I am a Catholic, I was raised in the Catholic faith. I do not agree with many of the manmade rules of the Catholic Church. When I was growing up our family was very involved in our church. When our daughters were growing up, we were Eucharist Ministers, our eldest daughter was a Lector as well as a Eucharistic Minister with us, and our youngest daughter was a server. When I say she served, she was tapped to serve all the big events for the Bishop and his entourage.

Several years ago I read this book “Joshua: A Parable for Today” written by Joseph Girzone. Joshua Its a series, so if you like the first book, there are more! Without giving away what happens…you need to read the book to see the ecumenical part of this story.

As a family we were so connected at church participating in the Mass and any other events. Than our pastor left the church. We were provided a priest that was into his theological studies. In fact, he would have been great as a theological professor, but had no charisma, no motivation to be the head of a congregation. What happened to our family? We learned that without a church leader we had no direction, the masses had no meaning, no message and eventually we stopped going.

COVID has even made that more difficult. Although we were not regular church goers, I know many people who rely on the church for their strength. “I am Catholic.” I do my devotional, or I listen to Fr. Pavone YouTube who is amazing by the way. Or I listen to Dr. Taylor Marshall YouTube another informative Catholic. I have my faith in God, I don’t necessarily have my faith in the Catholic faith. It makes me sad and my heart heavy.

What if the only “church” some people will see is “us?” Some people were not raised with religion. Other people do not believe in religion. What if we could be the “church” they never got a chance to experience? What if being kind, patient and compassionate was our way of showing our fellow human beings a side of church they may never experience? I find it helps me to stay grounded, positive and connected to our Lord.

Be the “Church” for someone else. Church lives in our hearts. May your hearts be filled with kindness and love.