Welcome Home?

[tundramom]

hello idaho-welcome home. ewtn has a program hosted by marcus grodi who used to be a protestant minister. he has a website www.chnetwork.net designed for those who have questions about their journey home. i’ll pray for you.
God bless.

ROFL!!! I clicked on the link and the page was black and said, “Welcome, nothing to be found here”. The actual link is: www.chnetwork.org

in Christ
Steph

 

[Idaho]

from Tundramom: “What I think I’m hearing from you is that you are studying and have many resources to pull from… but it’s the interpersonal human touch that you’re missing, right?”

Exactly so. I believe that Christ meant for his Church to be a *community *of believers, not just “attenders of Mass” and studiers-of-books at home.

But I do not think that I can “blame” an “unfriendly” parish. I do not think this is the case; I myself must take responsibility for initiating contacts. In my two visits, I did not get a feeling of people being unfriendly. Mostly, it is my own fears that I must deal with. I can be somewhat shy in unfamiliar situations.

I did call and make an appointment with the priest. I’m not feeling TOO anxious. I’m actually looking forward to talking with him. In fact, in retrospect (but not at that moment), this past Sunday, it wasn’t so hard to approach him and say “Good morning.” The sky didn’t fall, and he was just a real person, after all. (Well, wha-da-ya-know!)

–Idaho

By the way, Can anyone tell me how you manage to do the excerpts within a post? There must be something that people are doing to get those boxes within the post, but I don’t know how.

 

[Robert_in_SD]

Thanks to each of you for your valuable replies.

I think the gist of what you are saying is this:
Just because I didn’t see something printed in the bulletin, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist; there might be much more going on at the church than shows up in a bulletin.
Good point. I should not have assumed things aren’t happening just because they aren’t mentioned in the bulletin.

So yes, I will indeed make inquiries.
And thank you again for your suggestions.
–Idaho

Hello Idaho, and welcome. My experience is that the more active members of my parish are always the ones who congregate for coffee and donuts after the 9:00 A.M. mass. As most of the attendees at that service have young kids, the scene is usually noisy and sort of chaotic, but also very friendly and inviting. Other masses (10:30 traditional choir, 5:30 P.M. young adult) gather their own set of after-mass groups that meet informally in the Parish Hall for coffee, talk, etc. If you want a sort of “informal” introduction to your local parish’s activities, I suggest that you pick a mass that fits your personal tastes, go to it, then hang around for a while afterwards and see where people are congregating. Share a table with someone who looks friendly, and just introduce yourself. I know this can be hard for some, but usually the outcome of such a gesture is a kind smile and a welcome. And someone there will probably be able to tell you who you need to talk to for information on small prayer groups, bible studies, community service, or whatever it is that you’re looking for to enhance your walk with Jesus.

Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Mt. 7:7)

I wish you all the best, and offer you my sincere “welcome home” from San Diego.

Peace,
-Robert

 

[Robert_in_SD]

Hi Idaho!..
What I think I’m hearing from you is that you are studying and have many resources to pull from… but it’s the interpersonal human touch that you’re missing, right?

…

I think a lot of us don’t know who is investigating and who is visiting from out of town or whatever. As soon as some people know you and know what you’re looking for, you’ll be introduced to more people.

Well said TM.

I think my post is sort of echoing what Tundramom (Steph) said above. Sometimes a parish can seem sort of unwelcoming to those who have no connection. The best way to remedy that situation is to reach out to those people who are active in the church, and let them know you’re looking for that connection. As I said in my prior post, from my experience, the active parishoners are usually the ones who hang around for a while after they attend Sunday mass. Again, it is my experience that these same people are quite approachable.

Peace,
-Robert

 

[wisdomseeker]

from Tundramom: “What I think I’m hearing from you is that you are studying and have many resources to pull from… but it’s the interpersonal human touch that you’re missing, right?”

Exactly so. I believe that Christ meant for his Church to be a *community *of believers, not just “attenders of Mass” and studiers-of-books at home.

But I do not think that I can “blame” an “unfriendly” parish. I do not think this is the case; I myself must take responsibility for initiating contacts. In my two visits, I did not get a feeling of people being unfriendly. Mostly, it is my own fears that I must deal with. I can be somewhat shy in unfamiliar situations.

I did call and make an appointment with the priest. I’m not feeling TOO anxious. I’m actually looking forward to talking with him. In fact, in retrospect (but not at that moment), this past Sunday, it wasn’t so hard to approach him and say “Good morning.” The sky didn’t fall, and he was just a real person, after all. (Well, wha-da-ya-know!)

–Idaho

By the way, Can anyone tell me how you manage to do the excerpts within a post? There must be something that people are doing to get those boxes within the post, but I don’t know how.

yes. just highlight the quotes than click on the square under the right arrow. you can practice by answering than go back by clicking on edit. God bless.