Stories from my old Protestant Church

[jmoneyideas]

So my wife convinced me to go to the Christmas eve service at my old church…I was kicking and Screaming the whole way there LOL just kidding but it was more of a play not a service. The Kids were singing Christmas Carols and they put on a Nativity Scene in which my daughter was Mary which I didn’t find out until Christmas Eve, We have amazing communications skills at my house. Anyways back to what I was getting at, so we are there and the kids are singing Hark the Herald and Silent night and it was so annoying with other people in the Church Yelling " Praise Jesus , Hallelujah, Yes LORD" , ect ect at the top of there voice and It got me thinking about the fact that it used to really bother me especially during worship and praise or even during the sermon people would belt these out at the top of there lungs. I mean don’t get me wrong I am all for being in the spirit but at some point it gets more like a showing off thing…Anyways I also had a very uncomfortable experience as well. My old Pastor who has been going back and forth with me about what he thinks is wrong with my becoming catholic, Called me and my wife and my wifes best friend into his office. He wanted to state that if he did anything to hurt us or cause us anger he apologized and that he knows what we are going through with leaving a church since he grew up catholic and yada yada yada, at this point i pretty much blocked it out. I then looked on his desk he had prearranged some Luther and Calving pamphlets on his desk right in front of us , basically baiting us to grab and take them. I was very quick to say, No I am not angry, I just have completely different beliefs in some of the Doctrine you believe and that I love him and we both love Christ so no Harm no foul, but we have to be leaving soon because we got Midnight Mass to attend …

And that was it we hanged out for a few minutes and had some cookies and we were off.

 

[pablope]

So my wife convinced me to go to the Christmas eve service at my old church…I was kicking and Screaming the whole way there LOL just kidding but it was more of a play not a service. The Kids were singing Christmas Carols and they put on a Nativity Scene in which my daughter was Mary which I didn’t find out until Christmas Eve, We have amazing communications skills at my house. Anyways back to what I was getting at, so we are there and the kids are singing Hark the Herald and Silent night and it was so annoying with other people in the Church Yelling " Praise Jesus , Hallelujah, Yes LORD" , ect ect at the top of there voice and It got me thinking about the fact that it used to really bother me especially during worship and praise or even during the sermon people would belt these out at the top of there lungs. I mean don’t get me wrong I am all for being in the spirit but at some point it gets more like a showing off thing…Anyways I also had a very uncomfortable experience as well. My old Pastor who has been going back and forth with me about what he thinks is wrong with my becoming catholic, Called me and my wife and my wifes best friend into his office. He wanted to state that if he did anything to hurt us or cause us anger he apologized and that he knows what we are going through with leaving a church since he grew up catholic and yada yada yada, at this point i pretty much blocked it out. I then looked on his desk he had prearranged some Luther and Calving pamphlets on his desk right in front of us , basically baiting us to grab and take them. I was very quick to say, No I am not angry, I just have completely different beliefs in some of the Doctrine you believe and that I love him and we both love Christ so no Harm no foul, but we have to be leaving soon because we got Midnight Mass to attend …

And that was it we hanged out for a few minutes and had some cookies and we were off.

Hi, Jmoney…did your wife’s friend make it to Christmas mass with you too? Anyway, just curious. Looks like your old pastor is still at it…under the guise of friendship, he lays out those tracts…anyway, I just get a chuckle…next time, bring some or print some Catholic tracts with you, and exchange them with your pastor’s…

God bless…

 

[anodos]

Hi, Jmoney…did your wife’s friend make it to Christmas mass with you too? Anyway, just curious. Looks like your old pastor is still at it…under the guise of friendship, he lays out those tracts…anyway, I just get a chuckle…next time, bring some or print some Catholic tracts with you, and exchange them with your pastor’s…

God bless…

“I’ll see your Calvin, and I’ll raise you one Francis de Sales…”

 

[jmoneyideas]

Hi, Jmoney…did your wife’s friend make it to Christmas mass with you too? Anyway, just curious. Looks like your old pastor is still at it…under the guise of friendship, he lays out those tracts…anyway, I just get a chuckle…next time, bring some or print some Catholic tracts with you, and exchange them with your pastor’s…

God bless…

I really wish she did, but she did not. Yep he sure is at it again. I think it would have been great for her. She has been distancing herself from the old church but I fear she is stopping altogether.

