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I appreciate the charismatic wing (for lack of better word) of the Catholic church and it's worship style. Here is a sample of their worship -



I would feel right at home in this worship.

I appreciate many of their moral positions. They are against nuclear weapons and most wars, against the death penalty, against abortion, and for the care of the poor and care of the earth.

I appreciate the way the Catholic church has become a church OF the poor here in the US. To my eye Protestants are good at imagining a church ministering TO the poor (especially far away) but are more inclined to put up barriers for the poor nearby. Charismatics are the exception, they also function as churches of the poor.

barnhart wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2024 5:49 pm I appreciate the way the Catholic church has become a church OF the poor here in the US. To my eye Protestants are good at imagining a church ministering TO the poor (especially far away) but are more inclined to put up barriers for the poor nearby. Charismatics are the exception, they also function as churches of the poor.

One example of that is language. Both here in Vancouver and back in Waco the local Catholic churches would hold masses in both Spanish and English.

This is much less common in Protestant churches. You don't typically see Protestant churches holding services in both English and Spanish as outreach to the Spanish speaking community. They might welcome Spanish speakers to church, but don't go through the trouble of accommodating them through language.

There are, of course Protestant churches that are all Spanish. They were especially common in Texas. But they were all-Spanish and weren't trying to be inclusive and also hold services in English. Even conservative Anabaptist communities that have services in German tend to do just one or the other. they aren't trying to be inclusive by providing bilingual services.

I like that the Catholic church is committed to Jesus first and doctrine/ideals. The liturgy can be beautiful and rich, based on truth and tradition. They have large communities in many metro area with a strong emphasis on education.

I like how much rich tradition the RC church has, including a wide variety of catechism methods and spiritual formation practices, right down to rosary beads as a way to practice meditative prayer.

I like that the RC church has a lot of variety in the form of "church orders". I like Earnest Eby's take on plain anabaptist churches moving toward communicating their churches as "church orders" instead of holding themselves as the true measure and expression of Christianity.

And finally, I would not be where I am today, on a journey of radical discipleship, if it had not been for Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin, and the story of The Catholic Worker. I didn't agree with their stance on liturgy and sticking with the RC church, but I truly admire their commitment to radical discipleship to Jesus Christ.