I strongly agree with this, especially during the summer months when it stays light outside until after 9:00 p.m. So pleasant to come out of the church and still have several hours of daylight to work and play in.
I wouldn’t have resigned. I would have taken up my spear and lance and started a battle! There are times when a battle is appropriate and necessary.
Well, this is disturbing…
Yeah, but it’s human nature. I can totally see this happening.
All I can say is you’re not me! Actually, I think standing up in the middle of the meeting, calling them out, and walking out was probably a lot more effective than sticking around.
A lot of this sort of stuff wouldn’t fly if the Church were a business. The problem is, it’s a monopoly. Although, as we have all seen from the statistics, it’s a monopoly people can simply walk away from. A few business courses in the seminary would not go amiss. Not just for “customer relations,” but, let’s face it, running a parish is a big job from a managerial point of view.
Because people will adopt the hospital chapel as a quasi parish, our Bishop has forbidden Sunday Mass at any hospital chapel in the Diocese.
I felt that way too, but I have to admit that also happened with the public school mom’s group too, so it’s not just a catholic thing to forget about us working mom’s. My suggestion would be to take some time off to attend one of the meetings and find out if anyone has thought about accommodating working moms?
As I said, it’s a monopoly. Anything that threatens the monopoly (even though it achieves the results they say they want) has to go.
I agree with the part about millenials wanting to instantly be in charge. But on the second part, I disagree. Based on my experience, I think parishes do try but they are not going to be able to please everyone. Someone or some group is not going to get things catered to exactly their specifications, no matter how hard a pastor tries. I don’t think this can be avoided.
Remember that traditional hymns are the ones that survived the dustbin after they were new. There have been many songs introduced over the decades, but only a certain number survived, and they survive for a reason. I don’t think we should resist learning some new songs, but the ones that don’t stand up well to the test of time need to go the way of art that doesn’t make the cut.
As I keep pointing out on this forum, for years and years I have done an informal survey: I count the 10 people nearest me–how many are actually singing? I’ve never had the number go over 4 out of 10. With one exception–for several years I went to a church where they said the new form of the Mass, but almost all the songs were Gregorian chant. In that church, it was always 9 or 10 out of 10–and it was very international (Filipinos, Indians, Africans, Chinese, even some white folks). But the point is that the music director is going to be paid the same whether everyone sings or no one sings.
Yup, you’ve got it. Before anyone responds that the priests are “too busy,” let me emphasize that a lot of what I’m talking about doesn’t require the priest’s participation, just his OK. For example, I’ve always thought the local church could do a lot more for its unemployed members–job bulletin boards, encourage members who own small businesses to advertise open jobs, have a volunteer program to practice resume writing and interviews, etc. etc. You just need a meeting place, a bulletin board, and permission. The same would go for a host of other activities, for example a book group, or a group to discuss international affairs. And I’m sure a lot (some??) parishes do this sort of thing. But not where I’ve been. And I’ve often wondered if this sort of thing is even discussed at meetings of diocesan priests. (Think of it like a grocery store. The manager wants more customers. But he only sells canned goods. So customers are forced to go elsewhere to buy meat, fish, vegetables, drinks, etc. So why doesn’t he sell all those at his own store so that customers build up loyalty to his store and think of it first when they want groceries?)