My friend keeps inviting me to her church

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So my friend keeps asking me to go to church with her…She knows I am catholic.

Ive told her Im Catholic more than once.

My daughter is in Faith Formation & I dont really want to take her with me to a non denominational church service while her Catholic faith is developing.

Anyone else been through this?
 
I’ve been through this a whole lot. A lot of my friends were in Cru. Some were okay with me being Catholic and had the attitude that as long as I believed in Christ i was okay.Some though would try to invite me to their church to evangelize me. I would say stand your ground. Say that you have a church you already go to. I would say though that you should try and educate her. Show her Catholicism is Christianity
 
This has happened to me quite a bit. I’ve heard it said that after someone asks multiple times, and is told no (and reasons are often offered, such as an intense commitment to Catholicism), it then becomes insulting. I doubt the person asking intends to insult, but it does become offensive after a while. At the very least, the person does not respect the commitment to Catholicism. Maybe it would be like someone repeatedly asking out a married person to go on a date.

I do have a hard time accepting that someone who repeatedly asks a committed Catholic to go elsewhere does so without ulterior motives. Many denominations are hostile toward Catholicism, and feel that they are doing good by trying to remove people from Catholicism.

I completely agree that you are wise to avoid taking your daughter to another church while her faith is developing. And it sounds like it might be helpful to set boundaries with your “friend.” (“My Catholic faith is extremely important to me. Please do not ask me anymore to go to your church.”).
 
Hi. I personally would decline the offer. Especially if your daughter had to be with you. She needs her solid grounding in the Catholic faith. I was invited to church by a friend of a different denomination. I went whilst my children were away with family in the holidays. I’m so glad that they were not with me. What I saw and how they worship was upsetting. No eucharist, speaking in tongues and so on. It gave me the heeby-jeebys :bigyikes:
 
daisybee said:
This has happened to me quite a bit. I’ve heard it said that after someone asks multiple times, and is told no (and reasons are often offered, such as an intense commitment to Catholicism), it then becomes insulting. I doubt the person asking intends to insult, but it does become offensive after a while. At the very least, the person does not respect the commitment to Catholicism. Maybe it would be like someone repeatedly asking out a married person to go on a date.

I do have a hard time accepting that someone who repeatedly asks a committed Catholic to go elsewhere does so without ulterior motives. Many denominations are hostile toward Catholicism, and feel that they are doing good by trying to remove people from Catholicism.

I completely agree that you are wise to avoid taking your daughter to another church while her faith is developing. And it sounds like it might be helpful to set boundaries with your “friend.” (“My Catholic faith is extremely important to me. Please do not ask me anymore to go to your church.”).
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After I did go as I mentioned above, I still get asked to go. I find this not only irritatating, but insulting. 🙂
 
Is your friend asking you to attend a special event at her church? I think that’s a little different than, “Hey, you should come to my church. You’ll like it much better than yours.” If it’s an advent luncheon, choir concern, or weekend picnic, it’s another story.
 
What Church is it? Maybe go once on the condition that your friend will come with you to our Church the next time 😉
 
Allegra said:
Is your friend asking you to attend a special event at her church? I think that’s a little different than, “Hey, you should come to my church. You’ll like it much better than yours.” If it’s an advent luncheon, choir concern, or weekend picnic, it’s another story.
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Even at these things they may still try to “evangelize” you if they find that you are Catholic!🤷
 
“Listen, (friend’s name), will you come to Mass with me if I come to a service at yours? I will only agree to come. I am a Catholic though, so I will not convert and am firm in my faith”

OR

“I really don’t have the time to go with you, please accept my apologies, but I am a devout Catholic and am happy where I am.”

Two things you could say, but YMMV.
 
How about…“I would rather you came to my church if you want to go to church with me so badly.”
 
I have been through this myself. There’s someone i see around my neighborhood periodically that keeps trying to get me to go to their church. I know where the church is at, i pass by it every now and then coming home from Mass, depending on the route i take. I found their website, and it’s a hole in the wall evangelical Protestant church. They hype it up like crazy, and i keep telling them i already have a church i go to. Next time they ask, and i know they will, i’ll tell them to kindly back off. I’m sure they mean well. I don’t doubt that for a second, but there comes a time when it just gets irritating and straight up rude.

