I got kicked out of church
St. Peter Catholic Church (Stevens Point WI)
Years ago, I got kicked out of church. Well, it wasn’t actually me who got kicked out.
I’m a Roman Catholic. Mom and I went to a church in a town about 30 miles north of New York City. At the time, she was a divorced mother taking her child to church. Apparently, the pastor of our church didn’t take too kindly to divorced folks. When I was about 10 years old, the pastor stood up and said that divorced people weren’t welcome in his parish. Mom was a lot of things, but dense wasn’t one of them. She scooped me up, and off we went, not to return for many years. It appeared that my sacraments were to end at communion.
In the interim, we moved to a new town. I was an early teenager, so I had no real interest in church. Mom had apparently soured on the idea, but was at an event one day when she was introduced to the local pastor. He asked her why she was not coming to church. She explained. He pointed out that the previous pastor may not have been the nicest guy. He encouraged her to return, if for no other reason, so that I might be confirmed.
Mom and I returned to church. I received my confirmation, and that was my last moment in church for quite a while. I did finally return to church, but not until I met my wife. My wife has been a devout church attendee for her entire life. She was brought up in catholic schools. She attended a catholic college for her undergrad. Growing up, she played in guitar groups and sand in the youth choir. She was a member of the youth ministry.
Today, I consider myself to be a spriritual person. I am not better than you if you are not a spiritual person. If you go to church once a week, I am not better because I go twice. I don’t care if you are divorced. I dont care if you’re gay. I don’t care if you look at internet porn. I don’t care if you don’t put much in the collection plate, although I would love a moment to tell you how important it is to do so.
I have a problem with the way many of my faith (and other faiths) treat their religions. A religion should not be an exclusive club. Religions and churches should be warm and welcoming. Religious folks should be accepting of others. The idea that a faith would exclude anyone is patently ridiculous. I’m especially concerned about this when the sin, as they say, stops at the tip of my nose. If your sin does not have an impact on me, who am I to judge you. None of us is without sin.
If I go to church with a contractor who has ripped me off, shouldn’t he be kept out? His sin had a negative impact on me. If he was gay, it would not be a problem unless he was a predator and hit on me. If he was divorced, he and his family are the ones affected. Adultery may be a threat to the parish itself, so that’s a tough one. Let’s agree that, in the case of a draw, we are going to opt with “you get to come to church UNTIL you prove you are no longer entitled.”
Would it be a sin to sit on that committee? Have I just made the problem even worse?
