www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Maybe I should have stayed Methodist....

I have friends who attend St. Basil's in Irving.

Dave, if you are interested, I can probably get you in touch with them.
I'm a member at St. Peter Antiochian in Fort Worth. We are Western Rite Orthodox. It'd be an hour drive for you from McKinney, but we'd love to see you.

Gregg

Additionally you can visit St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church [orthodox.net] in McKinney, TX. Contact Father Seraphim (who is a convert himself) via email [seraphim at orthodox.net]. Father Seraphim keeps a great blog here: http://www.orthodox.net/redeemingthetime/

This is an English speaking parish in ROCOR that has some evangelical ministries for outreach. I am sure you might have visited them already being located in your hometown. I would suggest contacting the Priest and informing him of you situation then go to the services and see how friendly the parish is when they know that you have an authentic interest in Orthodoxy. BTW, this parish is getting ready to move into a newly constructed temple!

May God keep You!

Michael

I don't know which EO churches you visited, and I can only work from my own experience, but I have experience a lot of love from the parishes that I have attended, and that is a lot better than friendly.

I've done Roman Catholic, Evangelical/Pentecostal Protestant, and the Byzantine tradition. I've done Evangelism Explosion, where you go out and knock on doors and ask people really nosey questions. Admittedly, the RC and EO churches don't do that, but if you do more than just visit, you will find that there is a richness and beauty and deeply personal (and yet corporate) worship than you will ever find in any Protestant Church.

Which would be better? An opening prayer, Anthems and hymns sung by the choir, and then a sermon, leading up to an altar call to give your life to Jesus; or inviting the Mystical Presence of Jesus into your life by receiving the Eucharist?

As for me, I'll take that latter.

The sinner Brendan

Methodists are great people, no doubt about it. They make the best neighbors. My father, grandfather, and greatgrandfather were Methodist ministers, as are two first cousins. An aunt was a Methodist deaconess. My family and I became Byzantine Catholics ten years ago. No regrets whatsoever. The Catholic Church has all the sacraments. The Methodists, God bless them, do not.

There is a Catholic presonality (or anti-personality) that, I think, is the result of marginalization in America, lack of education, and lack of social graces that may be caused by related to the hard, struggling, working class roots of many Catholics. How many times have I introduced myself to priests who didn't even tell me their names?! Their mamas should have taught them better.

There's also a pervasive suspicion of tradition--often times parroting old and forgotten protestant liberal theories. I found that very disconcerting--I had converted because of the Truth I read in the catechism; I discovered as a Catholic that many of my fellow parishioners and even some priests rejected the Catechism!

There's also, at least in the Latin parish I attend, a culture of mediocrity in the music and execution of the liturgy. Episcopalians celebrate their liturgy with much more reverence and respect. There's more traditional Catholic music at many Methodist churches than in my parish.

But--all this is changing for the better, I believe.

I love Catholics and I love the Caholic Church. I miss the Methodists, but I don't miss BEING Methodist. Thank God I can take communion at the Divine Liturgy or Holy Mass.

Peace to all,

Jim McCafferty

#1. you DONT enter the RC Church because of good feely things!
You enter it because it is the Church founded by Jesus Christ as a means of your salvation.
#2 You DO enter the RC Church because it proclaims the Truth of God in season and out of season whether it is popluar or not.
Stephanos I

You don't think parishioners of a parish should be interested in new comers or someone returning to their faith? It seems that you are being somewhat harsh. I for one am far more likely to attend a parish where people are not stuck up.

In Christ:
Einar

I'm glad you are trying to return to the Catholic Church.

I believe I may have seen you @ St. Basil's in irving - at a Sat. a.m. Liturgy. I'm the guy in the uniform who sits on the last row...I had to leave immediately afterward in order to got to my job on time...so I was unable to ask if you're Dave in McKinney...

I hope you'll give St. Basil's another, say, 3 dozen chances. We're an imperfect bunch and sometimes we unintentionally overlook needs that are staring us right in the face.

Dave,

Are you starting to sense a theme here about the reasons for going to a Catholic Church? Ultimately, it is the only reason. Still, we could do the other stuff better. I used to attend a Wesleyan Church with an old boyfriend. It was my first experience outside of a Catholic Church and I was amazed. I went to 7:30 Mass in my own church, which I had been attending for several years. Although several people were familiar, very few people knew my name. At my boyfriend's church, which I attended with him for his first visit, the pastor and his wife introduced themselves the first week. The second week, they and others remembered our names. By the third week, we already felt a part of it all.

When I started attending my current (Byzantine) parish, I was one of only about 15 people. The Deacon (much to my surprise) remembered me from childhood and we had a conversation about my cousin, who also sometimes attended Liturgy there. Other than that, nobody gave me the time of day. It took months of regular attendance before people started acting like I belonged. The parish has grown since then, and I and others make an effort to greet visitors and it has paid off.