Decline the offer, no matter how many times your friend asks you to go with her. As someone else said, it’s probably high time you set some boundaries.
 
Just because people ask you, or put emotional pressure on you, doesn’t mean you’re obliged to say yes. It’s her agenda, not yours. 🙂
You have a right to your own position and maybe you need to give her a definite ‘no’. It is your right to do so.

May God bless you.
 
As someone above said, stand your ground, stick with the ‘no’ answer. I have experienced this as well. After a while, it’s tough to be tactful about it when it’s becoming annoying. I finally had had enough and asked the person who was repeatedly asking if I’d go to church with her if she would attend Mass with me. Her response? “I already have a church.” Well, guess, what?! So did I! LOL! Some people may not realize that they’re barking up the wrong tree, and others are just hard-headed and don’t care, LOL.
 
Allegra said:
Is your friend asking you to attend a special event at her church? I think that’s a little different than, “Hey, you should come to my church. You’ll like it much better than yours.” If it’s an advent luncheon, choir concern, or weekend picnic, it’s another story.
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I totally agree with this. My best friend is a Lutheran (he is SO stereotypical Minnesotan!) and I am a devout Catholic. Honestly, he is the most Catholic protestant I have ever met. He’s going to seriously join us and become a priest one day, but he hasn’t figured that out yet. Anyhow, I digress. Occasionally, I join him at his church for what we jokingly call “Protestant Ice Cream”. They do a Sundaes on Wednesdays deal where they get together, eat ice cream and drink coffee, and talk about faith. It’s fun. But my friend respects and understands my obligation and love for the Church, so while he has joined me for Mass, he has never once asked me to skip Mass in order to go to service.
 
Sounds like a great opportunity to ask “so what makes your church different from the one I go to?”, the answer to which will open the door to explain the benefits of Catholicism.
 
kate(name removed by moderator) said:
So my friend keeps asking me to go to church with her…She knows I am catholic.

Ive told her Im Catholic more than once.

My daughter is in Faith Formation & I dont really want to take her with me to a non denominational church service while her Catholic faith is developing.

Anyone else been through this?
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Once Jeovah Witnesses came to my grandmother’s farm - where I lived at the time - and started talking about their faith, etc. I said: “I don’t like the way you guys and many other protestant Christians treat Our Blessed Mother the Virgin Mary. I am really not interested in any brand of Christianity that doesn’t place the Mother of God above all other creatures of God.” They looked at me and I could tell by their eyes that they new that they couldn’t possibly have a sufficiently potent argument to convince me that their faith was truer than mine. The same happened with two Mormon missionairies from the US, some years later, when I was at a university dorm in Lisbon.
 
my :twocents: Your friend perhaps believes if you attend her church you will want to convert. The last Protestant church I attended had people who believed that Catholics were deluded and needed help even if the most of the people did not. And then some people truly believe they attend the most awesome church in history and of course everyone would love it.🤷

I think that asking them to attend Mass with you would be the best response. I am so suspicious though I won’t attend any Protestant service. I also feel as a recent convert it might send the wrong message. :nope:
 
kate(name removed by moderator) said:
Anyone else been through this?
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Frequently. Most recently about an hour ago in fact.

An old friend who I’ve recently become reacquainted with has (through me) re-discovered her Catholic faith (she hadn’t been to mass in over 30 years, since she was 13 years old, until she went with me a few months ago) and now attends mass daily at my parish. We’ll regularly hang out a little after mass and she frequently tells me that I should go with her to her “other” church, a non-denominational community where she’s also still attending despite her coming back to her Catholic faith. She wants it both ways, and while I’ve explained to her in great detail that as a devout Catholic convert I have no interest whatsoever in attending her other church (or any protestant church for that matter) she won’t stop asking me to go there. I’ve even asked her several times now to stop asking me, yet she persists, and just asked me again after mass this evening.
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daisybee:
I’ve heard it said that after someone asks multiple times, and is told no (and reasons are often offered, such as an intense commitment to Catholicism), it then becomes insulting.
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Indeed it does. At this stage it’s just simply disrespectful. I’ve grown quite tired of it.

“I sure do wish that you’d go with me to my other church sometime.” :doh2:
 
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