Extremely nervous about joining a church

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annoellyn

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I really wasn’t sure where to post this so i hope this is an okay place.

Straight to the point:
I was raised in an agnostic family who doesn’t believe in religion of any kind; they’re not atheists but they have a whatever attitude about it. I went to public schools until i was in grade 5 and then switched to a catholic school when we moved. I totally fell in love with catholicism from pretty much the time i walked in the doors. When i entered high school I chose a catholic high school and really devoted my life to prayer, bible-reading, and learning as much as I could. However, my family was very unsupportive and so I stopped short of joining a church or being baptized and was pretty private about how i actually felt about God.

However, now I’m 22 and i really feel like I want to become more involved in the church; I even want to do missionary work someday since helping people is a huge part of my life. But every time I try and contact the Priest at any church I’m interested in so I can start the process of becoming catholic, I hang up after the first ring. I am so so nervous because I have no idea what to expect. :o

I was hoping someone here might have a similar experience they could share. I feel like everyone around me was born into catholic families, lol.

Annie
 
I was raised Catholic, but I am really the only religious one in my family. I have strayed from the Church for years because of the negativity I’ve experienced from the “world” and friends and family. Nobody has tried to hurt my faith, but I always felt really self conscious for some reason.

If you feel this calling in your heart, you should follow it. It does take great courage. Here’s the thing–you can explore the Church, but you do not have any obligation to make the commitment if you don’t want to. I encourage you to join RCIA classes. Do not be afraid to contact someone about this–many people do this every year.

One thing—you may or may not be aware, but the Church does have teachings about many things that some find hard to accept. If you find yourself struggling with some of these things (like contraception, purgatory, etc) I urge you to pray about it. Much of what this world is teaching us about what is “right” is indeed not.

And lastly, PRAY THE ROSARY. It is VERY powerful. You do not need to be Catholic to pray it. If you pray it, I believe Our Lady will give you the strength you need to make this step.
 
Also, I’m 23. It’s really tough at our age, I know. It makes everything more complicated—especially dating and finding good friends. I spent all of college partying and focusing on the wrong things.
 
I feel like you’re being presented with a great opportunity to grow closer to Christ. Go for it! You have so much to gain!

I’ll say a prayer for you. 🙂 Peace!
 
annoellyn said:
I really wasn’t sure where to post this so i hope this is an okay place.

Straight to the point:
I was raised in an agnostic family who doesn’t believe in religion of any kind; they’re not atheists but they have a whatever attitude about it. I went to public schools until i was in grade 5 and then switched to a catholic school when we moved. I totally fell in love with catholicism from pretty much the time i walked in the doors. When i entered high school I chose a catholic high school and really devoted my life to prayer, bible-reading, and learning as much as I could. However, my family was very unsupportive and so I stopped short of joining a church or being baptized and was pretty private about how i actually felt about God.

However, now I’m 22 and i really feel like I want to become more involved in the church; I even want to do missionary work someday since helping people is a huge part of my life. But every time I try and contact the Priest at any church I’m interested in so I can start the process of becoming catholic, I hang up after the first ring. I am so so nervous because I have no idea what to expect. :o

I was hoping someone here might have a similar experience they could share. I feel like everyone around me was born into catholic families, lol.

Annie
Click to expand...
I see no problem in being nervous.
The problem for you, according to my opinion, is being nervous for being nervous. and then you stop ringing the bell.
What is the problem in being nervous? Irresponsible people are not nervous, for they dont care. You are nervous ofr you are a responsible person who takes thing serious. So, before and important event you are nervous, And this one seems to be very important to you, so you pay a lot of attention ti it, you care for what it will happen very much.
That leaves you insecure and nervous semming to be out of control.

I would advise you to not expect to go calm into the building. Go nervous. You know a little stress does no harm. You live things more intensely, the senses are focused and uo hear things more clearly.

Mistakes? Everybody does mistakes. what is the fuss about it? When we ignore things we do mistakes till we learn. BUT, I do not see where you can make any mistake.

So, please, ring the bell and expect. Look, surprises are nice and not necesserely bad.

He is waiting for you and the bride is always nervous.
 
One of the things you could do is to stop by any neighborhood Catholic Church on a Sunday morning between Masses … just drop by and chat with the ushers. Ask for a bulletin. Explain that you are not Catholic. Not practicing any religion but are interested.

The bulletin has all kinds of announcements.

Ask about what we call RCIA. Which is the process … it takes a few months … in which new people receive lessons on how Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular … works. The specifics.