As for the pastor he wont come to grips about my decision, because he knows my love for the lord and I am pretty sure he knew I would be able to grow his church, I am a Salesman after all.

 

[jmoneyideas]

“I’ll see your Calvin, and I’ll raise you one Francis de Sales…”

LOL be careful he may throw down the very powerful John Wesley CARD

 

[spiral]

So I wonder if any of you have and crazy stories of things that caused you to make a Change in Churches?

The tv screens by the altar are the most irritating thing to me. Some churches are a little more respectful and at least put the screens off to one side, but the more casual churches put them right smack by the altar. I guess most people aren’t bothered by it, but to me it is super annoying.

One time at communion, our church used broken-up ritz crackers instead of communion wafers.

 

[jmoneyideas]

The tv screens by the altar are the most irritating thing to me. Some churches are a little more respectful and at least put the screens off to one side, but the more casual churches put them right smack by the altar. I guess most people aren’t bothered by it, but to me it is super annoying.

One time at communion, our church used broken-up ritz crackers instead of communion wafers.

Wow now way… really that crazy. Broken crackers, did they also use koolaid

 

[spiral]

Wow now way… really that crazy. Broken crackers, did they also use koolaid

Grape juice. The ritz crackers were because we were poor… in a Baptist church the communion is symbolic anyway so it wasn’t as bad there as it would have been at a Catholic church, but even so, I was very startled when I saw it.

 

[Newsy]

Grape juice. The ritz crackers were because we were poor… in a Baptist church the communion is symbolic anyway so it wasn’t as bad there as it would have been at a Catholic church, but even so, I was very startled when I saw it.

It can get scary…
I once heard Marcus Grodi say that he used Cola and potato chips for communion at a teen service, before he converted. Even though it was “only symbolic”, he said he realized afterward how wrong it was. That was just before he started his journey toward Rome.

 

[MarysRoses]

The grape juice story has been passed around by many including LDS who simply cannot live with the idea that wine has been a part of man’s diet for thousands of years. The admonition in the Bible not to get drunk on wine is good advise and further evidence that wine was not non alcoholic…in fact grape juice preservation was invented by Welch at the turn of the century. Before that grape juice becomes wine and nothing could stop it…I might add fortunately. My friend if you find a wine that is “fetid” you may not be spending enough or the cork was bad. That happens once in awhile but in California…bad wine or bad corks is a rarety. Try it again and maybe start with a white wine…seems to be the beginner’s choice but red is where it is and you will get there soon enough.

I grew up baptist, then 7th day adventist, believing that Jesus drank only fresh unfermented grape juice. But then I learned:

Welch’s Juice was invented by a farmer who was also a Methodist minister. He was trying to find a way to preserve the juice so his congregation would have juice available for communion at times other than harvest. The new methods of pasteurization and canning were becoming available for food preservation. Previous to Louis Pasteur’s discoveries, there was only one way to have non-alcoholic communion. Have communion without juice, or only during the harvest season.

Yeast naturally is present on the grapes. Birds feed on the grapes, yeast finds its way inside through openings in the grape’s skin. Many grapes begin fermenting before they are even picked.

Passover was in the spring, months AFTER the grape harvest. No refrigeration in 33 A.D.
So… tell me again they drank fresh squeezed grape juice? Kind of hard to believe. I remember, as a baptist, being told that the caves in the holy land had the perfect temperature and humidty to prevent fermentation. (NOT true, I researched that for myself).
I also remember being told that wine was stored in jugs kept at the bottom of lakes, preventing fermentation. (Again, NOT true. Wine was sometimes cooled this way, but it won’t prevent fermentation). One writer claimed that people then had a way of preserving grapes without drying or fermentation for months, so that they would be squeezed for fresh juice long after harvest.

The rational conclusion is that Jesus and the apostles, like everyone else living at that time, got a lot of their liquid nutrition from wine. The alcohol content protected them from water borne illness and was a GOOD thing. Same for the similar beverages such as grain beer and such. Its not only a safer drink than plain untreated water, its tasty and in moderation very enjoyable.

Beer (and wine) is proof God loves us!

 

[anodos]

Beer (and wine) is proof God loves us!

