AIBU for wanting to change church

[NotSayingAWord]

I am Roman Catholic. I am mad at the fact that I my church gets insane amounts of money to rebuild Notre Dame yet they are not human to donate for 'real' causes.
Hunger in Venezuela, African countries with humanitarian needs, forests burning, Syria, Yemen, NOT A DISNEY CATHEDRAL Why is my community doing this? I am very disappointed. I want to explore other options within Christianity that have a more humanitarian approach, I just don't know where to start.

AIBU to consider this a deal breaker? I believe in God and the Bible but not in my Church anymore?

What other churches are out there and how is the service like?

Thanks

As a Roman Catholic how important is Mass to you? Because this will probably be the biggest change moving into other church communities. Some CofE churches partake in the Eucharist every week but many don't. Some of my Christian friends don't even see it as a particularly fundamental part of their expression of faith. But my Catholic friends find not celebrating communion every week a really big deal. Anglo-catholic CofE churches exist but you might have to search around.

I'm sorry that your church isn't thinking bigger picture. YANBU to think it's crap. Have you raised it with them? Sending prayers your way!

I would be more concerned by the never ending child abuse.

I have been to Rome and it is full of churches they could sell a few and raise millions.

I am seventh day adventist. Would thoroughly recommend it. Take a look at the sabbath, how the seventh day used to be Saturday. Until the calendars were changed and the seventh day is now known as Sunday. Have a gander and see what you think 😊

My mum’s Catholic Church does lots to help local and international causes including poverty, homelessness and Syria. They have a coordinator. Maybe volunteer to see how you can get involved? I get that notre dame has divided opinion but I don’t think it’s fair to say it doesn’t do anything. CAFOD was started by a group of female catholic volunteers - it’s now a major international development charity (which doesn’t spend lots on marketing etc so the money goes where it’s needed).

If you really want to move on, probably best to explore what your local churches do charity-wise.

I'm not a Roman Catholic but I believed that the RC church in general does a lot of humanitarian work. So do lots of Catholics. Im thinking of CAFOD, Tearfund, St Vincent de Paul and things like that. And I thought Pope Francis was very strong on social justice.
If it's just your own particular church, you could do what I did, and push for more to be done. You could "volunteer" to take on the coordinating role for your church's charity work.

If it's the RC church on general that you want to leave, you'll have to think very carefully.
The biggest thing would be mass. Reformed churches don't believe in transubstantiation. We believe that the elements are representative of Christ's body and blood not that they actually are this. That would likely be your biggest stumbling block. Most reformed churches don't celebrate communion as often as RC either. My own church, for instance, has communion 4 times a year.
Another thing to think about is how central Marian doctrine is to you. Churches like mine don't venerate her in any way. Nor do we have saints, other than in the general way that all who have died in faith are saints. So, we pray etc. strictly to God through Christ.
There are lots of other differences but these are the biggies really. My church is Presbyterian in governance so very different to RC in that as well.

Our services are pretty much a traditional hymn sandwich and last about an hour. Usually 5 hymns, a couple of prayers, a kids talk and a sermon. Nothing revolutionary.

On the Notre Dame issue, I know it's controversial but I think it's important to preserve that kind of history. It's such a significant building. I do agree, though, that fixing it should be done alongside humanitarian aid provision.

I'm sorry that you are so unhappy in your church. I hope that God helps you find a way home.

On rebuilding stuff, I am also for the preservation of historic buildings (alongside humanitarian work).

Notre Dame is owned by the French state, and many donations have been companies and small donors. Four charities (including one catholic one) are coordinating the funds. It’s not ‘Catholic Church gives all its money to a building’.

We are part of the Anglican church and while our church family is incredibly caring towards each other, I too get frustrated at the seemingly wilful ignorance of wider issues.

On Easter Sunday we had to listen to the testimony of a woman who thought God had helped her get cheaper flights for her next holiday, while Christians in Sri Lanka had just been murdered in their hundreds mid-worship. They weren't even mentioned. YANBU at all OP and I think many people across all different denominations will be feeling the same.

Thank you for your replies. Please keep them coming, I am learning much more than I expected.

I will take my time and hopefully make an informed decision.

I might go to another church and see how its like.

