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Thank you for sharing your situation; I fully appreciate the consternation. Though I am Roman Catholic, I too have stumbled with similar issues. The Latin (RC) Church is very large which, in and of itself, can be quite intimidating. 11 years ago, fraught with despair over constant changes in my parish, I decided to turn it over to our Lord. I sent up a sincere prayer to be guided to "a holy priest, a reverent liturgy and a community in need of whatever gifts I might be able to share". Later that day, I compiled a list of RC parishes within a certain radius of home with the intention of visiting each one until I found the "right"one. A freeper friend reminded me of the Eastern Catholic Churches, suggesting I do some research and add these to my list. There were 2 - Maronite and Ukrainian. Each Sunday, I pulled out my list and attended mass at a different parish.

Week 4, the Maronite Catholic Church was next on the list. I knew nothing about their liturgy but my freeper friend, who had attended several of their masses, assured me that it was ancient and steeped in great reverence. It was in this very small parish that our Lord let me know that I was home. I left the church that day with a sense of peace that lasted the entire week. For the first time in my life, the words "Peace be with you." took on true significance. The small community welcomed me with open arms. Here, I discovered "gifts and abilities" I never knew I had. Because of its small community size (about 60 families), their needs were great. Looking back, I can now understand why our Lord called me here and am truly humbled by His response. I have been asked to serve on the Parish Council, develop a Religious Education program, write 2 grants (both were awarded), serve on various committees and now do the weekly bulletin. The blessings have flowed from God - one of those grants was for the restoration of stained glass windows in a 160 y/o former Methodist/Episcopal Church that was to become our future home. The odds of being awarded a matching state grant are astronomical. Never having written a grant, I entrusted it to Christ: "If this be your will, please help us". More than 350 applications were submitted and only 15 grants were awarded. As it turned out, ours was the last state grant awarded to restore stained glass windows with a religious theme; the state dropped it the following year.

This is not to suggest that your path is the same as mine but I would encourage you to entrust to Christ your prayer for him to guide and assist you on your journey. He will not fail you. I will add you to my daily prayer list. May our Lord bless you on your journey!

Thank you for sharing your encouraging story! I find comfort in both how your persistence was rewarded and as another example of how God works.

I was going to do something similar when I first moved here using the yellow pages, but, as is often the case, I got offtrack and distracted by life and never finished what I started.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your vantage point, I had a stormy 2 or 3 year stretch recently that radically rocked my world again and again, reminding me of both the bigger picture and my temporary status in the here and now.

Quite a prolonged attitude adjustment, but apparently that's what it takes for the ultra hard-headed like me.

Now, with a newly improved and re-calibrated attitude, I can add your story to those that play in my head during my inner prodigal son arguments.

Thanks for the gift!