apies wrote:

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Robin, i agree with most of what the other said about MDO at your church.

i think that it is a wonderful program, but so many people are using childcare now for full day care.

my thinking is they should scale back the MDO to 9:00-12 for the ones who are like drop-in for SAHMs. that way it's cheaper but still gives them a few hours to run errands, etc. but then if they WANT to offer longer hours, they should do it so that working parents can use the program too - 7-6 or whatever.

my bff jammi is in this situation now. they both work full time but want to put their son in preschool in the fall (he's at an in-home daycare right now). they had to immediately cross off most of the churches they were considering b/c the hours wouldn't accommodate parents working full time.

i'll be back in a bit to share about our church.

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 We can't increase our hours because we aren't a licensed daycare. Plus they don't pay enough to get any of the teachers to stay for that long. We have our own school-aged kids that need us.

CoffeeQueen wrote:

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Robin, how many services does your church have? Just one?

Mine has a early one that is very traditional and without music, etc. Then there is the 9:30 childrens mass w/ music and children sermon. Then there is the 11:30 one that is less kids and more middle age and not as formal. I think it offers something for each group of people.

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 We have an early service (traditional) at 8:15, a late service (traditional) at 10:50, and a contemporary service that starts at 11:00 in a different building.

We have Sunday school for all ages at 9:30.

We do not have an evening service.

p.s. Most of our older folks go to the early service. Children's church, where the children go out, is only offered at the late service.

daisy wrote:

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supergrover wrote:

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huh, the more I've thought about it, the more you should totally ignore me, lol.  I think my NorthEast roots have given me a very different church experience.  Not better, not worse, just different- so how I see attendance is probably skewed. 

 

So, yeah, carry on. 

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 me too - i feel like its apples and oranges -- northeast v. southern church experiences.

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 yes, this does appear to be true. At least from what I am reading and what I have experienced here. 

i've read this whole thread. it's very interesting to me.

i'm sort of wandering through my journey and not really on any path.

i was raised missouri synod lutheran ("catholic without the saints" is what we call it)

i struggle a LOT with several things.

 the main reason i left the church i grew up in was that the pastor was very frequently using the sermons to talk about why they needed more money. i stopped going all together when they used the drop down, roll out, projection screen tv/computer hookup (in front of the $750,000 organ) to tell us why we had to give more money.  ... that and i learned that they refer to members as "giving units"

 i haven't really been looking for a new church because of a  couple of things. i know in my head that God didn't MAKE Mikey sick but I can't seem to get past the idea that He could have prevented it (and a lot of other awful things) but for some reason He doesn't. My head knows this is not so - my gut and my heart just don't understand.

one of the other reasons i haven't really left is that i was taught over and over again (10 years in lutheran school too) that the BIBLE is the word. That believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive all my sins is the one and only way I will ever go to heaven.  I struggle with these ideas a lot. I just don't believe some of the things written in the bible. AND i don't believe that a God who loved his people so much that he would sacrifice his only son to save them would just cut people off and send them to hell for being the sinners he knows we are. i can't reconcile that.

this is one more thing that just rubs me the wrong way now that i am an adult ... this is a central part of our church service every time..... i'm bothered by the confession  and i'm bothered that the pastor is the one forgiving us of our sins:

ALL:  Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean.  We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone.  We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.  We justly deserve your present and eternal punishment.  For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your holy name.  Amen.

ABSOLUTION:  Almighty God in his mercy has given his Son to die for you and for his sake forgives you all your sins.  As a called and ordained servant of the Word, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

sara, confession is one of many things that completely freaked me out as a kid.

honestly, speaking directly to god has helped me reconnect to my spirituality. thinking that he can "hear" me.

the money thing bothers me too, and was initially a turn off at my current church.

but when i thought about it, i realized that i love how much good our church does for our community and the greater denver community and our contributions is what allows that to happen.

our pastors always say if we can't give out of love and faith, then we need to keep our money. they don't want us to feel guilted into doing it.

i have come to terms with the fact that it takes money to run a church and i think our church handles it well.

ok, i guess it's my turn.

i've only been attending this church for the past 3.5 months or so, so i don't know that much, really. i'm also going to share most of what i like as a "new to church" person vs. someone who's been attending and looking for a new home.

first of all, i would describe our church as quite contemporary and modern. we have a very active website, they have a fb page, you can register for classes online and as of a few weeks ago, you can now participate in the service through an app called youverse that allow us to sort of follow along with the weekend's message. we get lots of email from the church about events (that we subscribe to) and our pastors are very easy to communicate with via email.

our church is fairly large. on the program every week they tell how many people attended the previous weekend and it's usually in the 1300 range.

they have a saturday evening service at 5:30 that matt says targets the younger people. they play a lot of christian rock music and just has a younger vibe to it.

sunday morning we have services at 8:30, 10:00 and 11:35. the 10 is the busiest. there are sunday school classes for kids (broken up by age) and daycare for babies at every service.

there is a live band at every service. (matt works sound once every 6 weeks or so and loves being involved in that way.) guitars, piano, bass, drum set, singers, etc. we have 2 huge screens on either side with lyrics from songs to sing along (lots of that) and also a giant drop-down projection screen that is down about half the time. the screens are also used for sharing passages, key points from the message, video snippets to go along with the service, etc. i love the multidimensional aspect of the services.

there is a program for every service. inside tells you about upcoming events, and then there is a pull out page where there are key sections from the message with "fill in the blank" stuff or notes places to following along during the message. there is also a tear off tab to write down family information if you're new or prayer requests. speaking of new, at the beginning of each service, they give a "shout out" to anyone new to the church and welcome them. they do the same thing before communion and remind new people that they do not need to "give" unless they want to give the information tear off tab so they can learn more about them. it felt very comfortable right away for me because of these things.

