Sunday, October 10, 2010

Back to My Roots

DISCLAIMER-This post is about religion.

In just a half hour I will be leaving to go to church. My first time returning to church since Easter. I have become the type of Catholic my dad used to comment about. The holiday only Catholic's. Yup that's me!

Since I was little I remember going to church with my parent's every Sunday. I was brought up Catholic and attended a private Catholic school. Looking back on my grade school experience I can now point things out I wasn't able to then. We never read the bible. Ever. Sure we read the same stories, Moses and the 10 commandments, The feeding of the 5000 the christmas story, easter story and Creation. But as far as opening up the bible and studying it or really reading it, that is something we did not do. And we only had Theology classes about once a week.

When it came time to go to high school, my parent's wanted to get me out of the environment I was currently in. My grade school was very small and cliquey and I was picked on non stop. I had strict parent's and even though we had to wear uniforms, my uniforms weren't trendy, I couldn't wear make up, I didn't get my hair dyed, not to mention I had glasses and wore braces. I was a constant target.

My parent's knew they wanted to keep me in the Christian environment and decided on sending me to a Lutheran high school. There Theology classes were part of the curriculum. We had Theology every day. Imagine my surprise when I walked into freshman year Theology and the teacher started asking us random bible versus. I was the only one that couldn't respond. We also were actually going to read the bible. Starting from the beginning. It was great! I was hooked on the stories, the history and the lessons. It was what I had been missing during grade school. Sophmore year I also auditioned for our Concert Choir and got in. Part of the requirement was attending Sunday services with the choirs and singing at them. So every Sunday I went around to various lutheran churches in the area with my choir and sang. So I stopped attending my Catholic services. There is actually a big difference in the service. I started to feel that I was more Lutheran than Catholic. Come senior year, we got an amazing theology teacher. Who sat down and pointed out the differences between Catholic's and Lutheran's, along with other world religions since the theme of senior year was religion around the world. I decided to convert to the Lutheran faith but my parent's protested. I did not

Anyway graduation came and since I was paying for college and could not afford a private college, I went to the state university. I missed my theology classes and the christian environment but after time I slowly stopped going to church. I only went on holiday's.

Moving to NC also provided a challenge. Most of my friends here are Baptist's and don't go to church. I finally found a church on Easter that i really liked. I have been meaning to go more frequently but it was hard to get back on a routine. Now I am to the point where I know something is missing from my life and I need to do something about it. So off I go to church. There is one great Non-Denominational church in the area that people are always talking about. I have been wanting to check it out but am afraid to go. I know that sounds so dumb but after attending strict catholic masses for most of my life I'm not sure how I would feel about anything else. I guess it's a comfort thing over anything else. My husband is not religious at all which at times makes things very difficult

I have been researching this church though and just discovered that Sarah Horn, author of the book God Strong-The Military Wife's Spiritual Survival Guide is holding a conference for military wives at this church next weekend. I registered to go even though I'm not a member of the church but think it's the perfect time to go see Sara speak and to check out this church. Anyone in the Fayetteville area who has read Sara Horn's book should def go. Let me know if you want details.

In the meantime I am back to pursuing God in my life. Have a blessed Sunday everyone



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14 comments:

  1. Enjoy church this morning!

    Your post should also offer chapel small groups one day I week. One is Protestant and one is Catholic. I was raised Catholic but I've kind of drifted from that. So I go to PWOC (which is the Protestant one) and I love it. The Catholic one is MCCW. Just something extra if you want to study more and meet new people :)

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  2. You should check PWOC too :) I know in the ones I have gone too there have been several Catholic girls there too.

    How exciting to go hear Sara Horn speak :)

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  3. I have that book, but admit I haven't even looked at it yet :(

    I grew up Mormon, so I know its really hard to find something you feel is right and comfortable to you.

    I hope you have a great day at church and are finding what you're looking for ♥

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  4. I am kind of in the same position as you- I grew up in church and am trying to get back to it now. Good luck to you on your journey!

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  5. Hey I am interested in details of the event. I am Catholic also but don't go to church regularly now.

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  6. That's so great, Katie! I'm so happy you're going back. I am wondering if the church you are referring to is Manna Church (the non-denominational that you hear about)? If so, that is where I recently started going. I go by myself because my husband doesn't have a religious bone in his body and his absolutely no interest in going. I have a Baptist background, but I do like this church here. If you ever wanted to try it out, just let me know! It'd be a good way for us to meet up, anyway!

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  7. I'm glad you're getting back into church. Saying this might cause a bit of a debate, but I have always felt that the Catholic church doesn't spend much time teaching theology to their congregation. I'm not trying to bash the Catholic church/faith, but there are some things that Catholics believe that I - as a Baptist, Protestant, whatever - will never be able to reconcile with what the Bible has to say.

    That said, I have been to a few non-denominational churches and I have to say they are awesome. I hope you enjoy the one you went to today!

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  8. Good for you!! I also went to church EVERY single Sunday growing up and once I moved out after high school, I stopped going. I've probably gone to church 4 or 5 times since I've graduated high school and I really want to go back. Also, like a lot of you guys, my hubs has no interest in attending church, so I know how hard that can make things. Hope you enjoyed the new church this morning :)

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  9. That pretty much describes my grade school experience! I'm now attending a Baptist college and a non-denominational church, which is a much better fit for me.

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  10. I think its great to find a place of worship that gives you that feeling of home and comfort. Have fun!

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  11. I hope that you find a church that you like...it can be so hard! A nondenominational church it going to be different from a Lutheran one and a lot more different from Mass...speaking from a girl who grew up in a nondenominational church and has become a conservative Lutheran:)

    I hope you have a great time at the Sara Horn conference!

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  12. Can you send me info about the Sara Horn conference? That sounds really interesting!

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  13. Hope that church was great for you yesterday and that you will find a place you can plug in to and learn and grow. =)
    I'm a little jealous that Sara is coming to your area...I so need to convince her to come my way. Sara and Wives Of Faith holds a very special place in my heart.

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  14. My husband and I attend a non-denominational church. Our pastor was raised Catholic and a large chunck of the people attend were as well. It surprised me! Where ever you feel comfortanble is where you belong :)

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