I chose St. Columba Parish which is a Roman Catholic Church. From the outside of the church, it looks quite friendly, relaxing, and even inviting. When I drove in front of the church before pulling into the parking lot I got an immediate feeling of relaxation. Turns out I missed the mass for this morning but made plans to go the next morning. During this time I walked into the church, and an usher greeted me.  He spoke to me very friendly like, and upon finding out I was Baptist told me I was welcome to come back any time during the week to join them at their mass. He made an impression on me that made me want to go back to their mass.

Admittedly, I felt a little awkward at first, almost like a fish out of water. However, no one looked at me like I did not belong. I was in a smaller room then when I walked in yesterday. I assume this room is used for Mass while yet the other may be the fellowship hall for the regular services. For the most part, people were quiet and respectful to others.

The man who I spoke with yesterday sat down next to me and remembered me. This made me feel a little bit more comfortable. A lady behind me handed me a book that they use for their daily mass readings so that I could follow along. The man next to me handed me their Mantra at the end so I knew what to say when it was time to close in prayer. I had noticed that people would dip their finger into a tub of water and “cross” themselves where they put their hand to their forehead, heart, left side, and right side.

Before sitting in the pew the congregation members would kneel for a second at their end of the pew and then go and sit down in their chosen spots. I noticed if they left the room and came back they would “re-cross” themselves with the same ritual as dipping their hand in the water and touching their forehead, heart, left side, and right side.  I do feel that the architecture lent itself to the worship. The worship service was relaxing and yet kept me awake. Maybe this is because I took notes as I always do in church as a way to keep myself alert and paying attention. The worship service was just as relaxing as the architecture.
The nature of the worship service I saw was a Saturday Mass by the Catholic Church. They offered about an hour’s worth of worship, the gospel, music, and communion. While yet short, it was still quite interesting to see and was grateful to be able to be there. They were talking about how everything you own belongs to God. The main scripture reading they chose to read out of was Malachi 3:7-11.

The rituals that struck me as different from my own is that they have communion every service (I attended multiple services to find this out), they also kneel at the pews on boards when prayer is happening, they say specific things at specific times. We are told what to say when to say it, have communion quarterly as well as special occasions like Easter or Christmas. They spent most of the service standing which made it really hard for me to take notes since I do prefer taking notes in church.

I had a positive reaction to the service and did enjoy myself during the service even though it is not of my religion, I see the Roman Catholics in a different light then what I have seen them before. My mind and ideas on them have changed then what I had in the past when I was 16 and attended one briefly…I will say back then I was a little more close-minded versus now being more open-minded. If I went there with an open mind at 16, maybe things would have been different for me.

What church do you attend? Tell me about your church, I’d love to hear about it! If you don’t go to church do you have any weekly rituals you do? What do you do?