Why dont we use the word Church anymore?

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A number of parishes in my Diocese are calling themselves “Catholic Communities” rather then Catholic Churches. My mother and the older generations of my family can recall when every parish church was clearly labeled as “____ Roman Catholic Church”. Besides the recent dropping of the Roman, many parishes now drop the Church.

Of course, in the places I have lived an visited I have seen a number (thankfully small) of Catholic parishes that dont even come close to having Catholic names- Lighthouse Catholic Community, Good News Catholic Church, Front Street Catholic Church.

Sometimes the Americans on this board accuse their parishes of being too Pentecostal. As I Canadian, I’m accusing the parishes here of going liberal protestant.
 
**“a faith sharing community”-**gets together each Sunday to greet eachother with first names, then to clap for those who are celebrating a birthday, they seat in a semi-circle where we can all see eachother. Afterall it’s about us, we are church, we are the body of Christ").They look forward to the entertainer(presider) to begin his act.If they approve they will give a hearty applause followed by a hand-holding, body swaying song called Our Father.The choir, all women of course lead us in clapping during the communion song. This is when we Gather around table to share a meal.

**“A Church”- **The place where we used to offer the sacrifice of the Mass.We would wear our Sunday Best not to impress eachother but to respect the House of God.We would smell the incense wafing in the air as we genuflected before a tabernacle located front and center.We would see large families sitting together whose children would never go off separately for a separate reading. We would see old women piously fingering their Rosary beads their heads covered out of respect.The priest would offer the sacrifice of Christ before an actual crucifix.We would proceed to the altar rail and stand before the Almighty God whom we dared not receive in our weak sinful hands and we would kneel afterward in silent devotion.
 
I have lived on this Earth for 30 years now, and I have belonged to four different Catholic churches, and served as an organist or pianist for three others, across three different dioceses. I have never once belonged to a “Catholic community,” only a “Catholic church.”
 
All of the churches that I know of are called parishes, not communities. Community sounds silly to me because unless one is a priest, he does not live at the church. Community sounds like it is a place where a person lives, not where he worships.
 
Caesar said:
A number of parishes in my Diocese are calling themselves “Catholic Communities” rather then Catholic Churches. My mother and the older generations of my family can recall when every parish church was clearly labeled as “____ Roman Catholic Church”. Besides the recent dropping of the Roman, many parishes now drop the Church.

Of course, in the places I have lived an visited I have seen a number (thankfully small) of Catholic parishes that dont even come close to having Catholic names- Lighthouse Catholic Community, Good News Catholic Church, Front Street Catholic Church.

Sometimes the Americans on this board accuse their parishes of being too Pentecostal. As I Canadian, I’m accusing the parishes here of going liberal protestant.
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The Catholic Church does not use the term “Church” for any except for itself, and Eastern Orthodox who have valid Apostolic Succession and valid Sacraments. All others are refered to as Christian Communities. Some feel it is politically correct to include the Catholic Church as though it were a denomination, in this usage, promoting some form of equality among the Christians. Which in reality does not even come close to existing between the Catholic Church and Protestant Communities.
 
I belong to a parish. It has a church (note the small “c”), along with a school, a rectory (used both as the priest’s residence and for some smaller meetings), and a parish center. The parish center has a gym, kitchen, several meeting rooms, restrooms, and storage for organizations of the parish, such as scouts.

My parish is a part of a diocese. My diocese is part of a province.

It is all a part of the Church (capital “C”).

Why call it a “Catholic Community”? I always thought “Community” was the title used in the US for the stage of a mission parish when there was no place to meet but the local public school’s assembly hall, a storefront in a strip mall, or in different living rooms of the members. I have noticed in a particular diocese that “Catholic Community” has been tacked up on the front sign of the parish church, right along with Mass times (not our diocese- but we live within short driving distance of 3 dioceses).
 
I belong to the Catholic Church first. If the parish I attend ends up going off the deep end:( and puts up any name in front of it its still the Catholic Church.🙂

Other denominations may use the word Church on their door, but they do so with no authority.:eek:
 
Yes we have several Catholic Communities in our area. In fact my former parish was a Catholic Community. Now I belong to Catholic Church and I like it much better.👍
 
lak611 said:
All of the churches that I know of are called parishes, not communities. Community sounds silly to me because unless one is a priest, he does not live at the church. Community sounds like it is a place where a person lives, not where he worships.
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We call them parishes here as well, I have heard the word community used when referring to the faithful in the parish.

I’m not sure I would interpret this in a negative light. I mean I wouldn’t look at this as the next step to a “meet and greet” chatty gathering party. There is so many young families that need support from the Church, so many divorces, dysfunction, if there’s some way we can reach out better, why not? I worry about our youth as well. The reality is there are SO many nondenominational Protestant churches out there that are drawing these young families in by playing on their problems. I live in a new area and you wouldn’t believe the Protestant churches that pop up on every corner, I get these adds in the mail all bright and shinny cards with words of encouragement and sweet enticements of “fellowship”…I would rather these young families come to my parish then the “Impact” church down the street. (sorry if someone on here attends one those)

I’m not saying we need to start sending out cards, but we need to build a stronger community to support these families. 🙂 Maybe this is the Catholic Churches answer to these types of Protestant churches?
 
Franciscan said:
**“a faith sharing community”-**gets together each Sunday to greet eachother with first names, then to clap for those who are celebrating a birthday, they seat in a semi-circle where we can all see eachother. Afterall it’s about us, we are church, we are the body of Christ").They look forward to the entertainer(presider) to begin his act.If they approve they will give a hearty applause followed by a hand-holding, body swaying song called Our Father.The choir, all women of course lead us in clapping during the communion song. This is when we Gather around table to share a meal.

