Going to Apostate Church (page 2)

finally awake

The only time I went into a church was for a wedding right after I started studying. I was really really against going into another church after I got baptized. Now, I don't know if I could sit through a service in a church, but I have no problem going inside the Methodist church for Boy Scout meetings.

joannadandy

While still in - only went for family funerals. I was facinated, and since I was pretty young, didn't really understand. I thought they had way cooler looking stuff. :)

Morbidzbaby

Usually only for weddings or funerals... Pre-marriage, I went to the wedding of a friend of mine in a big beautiful old church. I always went by it as a kid living in the city, but had never been inside. Whenever the door opened, I'd get scared of what might come out LOL. When I went to her wedding, though, I was surprised at how GORGEOUS is was inside! Not dark and dank like I thought it would be. Bright, high ceilings, beautiful paintings and sculptures, amazing stained glass art... I think it's funny how the JW's always said that a church having "images" was wrong because they "worshipped them". I never once saw anyone worshipping them at all. I saw them as a reminder...an embodiment of what the people believed. Something tangible that they could see and touch. My parents didn't go in...they met us all at the reception. They did this with family weddings, too. Wouldn't go into the church, but showed up to eat the food. I hated that and always thought it was so hypocritical.

For funerals, my mother didn't go into the church, but it was dad's family so he went (he wasn't a JW at the time). The last family funeral, my parents went to the wake, but not the funeral. I went to both. The church service was beautiful, and since my parents weren't there, I felt free to actually take part in a way. My dad's family is Catholic, so I did the standing and kneeling, the Lord's Prayer, etc out of respect for my family, particularly my deceased aunt and what she believed. I wasn't going to stand there all obstinate like "I'm an Atheist, I'm not participating, humph!!". I enjoyed smelling the incense, hearing the hymns sung, and seeing the ancient rites performed that are deeply rooted in my own present belief system.

However, I thought the Holy Water bowl that was nailed to the door was an ashtray... I leaned over to my friend who was there with me for support and said "I didn't think they allowed smoking in church". She looked at me and said "What do you mean?" so I pointed at the tray. She almost fell out of the pew laughing. She hissed "That's not an ashtray, it's for the Holy Water, MORON!!" LMAO So I whispered loudly (I tend to be loud without realizing it) "It's not my fault I was raised in a CULT!!"

oompa

i went into a catholic church in nyc once just for the hey of it...my son was with me...i saw the process of dipping a finger in water...kneeling and crossing yourself...and i guess a prayer....so i did it to...my son got a kick out of it.......oompa

Nice_Dream

I went to a few churches for weddings and thought they were creepy and evil. But now that I`m out, I just went to a United Church and it was very welcoming and light hearted. The songs were sang with real joy, and the sign on the door said `Service in session, Please come in.`That is definitely more welcoming than the Kingdom Hall, where you would have to knock if you arrived 5 minutes late because they locked the door.

Godsendconspirator

I grew up as a Catholic and frequently attended church. When I became a witness I never really had an irrational fear of churches. It seemed more of a joke to me than anything else.

Band on the Run

My first church was St. Patrick's in Manhattan. I just wanted to see it as a tourist. My parents, gm always pointed it out as evil. I was older and on one of my runaways to Manhattan to get away from my violent father. I took a deep breath and walked inside. My mind told me all these tourists are going in and out and there is never a news expose of them dying. My fear was great. I leaped into the unknown. A few feet in and I noticed something from my peripehral vision. I screeched and jumped up. Everyone looked. I realized it was a wax figure of Pope Pius (the WWII pope) in papal finery. It was the last thing I needed. I apologized and decided to explore more.

My first church as a worshipper was the Anglican Cathedral in NY by Columbia University. I needed to visit the campus and the subway was out. As I walked past the bldg I never noticed before, I saw a sign announcing that Cesar Chavez and Geraldo Rivera, a bad local reporters, were giving the sermon on Sunday. I had a big grape boycott poster on my wall at home. I drove in from Jersey. The combo of Catholic like tradition mixed with progressive theology and heavenly music grabbed me. It was the antithesis of the KH. Daniel Berrigan, Hans Kung, UN diplomats, US diplomats all preached. It is very artsy.

I worshipped there many years. When I became ill, the community saved my life. I wanted a pool of prof'l young men so I transferred to a society church downtown with a good singles ministry. It allowed more intimacy than the cathedral which was not a parish.

Going to Apostate Church