is it weird to go to a different parish? And adult catechism classes

[MitchieInge]

especially if you are slinking back after years of sinfulness, have serious problems with your faith and can't even put your finger on what it is aboit your local that you don't like?

and is there something like catechism for returners? Or should I just buy a book?

am only bumping quite so impatiently as might not check thread again until Thurs by which time will hopefully have spoken to priest

will trawl boards for threads about similar in meantime

hello why do you want to go to a different parish?
I wish my mum would. She really hates her PP - which rather defeats the purpose, imo

I want to be a bit anonymous, find my feet again, then maybe migrate to my own one and get more involved locally - I'm sure it's in my head but it doesn't feel right there, yet I can't escape the constant nagging pull to Go Back so I think I want to explore it all away from home

I wonder if that will make sense?

Well I don't think its weird to go to a different parish, people often do it for really simple reasons such as preferring the mass times or finding that they are more comfortable with a different priest.

our parish is scattered over a huge area as it is so I think it might seem weird to go to a bigger town, or maybe not

our priest is nice really but I think I need more help to work through various of my difficulties with it all

I recently decamped to a different parish. I find our local curate awful and it really put me off going to church; I went to another (recommended) one and signed up for the Alpha Course there on the hoof. I'd say there's some merit in exploring what you need from a church in a situation well away from your neighbours.

Happy to compare notes with you, Mitchy.

thanks :)
did the one you moved to accept and understand your reasons for not feeling at home with your local church? I think I'm worried I will sound a bit batshit!

It's just, the whole faith thing is challenging enough really, I want to be in a bigger crowd and have more space to think. Tiny little congregations dotted around villages, feels goldfish bowl y

Another one here who moved, too claustrophobic to know so may people when I wanted time to think. I worried what people would say and discovered a couple if people who are outofparish too, I think it's going that's the important bit if that's what you want to, not where.

I think it's important to find a church that's right for you, that may not be your parish church. When I'm at "home" home I drive 40mins to a church I like, and when at "work" home I happen to like my parish church.

Reasons to give for moving church could be, size of church, teaching, congregation (e.g. other young families if you're in a young family, students if you're a student etc.), "extras" e.g. sunday school or choir or bible study, different dynamic, different focus e.g. evangelical, spiritual, traditional. All depends on what you need, and no one can make that decision but you.

Part of a church being "right" for you may well be that it is happy to accept people from different parishes!

My church (which is a large family-friendly evangelical CofE church) has many people from outside the parish. Many churches run things like Alpha or Christianity Explored courses or similar - it is worth looking for one that does (and a variety of different types of churches do) as it is a good way of having the opportunity to think about and ask questions. I used to go to a small village church where I was usually the youngest there and can't imagine engaging the vicar in conversation about my questions after the service.

Yes, Mitchy, the new one is fine with it - they know my reasons.

Actually I'm intending to "two-time" the churches - to put it rather disrespectfully. My dc are attached to the parish church, and I will still take them there on occasion. But the other church is the best one for me atm.

thanks very much everyone

have had a chat with parish priest and will have longer meeting next week, it would be the ideal (to be active locally) but I had no idea we were so thin on the ground - our church in similar sized town in Norfolk was huge by comparison - but perhaps that makes it more important to make an effort on my doorstep. I don't know if I can cope with sniffiness about being single parent (not divorced though) and that sort of thing.

But there's nothing locally, nothing like Alpha in Catholic Context type course, not even RCIA or similar to sit in on - it's just you and the priest talking things over. I like groups really.