**“A Church”- **The place where we used to offer the sacrifice of the Mass.We would wear our Sunday Best not to impress eachother but to respect the House of God.We would smell the incense wafing in the air as we genuflected before a tabernacle located front and center.We would see large families sitting together whose children would never go off separately for a separate reading. We would see old women piously fingering their Rosary beads their heads covered out of respect.The priest would offer the sacrifice of Christ before an actual crucifix.We would proceed to the altar rail and stand before the Almighty God whom we dared not receive in our weak sinful hands and we would kneel afterward in silent devotion.
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yep, that’s pretty much the difference!
 
Franciscan said:
**“A Church”- **The place where we used to offer the sacrifice of the Mass.We would wear our Sunday Best not to impress eachother but to respect the House of God.We would smell the incense wafing in the air as we genuflected before a tabernacle located front and center.We would see large families sitting together whose children would never go off separately for a separate reading. We would see old women piously fingering their Rosary beads their heads covered out of respect.The priest would offer the sacrifice of Christ before an actual crucifix.We would proceed to the altar rail and stand before the Almighty God whom we dared not receive in our weak sinful hands and we would kneel afterward in silent devotion.
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Goodness, by your definition, the Church Universal, the Church Militant, has ceased to be the Church, since She does not Herself insist on the marks that you seem to insist on (the tabernacle is to be prominent, not front and center; no one, male or female, old or young, is required finger their rosary beads at Mass; head coverings for women, a disciplinary matter, are not required; the Church allows Communion in the hand, etc). Are we then to assume that Jesus failed in His Promise and the Church has ceased to be the Church?
 
Caesar said:
A number of parishes in my Diocese are calling themselves “Catholic Communities” rather then Catholic Churches. My mother and the older generations of my family can recall when every parish church was clearly labeled as “____ Roman Catholic Church”. Besides the recent dropping of the Roman, many parishes now drop the Church.

Of course, in the places I have lived an visited I have seen a number (thankfully small) of Catholic parishes that dont even come close to having Catholic names- Lighthouse Catholic Community, Good News Catholic Church, Front Street Catholic Church.

Sometimes the Americans on this board accuse their parishes of being too Pentecostal. As I Canadian, I’m accusing the parishes here of going liberal protestant.
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Caesar: Are those strangely named parishes in union with the Holy See and the local ordinary or are they “autocephalous” or “independent?” If they aren’t, then that is truly odd.

In my diocese, we have two “communities,” all the rest are “churches.” I think it’s a silly trend that’s dying out, you know, “we’re SPECIAL!”
 
All that I have seen call temselves Churches, as in St. Jerome Catholic Church.
 
JKirkLVNV said:
Goodness, by your definition, the Church Universal, the Church Militant, has ceased to be the Church, since She does not Herself insist on the marks that you seem to insist on (the tabernacle is to be prominent, not front and center; no one, male or female, old or young, is required finger their rosary beads at Mass; head coverings for women, a disciplinary matter, are not required; the Church allows Communion in the hand, etc). Are we then to assume that Jesus failed in His Promise and the Church has ceased to be the Church?
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I was, I admit, a bit dramatic. There are many great things about the increase in community associated with Mass. It would be sad if you never knew any other worshipers etc.

But no, I didn’t mean that the Catholic Church has ceased being the Church. Inspite of all the changes, when Christ asked the Apostles if they too didn’t want to follow Him, I would echo Peter, “Where else can we go Lord, you have the words of eternal life”.

Those in the end are small things that we should persevere through. It’s just some of us PostVatII (younger) feel as though we’ve missed out on something very overtly holy and outwardly beautiful.
 
I think I might have misunderstood the OP, are these Catholic Churches being completely renamed, officially? Or are they being referred to as Communities? I’d like to get the full story on this.
 
I think there is truth to what Franciscan posted. Our outside signs here do not yet say ‘community’ but our mission statements say things like we are a diverse catholic community who gathers…" The few times I went to a place that did officially call itself a community were VERY bad experiences. I have no wish to be a part of those communities. Yes, we have a round church so as to ‘see Christ in everyone’ but mostly it is just distracting.

Today the penitential rite, Kyrie, Gloria and Creed were omitted from the Sunday Mass but as we heard last week that Mass is a gathering of the community to give thanks, I suppose that happened?

I just wish to be able to attend the HOLY SACRIFICE of the Mass and not leave upset. Is it asking too much?
 
lak611 said:
All of the churches that I know of are called parishes, not communities. Community sounds silly to me because unless one is a priest, he does not live at the church. Community sounds like it is a place where a person lives, not where he worships.
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One doesn’t live in the church, but one does live in the parish.

The parish is the geographic area that the church serves. The community, if you will.

“Community” is just another way of saying parish, just in more clear English.
 
Here I see the word Parish used in one place, Community in another, and Church used still another place.

Personally I think it’s mostly a fad that will run its course in another ten or twenty years.

I think the reluctance to use the word church is because the word has several meanings and whoever decided to use a different word considers word confusion to be significant problem. (Unfortunately the change just introduces a different kind of confusion.)

I do think it’s unfortunate that we use the same word for the building that we do for the people within it.

When speaking about people the word Church really should imply at least a diocese. But church is is also properly applied to the building at a parish level.

So if I see a sign on a corner building that says St. James Catholic Church then I should understand it to be a reference to the building. If it says St. James Catholic Community then I should understand it to refer to the people.
 
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