Yes, we have the Eucharist. For that reason, we will always be at a Catholic Church. In that, we don't really have a choice. One time we had a visitor in the back of the church. I made the assumption that he was a Latin-rite Catholic, since most of our visitors are. We greeted him and answered his questions, assuming that they were from a Latin Rite perspective, but it turned out that he was an unbaptized seeker. He had "prayed the Jesus prayer" and was looking for more. He wasn't a convert who had read his way into the church. He knew nothing about the Eucharist. He just knew that God had brought him into our church that Sunday morning. Anyway, he is now preparing for baptism. Had we not been welcoming and open to him, he might have moved on.

We are there because we have the Eucharist. We know that we will not be anywhere else. But that does not excuse us from failing to show the basic virtue of hospitality to every visitor who comes through our door. This will look different in big parishes and small parishes, and I'm not sure I'd want the approach of the mega-church Protestants. We don't want to develop an insular attitude. These visitors have come to us. On some level, they want what we have and we can offer it to them. We need to reach out to them as individuals and determine what their needs are. We have a responsibility to fulfill the Great Commission and one way we can work at doing that is through the hospitality we show to visitors in our churches.

No I didnt say that.
I remember once hearing a man say oh yeah I was a catholic once but I didnt like the music! Duh!
My point was that ultimately we are to be faithful to Chirst and his will, not or own whims or likes or dislikes.
Stephanos I

Unfortunately, Roman Catholic parishes where the "music" completely blots out any chance at prayer, reverence, or participating in the Mass don't seem to be rare. In these parishes, the "music mafia" is off doing its own thing, with nor regard to the Mass, purpose, theology, and so forth.

Hi there .... before I start this, I want to be sure everyone understands that I am NOT touting one Orthodox Church over another ... our belief systems are the same and that is the important bottom line. However, that being said, I am part of the Western Antiochian Orthodox Church, which basically has little or no ethnic flavor at all. Everyone speaks English, there is no sense of being "closed out" and we are welcoming to visitors. On the other hand, there is a larger Greek Orthodox Church in our town, which while the Priest is a dear man, when visiting their services, the difference is profound. The service is in Greek and (please forgive me here)and the people are very cold and non-welcoming. Like I said, I am not touting one over the other, but I think the Western Orthodox are filled with more the "former Protestants, Episcopalians, and cradle Catholics" which makes for less of an ethnic, and perhaps more open and welcoming atmosphere. If I have offended anyone by this post, I am truly sorry .... it was not my intention at all.
Just my thoughts,
abby

Dear Abby,

You haven't offended me or anyone else, I am sure. You have shared your experience, and it is a valid one. Some Greek Orthodox churches are run like nothing more than Greek American social clubs. This is true; and especially where there are many immigrants still. I am assuming that was the case where you went, because the directive of the Greek Archdiocese is to use predominantly the language of the congregation.

I wish you could visit my Greek Orthodox parish to see how different it is (though I do acknowledge that for the North East it is a rarity)...Our Liturgy and chanting is in English, and our congregation and priest are very devout. Those who didn't like that, left. People are basically friendly and our congregation is American born; whether Greek or anything else.

I understand that there are also former Protestants in many OCA and Antiochian parishes throughout the country...

I think that geographical locations have alot to do with what you will find in any given Eastern 'rite' Orthodox church...and in a way, maybe this is good becasue not every parish, priest, and its congregation is the right fit for someone to feel comfortable in; whether cradle like me, or convert like you! So the smorgasborg may actually be a good thing! LOL.

Best regards,
Alice

My sister married a Greek, converted to the Orthodox Church, and became a very active member of her parish. It was a decade or more before they stopped considering her "xeni". Don't be put off by the stares or questions of a few--most Orthodox are warm and welcoming.

Alice,

Just how common is English in the GOA these days? The Liturgy at St. Katherine's in Falls Church is primarily in Greek, as is the Liturgy at the parish in Mattituck on Long Island, where I go when visiting my parents. I thought that the Archdiocese had come down firmly against vernacularism, but perhaps that has changed? Is it now left to the discretion of each individual pastor?

And in a related development, a show on the local NPR station is discussing Greek culture and Greek food in the Washington Metro area, and this weekend marks the beginning of Greek Festival Season, which will last through 4-6 June (with the St. Katherine's Festival in Falls Church, the last festival of the season--though St. Katherine's has a second festival in early October, too).

During the times I've been out photographing church interiors or going to festivals, I've found the Greek Orthodox to be the friendliest of all the Orthodox I've met. Last year on Orthodox Good Friday, I visited one church that used to be in my old neighborhood, and before I left, I had gotten a private tour and was given a yearbook and video for free.