Where do I go to church?

[pregnantpause]

Hi,

Having not been to church before ( raised in an atheist home) I want to try it. I've always prayed, and always had some form of faith, and recently feel that perhaps I want to be a part of a far more active/ engaged Christianity.

How do I know which one? I think there's a baptist church, a church of wales, a Catholic Church and two others that I dont know the denomination of in my area.

I don't know my denomination i believe in god and Jesus and have faith but beyond that I'm clueless. This has prevented my furthering or acting on my faith for years as I feel foolish and have no idea where to start. Only one of the churches mentioned above has a sign telling me of times / services so if I picked one I'd have no idea when to turn up. How do people find out when services are held? Or which church?

Thank you

I prefer a modern church to traditional because I think the people are usually there because they really believe it rather than through habit. I also prefer the relaxed style and the worship music.

I'm not doing down traditional places or their attendees btw - I'm generalising.

Would you say which area you're looking in? I could tell you the kind of place I'd choose after a quick Google, even if I didn't know it.

I've pm my area for you Leviticus- I'm very grateful for your response. I googled ' how to find a church in my area' and church of wales came up. I found which church it was in my area but no details on their worship style, or times etc. I'm a bit, no very, incompetent with computers though so it's probably not that hard.

I would try them all out and see which suits you best. you may find that you walk into one and it feels right. Or at least you can eliminate the ones that don't feel right. Do the churches not have a notice board outside with service times on?

Only one has a notice board qof. Perhaps that's where I'll go first. Thank you

I would second trying them out and seeing what suits you best - in our immediate area we have Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Catholic and Quaker - I know where I belong but if I didn't I would spend a few weeks going to each local church and seeing where I felt most at ease. Most congregations will be welcoming and would understand if you explained you were trying out the different denominations.

See if there are any churches in your area running an Alpha course. This will give you the basics of Christianity in a relaxed environment.

I've replied to your PM. Agree with the Alpha suggestion too.

It is definitiely worth going to 2 or 3 at least to see what style immediately appeals to you. But I would say 'yes' too the idea of one that does an Alpha course - these often start in Sept, so if you started going now, you'd have a couple of months to go to the Church first.
And pray about it - ask God to show you where He wants you to be. Often the people you meet I. Different places make a real difference too - so assuming you are not a little old lady, going to a church with 6 old ladies might not appeal to you as much as one with a reasonable number of families and people your sort if age that you can relate to.
Hope you find one. It can take a bit of time, but very worth persevering.

I am not religious but one of my colleagues has been asking another colleague for advice on churches and she suggesting checking out their website to make sure their beliefs are in line with yours.

Try them out and find one you like.

Another who'd recommend trying a few ...... A few different denominations, and also a few churches within the denomination (if that's practical .... The more remote an area you are in, the lesser a choice you're likely to have and v/v). I know there's vast differences in style of service, out-of-church activities, even the building itself even within one denomination.

You'll soon begin to work out what's important to you, and what's not. E.g. Many people would want to know there's extended social circle opportunities, others would be happy with the hour on Sunday morning.

Thank you all. I tried the church that offered their time of worship the week before last. The people ( whilst far older than me) were lovely. As was the minister. But the sermon included talk of sinners going to hell forever , which is not a belief I hold. My god wouldn't spend an eternity allowing torment to anyone. To me 'hell' is not knowing god. Not everlasting punishment.

Other than that I was over whelmed by how lovely the people were, the discussion after worship, the songs, the atmosphere etc. just lovely. Heart warming.

I'm going to loiter around another church between 9 and 11 next sunday. Thank you all

Hi pregnantpause and good luck with your search.

Have you looked at www.rejesus.co.uk/? There are lots of good resources there.

If you want to find an Anglican church, www.achurchnearyou.com/ will let you do a postcode search to identify churches in your general area. You can then usually follow links to their websites to see a bit about what they might be like.

You could also search the archive of church reviews at shipoffools.com/mystery/index.html to see if there's one near you.

www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/ also has a list of different denominations (under 'Subdivisions') that might be useful to you.

I would also suggest that you think about the kinds of things that are important to you in a church, as this will help you to identify the kind of place that might be right for you. For example: is it important to you that women be allowed to hold positions of leadership? Would you be OK with a church that frowned on same-sex relationships? Do you like more traditional organ/hymn type music or would you prefer a worship band with guitars and drums? Some of these things are issues of belief or conviction and others are personal preference only, but they all contribute to making you feel more 'at home' and comfortable in a place and therefore more relaxed and receptive. There is huge variety, not only between denominations, but also between different churches of the same denomination (especially in the case of the Anglican church which covers a whole range of possibilities!).

I wish you well in your search.

That's really exciting op. I became a Christian after being an aethist, so don't have a Connection denomination wise. I assume that if there's a church of Wales one you must be in Wales. Feel free to pm me, I was in several in Wales and could help. Pray that God shows you right one and try a few.