I’m an atheist now, so this is no longer something that affects me, but when I was a Catholic I hated going to Mass. I truly hated it. One of the first things I did upon getting out of my parents’ house was stop going to Mass–even though I still considered myself a Catholic and was still a believer.
When I hear about people going to multiple services per Sunday, or multiple nights a week, it strikes me as nearly torturous. But I’m guessing that my attitude toward church-going isn’t exactly normal.
So, for those who go regularly, do you enjoy it? Is going to church something you like to do? Or is it something you just feel like you have to do? Is it more like a party or more like the dentist?
Absolutely. I’ve found a perfect church here and I enjoy going every Sunday. Of course, I still wish the service time was 11 rather than 10 am, but that is a minor quibble.
The congregation is very diverse with about 25% LGBT, a mix of younger and older people, and people from every race. There isn’t a large Hispanic presence, but there is a Spanish language service at 12. Many of the cars in the parking garage had Obama stickers during the election.
The service usually runs an hour 15 minutes or so and most of the congregation stays for the coffee time after. Many groups from the church then go to brunch, although that varies during football season.
For my husband, it was the highlight of his week. He’d get there early to set up, lead worship, teach and attend classes, and actively help with the monthly fellowship potlucks. He found great joy in the singing, encouragement when times were tough, and mtual strenghthening of faith and spiritual insight. It was also where he saw his best friends. For non-church people, we sometimes explained that it was our “corner pub”–we were always welcome, we enjoyed what we did, and there was always someone there to talk to. If it had been “open” more than once a week, we’d have gone.
One thing I should have added to my post above is the outstanding music. The choir at my church is excellent. I think anyone with even a slight interest in choral music would enjoy listening to them.
I am willing to invest a certain amount of time in dentist-like seeking a good church. Not neccessarily a perfect church, but a church within a reasonable driving distance which has a good range of ages, a good range of activities, a church which is not too small, a church with a minister who I am willing to listen to give sermons regularly, and most of all, a church with good music. If the pianist/organist doesn’t suit me, I won’t be happy there, and I won’t return. Attending church every Sunday is somewhat of a duty, but there’s no need to make it a painful chore.
As in all things in my life, it depends. Some Masses are great, I can feel myself in the presence of the Lord, and hear Him speaking to me through the scripture and the other people there, at other Masses I am only there out of love for the Lord and find myself looking at the clock to see how much longer the Mass will be. I normally attend daily Mass, which I enjoy much more than Sunday Mass, mainly because there are fewer screaming children.
I find that normally I get out what I put in. If I have prayed, read scripture, adored the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, etc I have a much more productive time at Mass. If I have ignored these things I tend to have a dryer experience.
I enjoy church a tremendous amount and I always have since I began attending two and a half years ago. Church is the high point of the my week. I like the music, the friendships, the fellowship meetings, the prayers, and the rituals. I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit on most occasions, though not every single one. When I first began attending this particular church last year, I thought that the preacher’s sermons were a bit on the boring side, but I’ve since come to appreciate her wisdom and her style of speaking.
Attendance also has a positive effect on the rest of my week. When I miss church it has very definite results for the rest of the week: bouts of depression, anger, and sleeplessness.
I would attend on a daily basis if that were possible.
I love (ok maybe really like would be more reasonable) going to church. And I’m not a Christian, so I wouldn’t go if I didn’t. I’m always a little baffled when people hate going to church but do anyway. What would be the point? If they’re there to please their* God, wouldn’t their God figure it out?
*I think I got the they’re, there and their in that sentence right. Whew!
I really don’t like church at all. I’ve tried many times and despite good music sometimes, good food sometimes, nice people most of the time, I really hate it.
I’m polite and when people invite me to their church “because it’s different, you’ll love it”, I go, but it’s always a trial for me.
This is generally me too. Former Catholic, really disliked when my mother dragged us to mass every week (she openly disliked it too but felt obligated to go and still does), stopped going as soon as I moved out of the house.
We joined a UU church near us a few years back and while the services are generally miles more appealing I still never feel a particular need to go, and don’t really feel like I’ve missed anything when I don’t go. Now its my wife that has to drag me and I frankly resent it, just like I did when I was a kid, and that doesn’t help.
I’ve really decided it is just me, I just don’t seem to get a lot out of communal experiences generally. I can’t say I really feel any primal need to feel included in a big group of people I’m not related to, most of the time.
Former Catholic here. My mother dragged me to mass every Sunday of my childhood. Then I went to Catholic school for 3 years, and we had “children’s mass” during the week as well.
My memories of church are sitting in a pew, bored out of my skull, dying to leave.
When I was about to make my confirmation, I told my mother I didn’t understand why I had to, since the whole point of it was saying that I believed in the Catholic church and was ready to become an adult in the eyes of the church. I said I didn’t believe in it, and I didn’t want to be Catholic. She’s sane enough to realize the logic of that, and let me drop out, and I think that she let me stop going to church at that point as well.
