C
celestialhost
Guest
Over the last month I have been contemplating conversion to the Catholic church and have been going to mass at the nearest parish. I have been feeling quite frustrated at how unwelcoming it has seemed.
If you visit an Evangelical church, the likelihood is that an army of people will welcome you, the pastor will come an talk to you and you will be invited to come and to a membership class or join a home group. The Catholic parish is not at all like that and I have not felt very welcomed.
I went to the Easter vigil mass yesterday still feeling very frustrated about this. As I sat in my car, I whispered the Hail Holy Queen prayer. I really felt the part about being ‘banished’ and lifting up my sighs.
As I approached the church, the first person I met was a nurse who works at the emergency department where I work, She is somebody I get on really well with. She goes to the parish at a different service time.
When she saw me she said “I didn’t know you were one of us.”
I explained that actually I wasn’t, but I was thinking about converting. She introduced me to the lady who runs the RCIA class. It was so lovely to get a warm welcome at the church for the first time. I really needed it. I even saw somebody else I knew after the mass, a student psychiatric nurse.
The service was really beautiful as well.
If you visit an Evangelical church, the likelihood is that an army of people will welcome you, the pastor will come an talk to you and you will be invited to come and to a membership class or join a home group. The Catholic parish is not at all like that and I have not felt very welcomed.
I went to the Easter vigil mass yesterday still feeling very frustrated about this. As I sat in my car, I whispered the Hail Holy Queen prayer. I really felt the part about being ‘banished’ and lifting up my sighs.
As I approached the church, the first person I met was a nurse who works at the emergency department where I work, She is somebody I get on really well with. She goes to the parish at a different service time.
When she saw me she said “I didn’t know you were one of us.”
I explained that actually I wasn’t, but I was thinking about converting. She introduced me to the lady who runs the RCIA class. It was so lovely to get a warm welcome at the church for the first time. I really needed it. I even saw somebody else I knew after the mass, a student psychiatric nurse.
The service was really beautiful as well.