Benjamin Franklin’s quote?
(I told someone that the word for “beer” in Ur Sanskrit means “gift of the gods”. I didn’t realize that they believed me, until they started seriously telling other people. )

 

[pismopal]

I grew up baptist, then 7th day adventist, believing that Jesus drank only fresh unfermented grape juice. But then I learned:

Welch’s Juice was invented by a farmer who was also a Methodist minister. He was trying to find a way to preserve the juice so his congregation would have juice available for communion at times other than harvest. The new methods of pasteurization and canning were becoming available for food preservation. Previous to Louis Pasteur’s discoveries, there was only one way to have non-alcoholic communion. Have communion without juice, or only during the harvest season.

Yeast naturally is present on the grapes. Birds feed on the grapes, yeast finds its way inside through openings in the grape’s skin. Many grapes begin fermenting before they are even picked.

Passover was in the spring, months AFTER the grape harvest. No refrigeration in 33 A.D.
So… tell me again they drank fresh squeezed grape juice? Kind of hard to believe. I remember, as a baptist, being told that the caves in the holy land had the perfect temperature and humidty to prevent fermentation. (NOT true, I researched that for myself).
I also remember being told that wine was stored in jugs kept at the bottom of lakes, preventing fermentation. (Again, NOT true. Wine was sometimes cooled this way, but it won’t prevent fermentation). One writer claimed that people then had a way of preserving grapes without drying or fermentation for months, so that they would be squeezed for fresh juice long after harvest.

The rational conclusion is that Jesus and the apostles, like everyone else living at that time, got a lot of their liquid nutrition from wine. The alcohol content protected them from water borne illness and was a GOOD thing. Same for the similar beverages such as grain beer and such. Its not only a safer drink than plain untreated water, its tasty and in moderation very enjoyable.

Beer (and wine) is proof God loves us!

Amen!

 

[Eileen_T]

LOL be careful he may throw down the very powerful John Wesley CARD

I’m pretty sure the Cure d’Ars card will beat John Wesley.

 

[anodos]

I’m pretty sure the Cure d’Ars card will beat John Wesley.

Its secret power lies in the fact that only those born with mystical abilities can properly pronounce it.

 

[Tridentinum]

Benjamin Franklin’s quote?
(I told someone that the word for “beer” in Ur Sanskrit means “gift of the gods”. I didn’t realize that they believed me, until they started seriously telling other people. )

Isn’t that Abraham Lincoln?

 

[anodos]

Isn’t that Abraham Lincoln?

I dunno. He liked beer too…

 

[TexCatholic4JMJ]

I have always been a Catholic, through the grace of God, but some good friends and some
family members became “born again” Christians. I was invited to their churches for various
functions and to their services and went to a few because they were so kind to me at some
very difficult times in my life. Most were non-denominational and their churches were very
different. They did have beautiful music and a large choir, but it seemed the focus of the
service and not worship to the Lord. Then they came out with the little cups of juice and crackers. I passed on that. I just could not begin to understand what my friends had done!
It was asked that I begin taking one of my relatives to her church and I did so once or twice.
I would then take her home and rush to go to a latter Mass. One day when I picked her up
and was pulling into her church’s parking lot, she said to me, No, take me with you to your
Church!!! So, I did. And when it was my turn to take her to church, from then on, she would
go with me to Mass. She told her friend that it was so reverential and peaceful in the Catholic
Church. (At her church, they were very noisy before the service started and with their “lively”
singing and dancing during their service, there really didn’t seem to be any peacefullness!)
Happy to say, before her death, she returned to the fullness of the faith in the Catholic Church.

 

[Miriam1947]

I have always been a Catholic, through the grace of God, but some good friends and some family members became “born again” Christians. I was invited to their churches for various functions and to their services and went to a few because they were so kind to me at some very difficult times in my life. Most were non-denominational and their churches were very different. They did have beautiful music and a large choir, but it seemed the focus of the service and not worship to the Lord. Then they came out with the little cups of juice and crackers. I passed on that. I just could not begin to understand what my friends had done!

It was asked that I begin taking one of my relatives to her church and I did so once or twice. I would then take her home and rush to go to a latter Mass. One day when I picked her up and was pulling into her church’s parking lot, she said to me, No, take me with you to your Church!!! So, I did. And when it was my turn to take her to church, from then on, she would go with me to Mass. She told her friend that it was so reverential and peaceful in the Catholic Church. (At her church, they were very noisy before the service started and with their “lively” singing and dancing during their service, there really didn’t seem to be any peacefullness!)
Happy to say, before her death, she returned to the fullness of the faith in the Catholic Church.

Beautiful story. :angel1: