A
AnotherChance
Guest
I am planning to prayerfully respond to the email below which came to me from my former Methodist church. Even though I have been attending Mass at a Catholic Church for the past year, I am still technically a member of this Methodist Church. The rest of my family are members of the Catholic Church, but I am waiting for an annulment.
Anyway, one thing that pleasantly surprised me about all of the different Catholic churches I have attended in the area is that they are full to overflowing. I don’t have a problem being blunt, but I don’t know how blunt to be with the pastor of my former church. He knows that I haven’t been attending, because I am in the process of joining the Catholic Church. What really started me in that direction were the following trends in our Methodist church:
–Increasing secularization of the Sunday School curriculum (focusing on environmentalism, “fun and games”, etc. and little use of the Bible.)
–little or no activities for teens.
–no childcare for the young children
–increased use of pop Christian songs, decreased use of hymns
–the former pastor teaching in membership class that it was necessary to ordain homosexuals and that the church took no position on abortion
–purchase of “multi-media” equipment and putting song lyrics on the screen have led to almost no one singing the hymns, because they no longer look at the notes in the hymnal (I used to play the piano for the church until this became unbearable)
–the service become less and less like worship and more and more like a self-help meeting.
Anyway, I don’t want to send him a laundry list, but I guess that is what he is asking for. I haven’t told him any of these things.
I have come to believe that the Catholic Church is the one true Church. I don’t know if I am also called to evangelize in some way. All of the items on my list are just symptoms of the problem. I would appreciate any thoughts from Catholics or Protestants. Anyway, here is the letter I received:
"Dear Church
I have noticed church attendance has dropped off considerably this year at [name of church]. If there is something I am doing wrong, please feel free to come to me or talk to someone from the council.
I know a family with children does have activities that involve weekend participation. I can understand this and I don’t feel bad about it. [Name of church] is a beautiful church and I love being there. I pray that attendance will bounce back soon now that summer is over. I have sent cards to those on the membership list asking them to consider worshiping with us again.
If the reason is me than I must be willing to make changes. If I don’t ask then I’ll never know. One person can make a difference and one person can kill the church. I pray I am never that person. "
Anyway, one thing that pleasantly surprised me about all of the different Catholic churches I have attended in the area is that they are full to overflowing. I don’t have a problem being blunt, but I don’t know how blunt to be with the pastor of my former church. He knows that I haven’t been attending, because I am in the process of joining the Catholic Church. What really started me in that direction were the following trends in our Methodist church:
–Increasing secularization of the Sunday School curriculum (focusing on environmentalism, “fun and games”, etc. and little use of the Bible.)
–little or no activities for teens.
–no childcare for the young children
–increased use of pop Christian songs, decreased use of hymns
–the former pastor teaching in membership class that it was necessary to ordain homosexuals and that the church took no position on abortion
–purchase of “multi-media” equipment and putting song lyrics on the screen have led to almost no one singing the hymns, because they no longer look at the notes in the hymnal (I used to play the piano for the church until this became unbearable)
–the service become less and less like worship and more and more like a self-help meeting.
Anyway, I don’t want to send him a laundry list, but I guess that is what he is asking for. I haven’t told him any of these things.
I have come to believe that the Catholic Church is the one true Church. I don’t know if I am also called to evangelize in some way. All of the items on my list are just symptoms of the problem. I would appreciate any thoughts from Catholics or Protestants. Anyway, here is the letter I received:
"Dear Church
I have noticed church attendance has dropped off considerably this year at [name of church]. If there is something I am doing wrong, please feel free to come to me or talk to someone from the council.
I know a family with children does have activities that involve weekend participation. I can understand this and I don’t feel bad about it. [Name of church] is a beautiful church and I love being there. I pray that attendance will bounce back soon now that summer is over. I have sent cards to those on the membership list asking them to consider worshiping with us again.
If the reason is me than I must be willing to make changes. If I don’t ask then I’ll never know. One person can make a difference and one person can kill the church. I pray I am never that person. "
), and we are growing.