www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Hey Everyone! I'm a new teen!

Hey everyone!

Just thought I'd introduce myself to y'all, even though I'm sure creating a new topic devoted to me isn't quite appropriate

I'm a 15 year old Methodist boy from Georgia, but will soon (in the next year or two) convert to the Catholic Church. However, I'm not sure if I want to be Eastern Catholic (and even then, if I want to be Melkite, Maronite, etc.) or if I want to be a Western Catholic who observes and attends the traditional Roman (Tridentine) sub-rite.

I'm very interested in the Catholic Faith, and have been for many years. I have studied the Fathers, Councils, Sacred Tradition and Scripture and have come to believe that the Catholic Church is the True Church (though I considered Orthodoxy, and prayed a lot about it).

Soli Deo Gloria,
ChristTeen287

Welcome, young brother! It is good to see such a serious seeker as yourself at such a young age. How is the rest of your family reacting to your quest? Have you had a chance to check out the Byzantine Church is Roswell?

Dan Lauffer

My parents are very supportive of me. My father's family are Sicilian Roman Catholics, so obviously they are elated that I am becoming Catholic. My mother is Methodist, but greatly admired Catholicism's teachings and morality, much moreso than even the average conservative Protestant. I thank God I don't come from a family who would disown me.

My parents would have a problem with me becoming non-Christian, or marrying a non-Christian, but generally if I stay within the norms of those bounds (excluding Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc.) they will support me.

Dan, I'm about an hour west of Atlanta, so Roswell is only about 1 hr. 15 away, maybe a little more. I'm looking for a good Eastern Catholic parish in Birmingham or Atlanta (both are about an hour away). Is the church in Roswell a good choice? I also would like to visit St. John Chrysostom in Atlanta, and St. Elias (Maronite) in Birmingham. Since I am also considering the Tridentine sub-rite of Latin Catholicism, I would also like to visit St. Francis de Sales in Mableton.

Christ Teen,

You are very blessed in your situation. I'm not familiar with the Churches in Ga or Al but byzinroswell (Denise) is. I hope she sees your questions.

Dan Lauffer

Dear Christ Teen,
Welcome to the Forum.
It sounds like you know where Roswell is located.
We have Liturgy Saturday 5:30 pm and Sunday 8:30 and 11:00 am.
If you need directions let me know, it is very simple to get to from GA 400.

We have a wonderful web site at www.byzantines.net/epiphany [byzantines.net]
(some of the articles on it were written by a parishioner and there is a disclaimer for some of his stronger statements, especially regarding
Islam -- yeah, now all of you are gonna go and read.....)

I would estimate our parish is about 40% Roman Catholic, although several of us, me included, have transferred Rite to Byzantine. Some of the spouses are non-Catholic. I have never seen any pressure on anyone to change religious affiliation. Our priest is very accepting of everyone, we even have some Armenian Orthodox use our church when their priest is in town.

I like what our priest said one Sunday "There is enough grace flowing from the Communion chalice to bless even those not able to come up for Communion"..... I assume he was referring to the non-Catholics who cannot partake...

We are a small congregation, maybe 125 to 150 families? So which ever Liturgy you attend, you get to know everyone. If you are under 18 years of age, you should probably bring your parent/s.
I think the priest would feel more comfortable talking to a teen if your parent shows agreement with your desire to change your current religious affiliation.

We have Sunday school for the kids at 9:45 am Sundays.
Sometimes we have classes for those desiring to learn more about the Eastern Rites.

I can't think of anything to add, but please post if you have any questions. Or write to me under the personal letter section.
denise

Dear ChristTeen

One more thing,
our priest originally came from an Episcopalian
background and our former deacon (God rest his soul) came from a Lutheran background.

So, you see, we are quite used to a variety of roots in our parish.
denise
(and you are very bright, ChristTeen, about the
"Epiphany" joke...... it took me a minute to get what you meant......)

byzinroswell,

Thanks so much for the information. I visited your church's website, it seems great. How long is the average Sunday Divine Liturgy (I'm in favor of long, elaborate ones)? I can't drive yet, but I will turn 16 in a little over 4 months, so I'd love to visit then.

