Conversion Journey update (Vanity)

[Jennifer in Florida]

Thanks so much for this post. I have been searching for a church for a long time, and have thought about Catholicism. I have been trying to find a church that fits with my beliefs. (Being a conservative and all.) I was baptized a Presbyterian but my parents never brought us kids to sunday school so I was never confirmed or anything. My husband and I were also married in a Presbyterian church (out of convenience only) but because of a very bad experience I won't go back to them.

I have a question. I've never been to a Catholic mass. Would it be OK to just sit in on one with my kids? I've gone to some churches where I felt like I wasn't welcome because I was an "outsider." I'm not sure how the Catholic church would respond. Could you recommend the best time for me to check it out? Saturday, Sunday, during the week? I'm basically starting from scratch here!

Thanks so much!

[TheStickman]

Saturday evening or Sunday morning, IMO would be best time to attend Mass the 1st time. Depending on the ages of your children--that's gonna depend on your personal comfort level. Small kids, under the age of 8...I would not take them the 1st time. Just my personal preference based on my kids at that age. Ours are older teens so taking them was no problem.

After the Mass, be sure to pick up a bulletin. As a rule there will be some very useful contact info you will want to have. Don't be afraid to ask questions and may God's Hand guide you.

[Jennifer in Florida]

Thanks so much :)

[AnAmericanMother]

Hi! Just my two cents from a recent convert.

Of course you're welcome to sit in on a Mass. (Everyone was very welcoming to us when we showed up out of the blue.) If you want to, call the church office and find out which service is the children's or family service on Sunday. That would be a good service to start with. (Here, the 9 o'clock service is the family service. When we were looking, we went to the later 11 o'clock service because my kids are older and I wanted to hear the adult choir.)

One thing you may find unusual, coming from the Presbyterians, is that communion is given at every service, and only Catholics can receive communion in the Catholic church. But if you like you can go up to the rail (or to the steps if there isn't a rail), just cross your arms over your chest and the priest will give you a blessing instead.

(My mom was a Presby before she joined the Episcopal church when she married dad - we were also Episcopal until a short time ago. Mom and dad have a better bishop than we did . . . :-D )

The missalette (the little paperback book in the pews) will drive you nuts because you have to keep flipping back and forth between the prayers for the particular service (in the middle by date) and the Order of Mass (in the front.) But don't worry, it gets easier!