Territorial or Personal parish

[KarenElissa]

I don’t go to my territorial parish, but mostly has to do with they fact that I had started going there and had started RCIA before I even knew what a territorial parish is.

I also live pretty close to the boundaries of four parishes. If I were north a quarter of a block I’d be in a different parish, across the street, in another parish, and across the street and south a quarter of a mile, I’d be in my own parish.

 

[acadian]

The parish closest to my house is about 100% African-American and I am not, so for a long time we ignored it as even being an option. In the past few years, I have discovered it as a wonderful place to attend daily Mass, and on occasion Sunday Mass.

We claim as our parish one about 6 or 7 minutes from our house, which is associated with the Catholic school my children attended. it is a small, ethnically diverse population with a lot of elderly folks, and we love it. My boys are altar servers, I am an EMHC, and make the schedule for the altar servers.

We are in the process of moving, but have no plans to change our church parish.

 

[KarenElissa]

We are in the process of moving, but have no plans to change our church parish.

I think the mobility of people now somewhat complicates the whole going to the parish in whose boundaries you reside. I mean, if I move a couple of miles from here (and living in an apartment, that isn’t really unusual), should I have to start all over in another parish? Sure, Mass is the same and we are all part on the one big Church, but we all have roots in our parish. Jumping into ministries and feeling part of the community in a new parish doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t really make sense to do all of that if you are only adding on 5 minutes to your drive.