I have my parents' permission and blessing to convert to Catholicism, but I really don't know how to go about it. I suppose I have to go through RCIA, which doesn't start until September (2003 for me). Can someone convert who is not yet 18 but has his parents' permission? Anyhoo, I'm not rushing myself (even though I probably should) because I'm not sure if I want to be Eastern Catholic, and even then, what specific type of Eastern Catholic.

Soli Deo Gratia,
ChristTeen287

Christ Teen 287,

Why don't you call the parish and ask if anyone lives out your way and would be willing to give you a ride? Of course the idea & they would have to meet approval of your parents.


Nicky's Baba

Welcome ChristTeen;

Hope we can be of help to you here on our Forum.

One word of warning: Sometimes we get huffy with each other, so don't be alarmed if you sometimes see it in our posts.

The reason for this is (in my opinion) that our Faith is very precious to each one of us, and it's hard to always be patient with each other when we disagree or don't see eye to eye.

With Best Wishes!
Stefan-Ivan

Nicky's Baba,
Good idea!

Stefan,
Don't worry about it, I was (PAST TENSE) a member at Beliefnet and rarely went anywhere but the Catholic Forum, and let me tell you, nothing could be more worse than the bickering over there. That's the reason I stopped visiting that distressful site, and I haven't been back since. This isn't even the tip of the iceberg; I think mainly because these fora are pretty well hidden.

Soli Deo Gloria,
ChristTeen287

I don't think "more worse" is correct English- - -isn't it technically "worser"?

Dear Christ Teen,

Welcome to the forum. This is truly a group of people who love the Lord and each other. Like any family, opions are expressed and working through them only helps the relationships to grow fonder in the cyber community.

Let me speak up for St. Georges Melkite Church in Birmingham. We are a very busy church, growing rapidly with many young families and young people and a great youth group.

If you like long Liturgies you will like ours. Sunday Orthros starts at 9:15, Divine Liturgy starts at 10:30 and finishes around 12 to 12:30.

If you want a good chat room, and we have a number of teens that come in there, you can go to http://www.churchbulletin.com
There are a lot of converts in the room and it is both text and voice chat. Most of the people are Roman but they are still a good group to just spend time with. We find our teens the most challangeing, they come up with a lot of good questions and really want to know the truth. So I think you would enjoy it. Usually the busiest times are from 7:30 pm till whenever. Stop in and say hi. This room is monitered and strict rules are followed, so you don't have to worry about misbehaviour.

Also for Catholic teens this is a good chat room.
http://www.onerock.com
anyone looking for a room for teens. It is done by teens for teens and has a lot of clergy guidence. There is always a mom in there. Parents you might want to check this out, it seems to be a safe place for kids to go.

Rose

Dear ChristTeen:

At Epiphany in Roswell our Liturgies are about
70 minutes. After the 8:30 am, of course we have to have our donuts and coffee/juice and chat with each other.

What some folks do that live farther away is to attend the 5:30 pm on Saturday evening. They come into the area during the afternoon and do any shopping they can't do further out in the rural areas, then they drop by for Liturgy at 5:30.

Sunday school will start up in September. There is one class for the high schoolers. Wow, I just realized my whole class (okay, my class was three girls) is moving up to the high school level!!
Sometimes the high schoolers go out for breakfast or bagels and talk about teen issues.

(the correct word would be "worse"; use 'bad' for one object, use worse when comparing two objects, and use worst when comparing three or more objects)

I am just guessing, but I don't think the process is as elaborate for converting to Byzantine as for Roman. But you'd have to check with the priest. If you've been Baptized "in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" already you would not need to be re-Baptized.

denise

Rose,

Thanks for the information on St. George. I knew there was another Eastern Catholic church in Birmingham, but it sort of slipped into my subconscious because, as far as I know, your parish doesn't have a website. Thanks for the information on the liturgy and teen fora.

Byzinroswell,

Epiphany sounds good too. I'll definitely have to visit sometime. Yes, I have been baptized (in my Methodist church), but would it be possible to be re-baptized into the Catholic Church or is that strictly forbidden? Thanks for the grammar correction too...my mind has become lazy over the summer.

Soli Deo Gloria,
ChristTeen287