For months I've been struggling with wanting to go back to church regularly. This is something that I used to do all the time...went to church, was an active member of my congregation, and found tons of fulfillment through doing so. Since my son was born in 1998 I've fallen off the Church Wagon time and time again.To give you a bit of history, I was baptized in the Episcopal Church (in another state) when I was 14, but didn't receive Confirmation until I was about twenty-one. After Confirmation I was active until I became a mom. We moved to a different city before it was time for the little guy to be born, and it was quite a drive from where my former church was located. I wasn't willing to drive the 30-40 minutes every Sunday morning with my baby in-tow to get there. I quickly lost touch with the friends that I had known and congregated with for over three years.
I did visit other churches (and other denominations) over the years, and would attend regularly for several months, but never felt at home anywhere like I did before we moved. Finding a new church home has been weighing on my mind heavily since the end of last summer. I'm happy to report I think I've found my new church home!
I visited our local Episcopal Church last week for an evening Mass, and again this past Sunday for the family service, and I can't tell you how at home I felt. It was instantaneous. It didn't hurt that the people I came in contact with were very welcoming. What's strange is that I visited this same church years ago and didn't get that feeling. I guess this time it was just the right time.
Anyway, I can't wait for Mass tomorrow night and for Sunday's service. I'm looking forward to getting the grand tour of the place and transferring my membership. Did I mention that there is also a sewing guild??? Yep! That just melted my heart even more and screamed to me... "This place is soooooo for you!!!"