The bulletin also summarizes the Bible readings for that week. You can buy a Bible and sort of follow along. And you can ask if they can give you a Missalette. If they have some to spare and they usually do. It will tell you the prayers of the Mass …

You can also ask if you can just sit in the back and watch the next Mass … just observe.

Some of my friends have said that the most moving thing to them was not the Sunday Mass, but the average daily Mass. Just sitting in the back during an ordinary daily Mass. Watching the people who were taking time off from their daily work day or errands to be at Mass. At the 6:30 morning Mass, most everyone is still half asleep, but they add Mass to their daily priorities. And at the 12 noon Mass, everyone has to get back to work. So, everyone is kind of rushed. The priest said a daily Mass that was basically cut to the essentials and without the extra singing and shorter prayers … my friends found the daily Mass to be incredibly affecting to them.

Anyway, those are a few ideas.

I met a pastor recently. He started out as a Methodist. Didn’t go to church much. But a local Catholic church needed a drummer for their band and he liked percussion. So he volunteered to play in their band … one thing led to another … he became a priest! And is so enthusiastic that his reputation as a preacher is widely recognized! It’s amazing.

He gets a big kick out of describing his path … and he constantly repeats that there are many paths.

So, just stop by … and say hello!
 
Monte_RCMS said:
One of the things you could do is to stop by any neighborhood Catholic Church on a Sunday morning between Masses … just drop by and chat with the ushers. Ask for a bulletin.
Click to expand...
That’s a pretty good idea.
 
annoellyn said:
I really wasn’t sure where to post this so i hope this is an okay place.

Straight to the point:
I was raised in an agnostic family who doesn’t believe in religion of any kind; they’re not atheists but they have a whatever attitude about it. I went to public schools until i was in grade 5 and then switched to a catholic school when we moved. I totally fell in love with catholicism from pretty much the time i walked in the doors. When i entered high school I chose a catholic high school and really devoted my life to prayer, bible-reading, and learning as much as I could. However, my family was very unsupportive and so I stopped short of joining a church or being baptized and was pretty private about how i actually felt about God.

However, now I’m 22 and i really feel like I want to become more involved in the church; I even want to do missionary work someday since helping people is a huge part of my life. But every time I try and contact the Priest at any church I’m interested in so I can start the process of becoming catholic, I hang up after the first ring. I am so so nervous because I have no idea what to expect. :o

I was hoping someone here might have a similar experience they could share. I feel like everyone around me was born into catholic families, lol.

Annie
Click to expand...
The reason you’re nervous is that you’re making a life changing commitment. It’s a bit like the time you walk down the aisle to get married; or you throw away a secure job for another one that seems to have all the things you want, but is brand new; or you’re about to mortgage yourself to the hilt on a home for the next 30 years.

There’s no going back. It’s not the religious aspect, but the stress of a major decision.

I felt nervous the first time I went to a church as I was in the process of becoming a Christian. And I felt nervous about joining the Catholic Church after some years as a Protestant. Nor was our family religious. I can’t remember us going to church once simply for its own sake.

I also felt nervous about getting married, and I’ve felt nervous every time I’ve started a new job. On a more trivial note, I’ve done two parachute jumps (static line - waste of money in one way), and if there’s something that could be called “no going back”, it’s a paracute jump… I had my eyes shut until the shute opened to be honest.

It’s simply a case of sticking it out. And in any case to join the Catholic Church you have to go through RCIA which is usually fairly low key. That’s when you can decide whether you want to proceed or not, since the RCIA program is not binding in itself.

If you join the Catholic Church however, you’ll be making the best decision you’ll ever make in terms of eternity. So what’s the big deal?
 
Thank you all so so so much for your replies.

Bob and pfaffen, I really agree with what you said. Too bad nervousness wasn’t a more driving emotion, lol. But I understand that there is really no getting around it.

Monte - thanks for the great suggestions! I will definitely be looking into that.
 
annoellyn said:
I really wasn’t sure where to post this so i hope this is an okay place.

Straight to the point:
I was raised in an agnostic family who doesn’t believe in religion of any kind; they’re not atheists but they have a whatever attitude about it. I went to public schools until i was in grade 5 and then switched to a catholic school when we moved. I totally fell in love with catholicism from pretty much the time i walked in the doors. When i entered high school I chose a catholic high school and really devoted my life to prayer, bible-reading, and learning as much as I could. However, my family was very unsupportive and so I stopped short of joining a church or being baptized and was pretty private about how i actually felt about God.

