Empty the pews

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Blessedwithfive

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Hi Friends,

Has anyone else seen this article/movement?

patheos.com/blogs/rolltodisbelieve/2017/08/27/why-emptythepews-important/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=Best+of+Patheos&utm_content=57

It is about taking a stand and leaving your church because they feel that there “leaders” are not leading them in the right direction.

I understand their position but I am reminded of Simon Peter when Christ asks him if he is going to leave too and he simply states, Where would I go?.

Anyone else want to weigh in?
 
I do not leave Jesus over differences of opinion with humans, any more than I secede from the USA when I do not like the President or his policies.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I do not leave Jesus over differences of opinion with humans, any more than I secede from the USA when I do not like the President or his policies.
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I am sorry, maybe it wasn’t clear in my summary or in the article. No where does it say to not follow Jesus. Actually quite the opposite. It states we are to follow Jesus, not those who claim to be his messengers but do not preach his message. How do we let those “running the show” know that we want to follow Jesus, not one issue or one mortal man?

How do we show our disapproval? What is acceptable…
 
If I wished to show disapproval, I would do the usual civilized thing and write letters to the bishops, Pope, pastors etc. I would also write letters to the editors of Catholic papers, tweet, post commentaries on Youtube, and if necessary, stage a peaceful protest demonstration.

Boycotting services, which is what “empty the pews” suggests to me, is not an option unless you are just going to another Diocesan-affiliated church and not being in schism. I would not want to miss out on receiving Jesus even if I disagree with a bishop or priest.

Actually, there are things I disagree with right now, but my preferred response is to pray more and keep on doing. So many people are already expressing themselves on 50 different things, I have no desire to add to the noise.
 
By the way, can you point to some examples of racism coming from our Catholic church clergy? Haven’t run into this lately. In fact, the opposite.
 
Probably not worth the time I’m taking to type this, but I pretty much stopped reading when I got to this Begging of the Question
That said, evangelicals are the core of Donald Trump’s support, the biggest bloc of his supporters, and thus they are also the core of alt-right, white supremacists’ support and membership.
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:doh2: 🤷

tee
 
Blessedwithfive said:
I am sorry, maybe it wasn’t clear in my summary or in the article. No where does it say to not follow Jesus. Actually quite the opposite. It states we are to follow Jesus, not those who claim to be his messengers but do not preach his message. How do we let those “running the show” know that we want to follow Jesus, not one issue or one mortal man?

How do we show our disapproval? What is acceptable…
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Does Jesus ask us to walk away from the Church He founded and died for?
 
I’d spike the fruit punch…wait a minute, the KofC guys already do that…😃

Seriously though…talk to the priest/members of the church. I would resort to taking it outside the local church only as a last resort.

I would not walk away.
 
I am sick to death of being equated with racism because I chose to vote for one candidate over the other.

HRC has issues of her own that caused me to not support her- the most important being her total lack of regard for human life. Anyone who can advocate for the killing of innocents and euthanasia without batting an eye has some serious moral defects, in my book.

That said, I do not believe in everything that our President espouses, but I am not going to throw him under the bus and label him a white-supremacist just because he said that there is much blame to go around in this whole battle. That is the truth and in no way means he supports racism & hate.

We, as a society, have lost our minds! And I find that those who espouse more liberal, progressive ideas are much more oppressive and hateful than any conservative I know.
 
I cannot believe anyone would do that to Jesus in the Eucharist. You might as well take a rod and beat Him with it and spit in His face all over again. The Church is His Body. We are the Church. To separate from the Body would hurt not only ourselves but everyone in that Body. I would be completely aghast if any Catholics did this.
 
Blessedwithfive said:
Anyone else want to weigh in?
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It sounds like more self-obsessed “ermahgerd, Trump and anyone who supports or even fails to speak out against him with anything less than vitriol him is worse than the Red Skull” virtue signalling, and is being shilled by an atheist blog to boot.

No Sale.
 
wild_thing said:
I cannot believe anyone would do that to Jesus in the Eucharist. You might as well take a rod and beat Him with it and spit in His face all over again. The Church is His Body. We are the Church. To separate from the Body would hurt not only ourselves but everyone in that Body. I would be completely aghast if any Catholics did this.
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Yup. Agreed.
 
This article is clearly written from the point of view that Christianity is a man-made organization. For Protestants, that’s true, and it’s certainly easier for them to leave. Though I’d like to point out that when they leave, they also leave behind their ability to effect any actual change…

But I’m Catholic, so my answer is different. As a lay, woman, musician (three strikes!), I’ve learned not to do anything tangible at all. If I talk, at best I get nodded-at. If I write, I get ignored, or worse. The simple fact is that nobody cares.

On the extremely rare occasion my parish leadership does something truly egregious, I’ve learned to fast and pray. I’m certainly not going to leave. It wouldn’t make the slightest bit of difference to the parish leadership and therefore wouldn’t change a darn thing at the church – but if I leave – leave the Eucharist – leave Jesus – that’s my life with God. I will not leave Jesus.

I’m in the middle of not-leaving him right now, in fact. And I have to tell you, I have friends (and a no-longer-very-Protestant husband) to whom this witness is extremely powerful – certainly more powerful than turning my back on God because of the whims of men!
 
I’ll use the same terminology this guy used in the article… he’s an a**hole
 
Tis_Bearself said:
If I wished to show disapproval, I would do the usual civilized thing and write letters to the bishops, Pope, pastors etc. I would also write letters to the editors of Catholic papers, tweet, post commentaries on Youtube, and if necessary, stage a peaceful protest demonstration.

Boycotting services, which is what “empty the pews” suggests to me, is not an option unless you are just going to another Diocesan-affiliated church and not being in schism. I would not want to miss out on receiving Jesus even if I disagree with a bishop or priest.

Actually, there are things I disagree with right now, but my preferred response is to pray more and keep on doing. So many people are already expressing themselves on 50 different things, I have no desire to add to the noise.
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This article is like many of the current political posts on my Facebook page that I no longer read. Whom I vote for, or anybody else votes for is nobody’s business. We are called to pray for our leaders, regardless of who is in office.
People are buying into rhetoric without sifting through facts.

I posted the mission statement from my parish on a different thread. It does seem appropriate to post it here as well. As those who have already posted, what is paramount is the Eucharist, “the source and summit of our Faith.” Why would I leave for mere political or earthly purposes?
Mission:…a welcoming multicultural community centered in Eucharist, Scripture and Sacraments. We strive to live the Gospel through action, education, and service to those in need. We celebrate the presence of Christ by worshiping faithfully, serving willingly, and growing spiritually, sharing our time, talent, and treasure.
 
wild_thing said:
I cannot believe anyone would do that to Jesus in the Eucharist. You might as well take a rod and beat Him with it and spit in His face all over again. The Church is His Body. We are the Church. To separate from the Body would hurt not only ourselves but everyone in that Body. I would be completely aghast if any Catholics did this.
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I like what you said here.
 
DebChris said:
I posted the mission statement from my parish on a different thread. It does seem appropriate to post it here as well. As those who have already posted, what is paramount is the Eucharist, “the source and summit of our Faith.” Why would I leave for mere political or earthly purposes?
Mission:…a welcoming multicultural community centered in Eucharist, Scripture and Sacraments. We strive to live the Gospel through action, education, and service to those in need. We celebrate the presence of Christ by worshiping faithfully, serving willingly, and growing spiritually, sharing our time, talent, and treasure.
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It is indeed a very nice mission statement.
 
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