Posted by kathy --Previous Message--
on November 22, 2005, 9:54 pm, in reply to "Re: And the Dance goes on..."
Hi Michele,
A Welcoming institution seems to be an anomoly doesn't it. On an institutional level the catholic church has some fantastic things going like Cafe, Catholics Returning Home, RCIA etc.
What is really needed is that personal welcome and one to one invitation. I belong to a movement called Catholic Cursillo Movement which is based on making friends. Generally, I think Catholics are comfortable in a private religion that is between themselves and God. Until we realise WE are the church, WE are the body of Christ, His hands and feet - each one of us, we won't feel compelled to get off our seats and reach out to others. I'm throwing a challenge out to you, I guess. It's so easy to speak of they should be welcoming, they should be friendly, they should be Christian - the institution, the church. We, individually make up the they and so it is up to each one of us. If we are feeling unwelcomed at our church, then there must be others in the same boat. We are the ones who have empathy with them and so it's up to us, then, to be welcoming to them. If not us, then who??? Oh, them of course!
What do you think?
love Kathy
: Kathy, thanks for your reply and the thoughts
: contained within. On reading your reply I
: was able to narrow my questions somewhat.
: You talk about people doing kind and good
: things all through your days and I too see
: that, time and time again. But what you have
: clarified or illustrated for me is that
: distance between being good people and being
: people who participate in and attend the
: instutition called "Church".
:
: Jo talks about her local Church closing and
: knows that she could attend else where but
: does not feel the same sense of
: "home" in that place. I could tell
: you a story about my experience of Church
: which has left me unable to attend my local
: parish. So the question I guess I'm asking,
: without being able to articulate it, is who
: in the Church welcomes those people who are
: outside their parish? Who welcomes the
: people who drop by for a couple of years and
: then move on to some other place? Who
: gathers up the people who for whatever
: reason have been hurt by someone in the
: Church, holds their hand and welcomes them
: back through the doors?
:
: I know that I can attend Mass in another
: parish but I doubt that I would feel
: particularly welcome. And despite the fact
: that a good 50% of the people in my life are
: Catholic and mostly practicising Catholics I
: couldn't tell you the last time one of those
: people encouraged or invited me to attend
: Mass with them.
:
: True, sometimes we have to take
: responsibility for our own actions but I
: just wonder if the institution could not do
: more to go out and hunt down the
: "lost" ones. Invite them back and
: encourage them to stay.
:
: As I say Kathy thanks for your thoughts and
: your comments about the way Mass provides
: you with inspiration and courage to move
: forward in a community is very true and spot
: on.
:
: Cheers
: Michele
:
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