However, now I’m 22 and i really feel like I want to become more involved in the church; I even want to do missionary work someday since helping people is a huge part of my life. But every time I try and contact the Priest at any church I’m interested in so I can start the process of becoming catholic, I hang up after the first ring. I am so so nervous because I have no idea what to expect. :o

I was hoping someone here might have a similar experience they could share. I feel like everyone around me was born into catholic families, lol.

Annie
Click to expand...
It sounds like you got some good advice from others, but I thought I’d add my two cents worth.

I became a Catholic while I was in college. My family wasn’t religious, but they didn’t oppose my decision as much as yours has. At first, she was mostly concerned that I not try to convert her and that I not be too “extreme.” I was pretty zealous, so I’m sure that my family thought I had gone off the deep end. Eventually, they got used to the idea and, years later, my mother became a practicing Catholic.

I know that it can seem like a huge step to make that kind of commitment, and in truth it is, but that big step is made up of lots of little steps with lots of chances to make decisions, get information, have questions answered and so on.

One step is to start attending church services. If you don’t already do so, you can attend Catholic masses on weekends and even during the week. In addition, you can participate in small sharing groups, bible studies, classes, etc. so that you can get a better idea what it means to become a Catholic. Eventually the strangeness will wear off and it will become familiar and meaningful.

Another step is starting to pray. Being a Catholic is not really about learning when to stand and when to kneel and memorizing prayers. It is focused on entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ and the particular way Catholic Christians live out the following of Christ, as Catholics have done so for more than 20 centuries. Talking to God in your own words, using standard prayers like the Our Father, learning to meditate on the scriptures, prayng the Rosary – these will help you to deepen your understanding of and faith in God.

When you’re ready, you can contact the RCIA leader for the parish that you are attending. It may be a religious sister or a layperson. If you prefer, you can also talk to your priest. RCIA is the series of classes, small group discussion, and ceremonies that lead to your becoming a full Catholic and being admitted to membership in the Church through baptism (if you aren’t baptized), confirmation and eucharist. RCIA commonly takes several months or longer, meeting one evening a month. In the process, you’ll learn much more about the Christian faith, learn more about prayer, share with others who are taking the same step, and get to know other Catholics on a much deeper level. There’s no rush – the process takes time so that you can learn, grow and make a good decision. If you decide that you’re not ready, you can stop at any time.

God bless!
 
I’m a revert…meaning: I was baptised and raised catholic and quit going to church in my twenties (bad move) so then I came back years later…I went through RCIA becasue I had forgoten so much about the catholic faith, best thing I ever did!👍
I would highly reccomend joining a RCIA (you don’t have to join a church to do this)
When you are enrolled in the classes…you can ask many questions.
Hopefully by the time you are finished…you will be ready to join…it’s a great way to open your heart and mind to the catholic faith. ❤️
Good luck!
 
I can relate to your feelings about this. I was raised without religion but from the young age felt God’s presence and wanted to be close to Him. It took me a few years to gather courage to actually do something about it. I desperately wanted to go to church but I was afraid to go to mass, like something scary would happen to me there. :o

I was 17 when I was baptised. Yes, it is a scary thing for someone raised without religion, a big decision. But I never looked back. It has been a difficult journey at times but so rewarding. I can’t imagine my life without God.

You sound like you really want to do this. Just do it. Send an email instead. Or find info about RCIA at your nearest church and just show up. “Hi, my name is A. and I think I want to become Catholic”. Just take it from there. Trust me, people will be so happy to see you there.
 
Ask God for courage, he will not let you down.

God bless you, I’ll keep you in my prayers!
 
God bless you and give you strength and courage through your journey of faith. I would schedule a meeting with a priest and talk to him about how you feel, find out if there’s anything you can do to volunteer at the parish or parish school, etc. (: Good luck!
 
It’s OK to be nervous! My recommendation is to attend the RCIA meetings during the inquiry phase where you’ll meet like persons with the same apprehensions as you have. It’s a period of sharing experiences and an opportunity to ask any questions regarding the Catholic faith and the best thing is there is NO PRESSURE to join! My the blessings of Holy Spirit be with you on your journey always.
 
Wow, Thanks so much for all the great support and helpful advice that everyone is giving me. I appreciate everyone taking the time to reply. I’ve been doing a lot of praying and feel ready to start the process. Eek!

Good thing you guys keep me informed. I didn’t know much about RCIA. I am now going to explore that further and hopefully get involved. nervousness

I will keep everyone updated!

Annie
 
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