Spirituality or Bust
Linda and I joined up with some friends and went to mass this Sunday at "the school we'd like our as-yet-unconceived child to attend". We hit the 10:30 mass assuming the adult choir would be there, as the mass schedule said:
Mass: 9:00, 10:30, Adult Choir, noon.
No adult choir, so I guess they meant the noon mass.
Now, I have not, by any means, been a devout church goer these past several years, but I try very hard to have a spiritual, if grass-roots, relationship with my creator. I'm also used to attending churches with a community feel. The last two churches that I attended regularly had cookies and juice after mass, had people stay after and chat, and were easy to befriend.
I know, sometimes, it drove Linda nuts when we stayed after and ate bagels and chatted with some elderly church goers, especially when we had a busy Sunday ahead of us, but it is what I really like to do.
So, how does that map to my Sunday church experience? I felt a little unsettled by it, and since this is my digital diary, I really want to organize and record my thoughts on the matter.
So, in essence, this is a rant. All my non-christian friends, please bear with me or skip entirely! 8)
If the only reason you go to church is to just "check-off" an attendance box in heaven, stay home! The attendance that is required is your spiritual attendance, not your physical attendance. Maybe it was the section we were in but it seems like everyone was just itching to bolt.
- People didn't want to shake hands at the "sign of peace". One guy actually frowned and grudginly unfolded his arms long enough for a limp-wristed "hope this satisfies you".
- Alot of people didn't sing Or they sung with the smae vigor with which movie zombies subtly murmur "brains... brains". The pastor at my old church used to say "when you sing you pray twice", which is something I like. Most of us can't hold a note in a bucket (whatever that means!) but the point isn't to impress everyone around you with your beautiful voice. The point is to join in with those around you. Set down the vanity and pick up the hymnal.
- Many people cut out right after communion. This is, to me, the religious equivalent of "eat and run". Or just saying "hey, I just go to God's house for the food." I have never, ever understood why people do this on a regular basis. I understand if you have to go somewhere, but, still. When I went on a regular basis one of the most calm moments of my entire week was meditating on the kneeler after communion. I often liked to sit up front so that I would get back to my seat sooner and have more time to meditate.
- Many more cut out at the start of the ending hymn to "beat the traffic".
- The behaviour of some people in the parking lot was attrocious. People cutting others off, cutting through empty parking spots to get ahead in line.
- The priest had no desire to engage the congregation. Walking up to the priest (who was standing alone after mass on the steps) I introduced myself and said we were going to be joining the congregation. His response? "Call the office on Monday" and without even looking at me hurried back into the church. His attitude was "that's nice. I don't want to be standing here talking to you".
I was totally grossed out. I felt like a hippocrite just attending. Linda tried to make me understand a bit more. Alot of people have kids. It's a day during the summer. People have things to do.
Church is not a chore. It's a 1 hour retreat. It's a 1 hour celebration. It's a 1 hour reflection period. You should go because you get something out of it.
We are going to try a noon mass and see if it is a little more community-centered, and I hope I was just walking in with expectations of something different based on my "home" churches (where I was an altar boy and where my dad used to cantor).
Maybe one day I'll be happy to sit in the pew, take little to no notice of those around me, not sing, watch the clock until communiion and then skip out to get a head-start on the parking nightmare. Or I might not.
Spirituality or Bust, baby.
-Ed
ps. A quick lunchtime conversation on this topic yielded an interesting point of view: This behavior tends to be indicative of a large congregation population. Smaller congregations tend to be more community centered, which was certainly the case with my previous church.
Mass: 9:00, 10:30, Adult Choir, noon.
No adult choir, so I guess they meant the noon mass.
Now, I have not, by any means, been a devout church goer these past several years, but I try very hard to have a spiritual, if grass-roots, relationship with my creator. I'm also used to attending churches with a community feel. The last two churches that I attended regularly had cookies and juice after mass, had people stay after and chat, and were easy to befriend.
I know, sometimes, it drove Linda nuts when we stayed after and ate bagels and chatted with some elderly church goers, especially when we had a busy Sunday ahead of us, but it is what I really like to do.
So, how does that map to my Sunday church experience? I felt a little unsettled by it, and since this is my digital diary, I really want to organize and record my thoughts on the matter.
So, in essence, this is a rant. All my non-christian friends, please bear with me or skip entirely! 8)
If the only reason you go to church is to just "check-off" an attendance box in heaven, stay home! The attendance that is required is your spiritual attendance, not your physical attendance. Maybe it was the section we were in but it seems like everyone was just itching to bolt.
- People didn't want to shake hands at the "sign of peace". One guy actually frowned and grudginly unfolded his arms long enough for a limp-wristed "hope this satisfies you".
- Alot of people didn't sing Or they sung with the smae vigor with which movie zombies subtly murmur "brains... brains". The pastor at my old church used to say "when you sing you pray twice", which is something I like. Most of us can't hold a note in a bucket (whatever that means!) but the point isn't to impress everyone around you with your beautiful voice. The point is to join in with those around you. Set down the vanity and pick up the hymnal.
- Many people cut out right after communion. This is, to me, the religious equivalent of "eat and run". Or just saying "hey, I just go to God's house for the food." I have never, ever understood why people do this on a regular basis. I understand if you have to go somewhere, but, still. When I went on a regular basis one of the most calm moments of my entire week was meditating on the kneeler after communion. I often liked to sit up front so that I would get back to my seat sooner and have more time to meditate.
- Many more cut out at the start of the ending hymn to "beat the traffic".
- The behaviour of some people in the parking lot was attrocious. People cutting others off, cutting through empty parking spots to get ahead in line.
- The priest had no desire to engage the congregation. Walking up to the priest (who was standing alone after mass on the steps) I introduced myself and said we were going to be joining the congregation. His response? "Call the office on Monday" and without even looking at me hurried back into the church. His attitude was "that's nice. I don't want to be standing here talking to you".
I was totally grossed out. I felt like a hippocrite just attending. Linda tried to make me understand a bit more. Alot of people have kids. It's a day during the summer. People have things to do.
Church is not a chore. It's a 1 hour retreat. It's a 1 hour celebration. It's a 1 hour reflection period. You should go because you get something out of it.
We are going to try a noon mass and see if it is a little more community-centered, and I hope I was just walking in with expectations of something different based on my "home" churches (where I was an altar boy and where my dad used to cantor).
Maybe one day I'll be happy to sit in the pew, take little to no notice of those around me, not sing, watch the clock until communiion and then skip out to get a head-start on the parking nightmare. Or I might not.
Spirituality or Bust, baby.
-Ed
ps. A quick lunchtime conversation on this topic yielded an interesting point of view: This behavior tends to be indicative of a large congregation population. Smaller congregations tend to be more community centered, which was certainly the case with my previous church.
posted by Ed at 10:47 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home