I'm a Catholic too (not very devout at this time but it still means a lot to me). My church does all sorts of things for worthy causes - homelessness, Ethiopian well, food for people in need. Also a peace and justice group. Can't list everything but there is a lot.

Churches vary in what causes they support.

Find one that suits you better!

As a Roman Catholic how important is Mass to you?

This. As an RC this should be your first consideration and it's so important that you would never consider a move to another denomination. Maybe just find a different parish. Most parishes support a lot of different causes.

As a convert to Catholicism I also discovered that it's a whole different culture. This is something I didn't expect and would really miss elsewhere. The Anglican Church just doesn't have it.

You obviously care about the needs of the world. Your help doesn't have to be through any church based organisation though. If your current crew aren't rowing your way, why not volunteer with oxfam or similar?

Good idea, Jason.
Btw, I wasn't suggesting that the op should stop going to a Catholic church, just that she could perhaps find one that suited her better.

@Jason118 Thank you for the input. I already do "humanitarian work" outside my church. Not as much as I would like, wish I would have more spare time to be really involved. It's just frustrating being part of a community that is meant to help the poor and disadvantaged, and see that not much is being done despite the amount and power they have.

It's certainly unusual, NotSayingAWord. It could be that majority of the congregation don't want or feel unable to organise support for poor and disadvantaged people. Or some might be willing but lack confidence as there is no co-operation.

There will be other Catholic churches not far away, they usually have websites detailing what they do, groups etc. I hope you find a church that is more active in humanitarian work.

@NotSayingAWord I think it's not untypical of power wielding organisations to mostly wield that power in ways the benefit themselves. It's why most organised religions are so successful, and it's increasingly mirrored in governments and business. What's best for countries and consumers is replaced by what's best for parties in power and shareholders, but I digress.

Try a few churches and see how you get on. If you were in my town you would have the choice of C of E, Methodist, Baptist and Salvation Army all of whom do lots of work with the homeless, debt, young families, back to work, prisons, refugees etc, etc. The non conformists and more charismatic evo heritage don't do or prioritise weekly communion but that may or may not be a dealbreaker. Weekly Eucharist would be at the more Anglo Catholic or middle of the road C of E which might be smaller than you are used to but they do what they can often with other churches in the area.

I have a reasonable number of ex RC in my congregation.

Is it your own parish or the Catholic Church more widely that you feel isn't doing enough humanitarian work? Because the RC Church in general does a huge amount of charitable work, both financial and practical, as well as spiritual. And the funds for Notre Dame are mostly from private donors, not from the Church. I used to live in France and still work there frequently so I keep up to date with the French Church: donations and support for the rebuild have actually been lower amongst practising Catholics than the general population. The French people as a whole see it as a cultural heritage which they are shocked to lose; the practising Catholics are more inclined to see past the building to the congregation as the foundation of the community.

Apart from what others have mentioned about the Eucharist and Marian devotions, there's quite a lot of other things which you might find different in other denominations. Whether or not these bother you is dependent on what you most appreciate in Catholicism. For one, the Catholic Church has a stronger sense of the community as the Body of Christ than many (not all) denominations - the necessity of communion with others as the basis for relationship with Christ, as well as the need for an individual prayer life. Other denominations (e.g. free churches, Pentecostal) often emphasise fellowship and accountability, but not communion.

Also the centrality of the Eucharist, not just in receiving communion, but in Adoration etc. And popular devotions in general - parties for saints' feast days, processions, meditative familiar prayers like the Rosary and novenas. Basically the cultural expressions of Catholicism led by lay people and common in the home.

It may be that your current parish doesn't have a lot of this anyway, not all do, so maybe you wouldn't miss it, but it's all part of Catholicism more widely.

In terms of other denominations, Anglo-Catholic CofE is most similar to RC on the surface but still a very different atmosphere. Also most Anglo-Catholic parishes I know are not particularly concerned with humanitarian work, certainly not as much as the average RC parish. Orthodox is the opposite: less superficial similarity in terms of familiarity of the services but much more in common with RC in terms of fundamental doctrine. You would find the worship quite strange though and, again, they tend not to be the most concerned with social justice issues.

Other churches are mainly reformed churches (there are others, but a bit niche and you probably wouldn't come across them), whose theology would be most different from RC. They vary as to how much they're involved in charitable works.