there are classes on tuesday nights for both kids and adults (my kids are too young, so there is childcare instead while we go to class).

we have adopted a square mile in the poorest section of denver and we do some mission work there with the families regularly.

they are always doing community service. last summer, for example, they had an oil change day for single moms. they had the materials needed in the parking lot and men from the church changed the oil on cars of women who came through.

we have open gym night.

we have morning bible studies for men.

we have evening bible studies for women.

one sunday a month they do "couponing for a cause" to try to increase our available donations to the square mile.

so, tons of things to be involved with. but here's what i love most.

when i walk in the door, there are always 2 men holding the doors open between services. my kids sprint to the door to high 5 them. inside, everyone is mingling in the lobby - happy, smiling, laughing, hugging, shaking hands. all 3 pastors are there participating. when one of them sees me, he smiles warmly, shakes my hand and tells me he's happy to see me there today. no pressure. no guilt.

it just FEELS good when you walk in the door. you feel like you belong.

wow, that is long.

daisy wrote:

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Robin wrote:

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Juanita wrote:

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Regarding Jenn, Kelly and Melissa's comments about the differences....in what ways exactly? Do you think it's the Catholic/Protestant thing? I mean, we have Catholic churches here, but it seems more prominent up there?

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 I almost asked that exact question. Is it because Catholicism is the most common kind of church in the north?

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 it's hard to say, as my stereotypes of southern church experiences are largely based on tv and books...but it could be a catholic/protestant thing. in NY, catholic church is a pretty formidable experience - i think it's highly unusual to get the warm, community feeling that seems prevalent in the south.  there is SOME community, but nothing like what i picture in the south.  like, at all.  there isn't a huge relationship between preists and parishioners either.  and most regulars at church are not active in the church community.  those who are are typically older (elderly).

the catholic mass recently changed and we had to go to this pancake breakfast to learn the new wording of some of the prayers (anyone with students in religious ed had to go) - the new wording is even MORE formidable...instead of "i have sinned through my own fault" we now have to repeat "through my fault" 3x....stuff like that. 

i think in general, the northeast stereotypes of being raised catholic (like the stuff you see in movies) is pretty dead-on.  it's a severe experience and warmth isn't necessarily emphasized or prioritized. that's been my experience, anyway.  

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 this is exactly my take and what I experienced growing up catholic. 

however, I am now episcipalian by choice and what I am not raising my kids. 

apies wrote:

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ok, i guess it's my turn.

i've only been attending this church for the past 3.5 months or so, so i don't know that much, really. i'm also going to share most of what i like as a "new to church" person vs. someone who's been attending and looking for a new home.

first of all, i would describe our church as quite contemporary and modern. we have a very active website, they have a fb page, you can register for classes online and as of a few weeks ago, you can now participate in the service through an app called youverse that allow us to sort of follow along with the weekend's message. we get lots of email from the church about events (that we subscribe to) and our pastors are very easy to communicate with via email.

our church is fairly large. on the program every week they tell how many people attended the previous weekend and it's usually in the 1300 range.

they have a saturday evening service at 5:30 that matt says targets the younger people. they play a lot of christian rock music and just has a younger vibe to it.

sunday morning we have services at 8:30, 10:00 and 11:35. the 10 is the busiest. there are sunday school classes for kids (broken up by age) and daycare for babies at every service.

there is a live band at every service. (matt works sound once every 6 weeks or so and loves being involved in that way.) guitars, piano, bass, drum set, singers, etc. we have 2 huge screens on either side with lyrics from songs to sing along (lots of that) and also a giant drop-down projection screen that is down about half the time. the screens are also used for sharing passages, key points from the message, video snippets to go along with the service, etc. i love the multidimensional aspect of the services.

there is a program for every service. inside tells you about upcoming events, and then there is a pull out page where there are key sections from the message with "fill in the blank" stuff or notes places to following along during the message. there is also a tear off tab to write down family information if you're new or prayer requests. speaking of new, at the beginning of each service, they give a "shout out" to anyone new to the church and welcome them. they do the same thing before communion and remind new people that they do not need to "give" unless they want to give the information tear off tab so they can learn more about them. it felt very comfortable right away for me because of these things.

there are classes on tuesday nights for both kids and adults (my kids are too young, so there is childcare instead while we go to class).

we have adopted a square mile in the poorest section of denver and we do some mission work there with the families regularly.

they are always doing community service. last summer, for example, they had an oil change day for single moms. they had the materials needed in the parking lot and men from the church changed the oil on cars of women who came through.

we have open gym night.

we have morning bible studies for men.

we have evening bible studies for women.

one sunday a month they do "couponing for a cause" to try to increase our available donations to the square mile.

so, tons of things to be involved with. but here's what i love most.

when i walk in the door, there are always 2 men holding the doors open between services. my kids sprint to the door to high 5 them. inside, everyone is mingling in the lobby - happy, smiling, laughing, hugging, shaking hands. all 3 pastors are there participating. when one of them sees me, he smiles warmly, shakes my hand and tells me he's happy to see me there today. no pressure. no guilt.

it just FEELS good when you walk in the door. you feel like you belong.

wow, that is long.

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what kind of church is it? glad you found something that feels right! 

April, your church sounds a LOT like mine. We have a live band along with the orchestra and a choir, with 2 projection screens too! The men at the door is what is at our church too. It's a very social experience, no stuffiness at all, which is what I love. It's a very similar setting, right down to the different service times and styles, except we only have 2 morning services, sunday school in between along with an evening one.