Helped that my father is a confirmed atheist. I think it would have been different had she had his support.
I’m an atheist, but I find church services soothing. I like the singing, the ritual, the sense that the folks are at least trying to figure out how to be better people. Because I don’t believe in God, I feel like I’d be an awful hypocrite if I went regularly, but I always feel more at peace after I do go.
Yeah, Catholic masses sucked for me, too. Boring, boring, boring. Not every church’s masses are like that, though.
When I was in college, I had a friend who brought me to his Baptist church, which was predominately black. As in I was one of two white guys there. Those were awesome services. Everybody was jumping and leaping around (It wasn’t pentacostal, but there was just a lot of energy), the choir was FANTASTIC, and the sermons were amazing. They didn’t dilute the word at all. You knew you were in a Baptist fundamental church whose members believed in the literal truth of the bible, but not being an atheist yet, I still enjoyed it. Hell, I still enjoy looking back on it. The whole service lasted about 3 hours, but I never looked at my watch once. No one questioned my color or my previous faith. They seemed to be pretty inclusive to me, and they did a lot of good for the community in the form of charity and outreach, so they practiced what they preached.
That church blew the Catholics and their masses out of the water.
I enjoy it, I think Mass is very pleasant. I think I have the soul of a medieval peasant … I like to sit and look at the lovely stained glass windows and the architecture. Our parish priest is very good and I like him a lot, but sometimes we have other priests or speakers and if they aren’t so engaging, I am perfectly content to use the time for more introspective reflection while looking at beautiful art. That probably makes it sound like I should stop going to church and go to a museum or something instead, but I do enjoy the whole package. I think I benefit from enforced contemplative time – my personality is such that, left to my own devices, I wouldn’t do much of that. So going to church is one of those things that I am often surprised I enjoy as much as I do.
I also like the community aspects of going to church, I like seeing people every week and I love when they have children’s programs because it is such a kick to see all the little kids in their fancy church outfits.
At our old parish, the choir was amazing – really, truly in the top 1% of choirs, and at our current parish, the choir is … enthusiastic. Even so, I enjoy that as well.
And let us not forget one of the great truths of the universe… anything that that is even remotely funny is 1000x funnier if it happens in church.
Hah, I’m not even Catholic and I sometimes wonder if I don’t have the soul of a medieval peasant too.
Yeah, and you can’t fall asleep because that’s the moment when something really exciting will happen. This one time I nodded off and the speaker passed out right at the pulpit! The paramedics came and everything (he was OK, though embarrassed).
I’m in the choir and I really enjoy the work of learning a hymn and getting it all right, singing with the choir and so on. It’s a bit like church itself, where it’s a work and a duty, but it stretches you in a good way and is enjoyable.
I don’t think it’s a rule that you have to enjoy church. Church is for a bunch of things: Holy Communion, communal worship, strengthening the community of saints (each individual and the whole body), learning the gospel and being reminded of the principles one is trying to live. It’s nice if those things are enjoyable, but they don’t have to be. It’s good if you’re doing your duty and trying to live better. Church is a bit like school; you might not always like it, but you’re supposed to go anyway and then you’ll get something out of it. (If you believe that the religion is true, anyway. Obviously.)
I used to range from very much dislike to moderately enjoy. This is when I was into the man made religions.
Now that I know Jesus, and He has removed all that man made religion that has nothing to do with faith in God, it is a reason to celebrate. It’s not to say that all services are enjoyable, but the wanting to go, also interact with God’s people.
Once you realize that it is not about the pastor, but you and Jesus and His fellow people, once you realize that the pastor is really a very small part of it (all he is is the field where the Lords sheep graze) , Once you realize that the members are there to interact and build each other up, Once you realize that the church is 2 or more believers gathered in Jesus’ name at any time any place - everything changes.
I am so mad my google-fu is failing me. There is a website somewhere that exists. Darned it all, I can not find it. Basicially, it is a site that allows people to attend various churches and rate them on the amenities. They note such things as how warm a welcome, the quality of the sermon, choirs and coffee. It might give you some insight.
I’m an atheist surrounded by kneeling Christians praying for my salvation. I went to church one day with one of them, while she was crying from overwhelming emotion, the only emotion I felt was “GTFO!” http://www.ship-of-fools.com/mystery/index.html
I was raised non-denom and I really did not enjoy church. It was like an hour and half. Singing was Ok. but the sermons were like an hour long. It always seemed like the minister was just reading verses from the Bible and telling us what he thought they meant. It wasn’t proper sermon at all.
Now I am Catholic…I was confirmed a few years ago. I really do enjoy Mass. It’s very soothing. It follows a pattern of prayers, readings and songs. The homily (sermon) is short and to the point.
Even so, I enjoy that as well.