. My parents are devout and attend every week. However, now my husband and I live in a nearby town about 20 miles from my hometown, and, more often than not, I find myself attending the local Catholic Church with my husband.
Though my husband and I both respect each other’s faith backgrounds (he comes from Irish Catholic ancestry on his dad’s side and German Catholic ancestry on his mom’s side), admittedly, when I first starting attending Mass with my husband after we were married, I felt like I had literally walked into a foreign country. The whole service was very different than what I had experienced, especially the ritualistic aspects and the emphasis on the Eucharist (which my church did once a month as opposed to every week. I also initially felt somewhat put-off that, even though I had been raised a Christian, I was not allowed to take Communion in a Catholic church. Though I understand the reasons why now, I still find it somewhat troubling, as a fellow Christian).
Now, the more I attend Mass with my husband, the more I think about whether or not I should convert. I do have some issues with Church teaching (mainly the role of women). Anyway, I am studying many scholarly books on the history of Catholicism and trying to wrap my head around a culture that is completely different from the one in which I was raised, though I am also intrigued by it.
Also, interestingly, if my personal history had played out differently, there is a strong possibility I would have been raised Catholic: My mother’s father’s family had French-Canadian roots and was Catholic, at least until the early 1900s. At some point in my family’s history, a baby was born but had died before it was baptized, and so had been buried in “Hell’s Corner” in a cemetery. After this, my mother’s family left the Church and became Methodist. Do I understand right, however, that this practice of burying unbaptized babies in such a location is no longer official teaching (was it “limbo?”). This is a real sticking point for me since it directly affected my family; I would hope someone would be able to shed some light on this.
I am primarily thinking of converting for the sake of Christian unity with my husband and for the sake of any children we may have one day. To their credit, my husband nor his family have ever pressured me to convert until I am ready to do so. Because I was raised Protestant, I tend to think like a Protestant, and it is difficult for me to reconcile that with a lot of the mystery and metaphor that surrounds the Catholic experience (though, as a very creative person, I can appreciate this aspect of the faith, which is much different from my experiences in the Protestant church, which have lately, in my home church at least, come to involve a lot of New Age-like things like reading poetry, doing breathing exercises and throwing packets of seeds around the congregation (in celebration of the story of the sowing of the seed in the Bible-I guess it made a point, but the seed-throwing seemed so unnecessary). In contast, I recently attended mass in a beautiful cathedral in Minneapolis with my parents-in-law and husband, and it was a very moving experience for me).
Obviously, I have a long way to travel before I make this decision. I have been reading these forums for some added education, and find them very interesting. Thanks in advance for any (name removed by moderator)ut/thoughts/ideas.
Sara
