How to find a church when moving to another state

[yoopersenior]

When looking for a church when one has moved to another city or state, how does one go about finding out if the church is doctrinally sound? I know…every church SHOULD be, but some seem to have some really off-the-wall programs and priests. What should one look for when going to a Mass for the first time? Should one speak to the priest and ask,
“How traditional is this church?” That might sound like church-shopping. The church I am now attending is very traditional and I love it, but may have to move soon. Any suggestions?

 

[m134e5]

See if you can find out who the seminarians are for the diocese you are moving to, and if there is a parish that has more seminarians from it than other parishes. Orthodoxy and reverence have shown to produce vocations.

 

[DihydrogenOxide]

Punch your ZIP code into www.masstimes.org,
and do some traveling around to find one you like the most. Happy travels.

 

[jilly4ski]

Punch your ZIP code into www.masstimes.org,
and do some traveling around to find one you like the most. Happy travels.

This is what we did when my Dh and I moved from MN to NY. It will probably take several weeks to find one you are comfortable with, and you may even think you find a place and once you learn about the area (which things are actually close b/c of roads etc.) you may switch again. So even if you think you have found a place, you may want to wait 6 months until you register as a member. (though this shouldn’t affect you church giving) Good luck and happy travels.

 

[MikeDunphy]

Punch your ZIP code into www.masstimes.org,
and do some traveling around to find one you like the most. Happy travels.

masstimes.org is a good resource. It includes links to websites for many of the parishes it lists. Checking out the parish website can often give you an idea of what a parish is like.

The #1 thing I look for is more than a 1/2 hour of regularly scheduled confession time every week. The practice of Catholic devotions such as Eucharistic adoration or the rosary is a good sign. If there are pictures on the site, they shouldn’t look like they all could be from the local park district, at least some should be unmistakeably “churchy”.

Different types of Catholics tend to use different vocabularies. I personally would avoid an “empowering, challenging, inclusive, welcoming, diverse faith community in the Catholic tradition” and first go to a parish that uses phrases like “conversion of sinners”, “salvation of souls”, “Holy Sacrifice of the Mass”, “house of prayer” or that features multiple quotes from the Bible or the saints.

Having at least one Latin Mass (aka EF Mass aka TLM) in the schedule is a good sign too.