The Saddened Parishioner
The Saddened Parishioner
There was a comment posted on a previous post that I thought needed to be brought front and center. Thank you to The Saddened Parishioner for taking the time to express your feelings.
You speak for many of us that have lived through the unwarrented injustice brought upon us by our Church. Isn’t it sad how much destruction and hurt one little act of revenge on the part of our Bishop has caused the parishioners of Holy Spirit parish. And it continues...
~Kanickers
Anonymous said...
This will sound repetitive, but yes, Holy Spirit has been a part of my life as well. I grew up with this church. I was born and raised in it. Baptized, went through Communion, and was Confirmed. I even worked there. Through the years of going through classes and retreats, I saw some great things out of this church.
With this mindset, I would come to this blog to read about what used to be. The good times. But finding out that people like the Bishop and the priests came to destroy what I called a safe-haven, hurt me spiritually. And for this, I could no longer attend Holy Spirit.
No offense, but people who first fought for these ladies that were fired 3 years ago and turned their backs on them for a "special seat" in the Parish Counsel should be ashamed. This isn't what God wanted from his family. God wanted us to come together and fight the oppression from the Bishop.
Then suddenly, as soon as these selected people heard "special seats", and other "grand" things to come, they dropped their picket signs and went back to church.
Then they have THE NERVE to come here and tell people that write on here [that they] "should be ashamed" and are "doing devilish things".
Please! Those same people are the ones who criticize everyone here, and yet are sinners in their own ways. If anyone turned their back on God to believe in someone who WOULD RATHER HARM OUR CHILDREN AND KEEP RUINING OUR CHURCHES WITH HIS LIES, then they should think twice about criticizing the rest of us.
This is my personal opinion, of course. So, if anyone who follows the bishop and the priests has anything to say about this opinion, don't bother. I'm done hearing your complaints about how we're such bad people, but the truth is, you haven't looked in the mirror hard enough.
~The Saddened Parishioner
6/28/2007 12:24 AM
21 comments:
Sad, you speak like Jesus.
Okay, you self-called "outsiders". Those of us who still believe and follow the Church will talk to you after evening prayer on July 11. We are not afraid of you and God willing will re-convert you. Be prepared.
Wow... What an attitude to take towards a meeting of reconciliation!
"Those of us who still believe and follow the Church"? Do you really think that we do not believe and follow our Church? Why are you so afraid of us? Are you coming to Night Prayer to convert us? I thought this meeting was to be a sincere effort to see if we could find common ground between us?
Sorry Anon....
I call the place and time, you are not in control of me, even though that is what you want. That is why you are so angry with the church and its leaders. Again you want what you want....And stop calling us "outsiders" - we are one with the church! REal Catholics that is...
Can we trust you? ("insider" speaking)
Slow down, Anons 3 and 4. There are angry people on both sides who may not be making the best desisions for all. Let's start talking July 11 and see where the Spirit takes us.
I see we're beginning to get the terms"insiders" and "outsiders" confused, which may be good after all. We are all part of the same body, the Body of Christ, aren't we? Why don't we begin to use inclusive words to call each other, something Jesus would have used, like "brothers and sisters" "fellow parishioners", ...?
Please, please! There is a very good chance for reconciliation here and we need to prepare the way with prayers, humility and sincere love. This should not be a contest to see who wins or who loses. We'll all win the moment we sit across from each other and begin to talk and to listen.
Amen.
Let us come together!
My son and I miss holy spirit. It is sad to see those that have taken over the parish behave so selfish and defensive. It is a shame that no one noticed or even bothered to call why I stopped going to Holy Spirit. Even though I attended every Sunday for the last six years and would see the same people. What is happening to the "Body of Christ" at Holy Spirit when long time parish members leave and no one cares?
Fellow parishoners:
I feel anxious about meeting after prayer on July 11. Will I be able to openly greet those whom I love & have shared so much with regardless of the role we have played in our parish these past few years? Is there a prayer I can focus on to sincerely ask for peace & reconciliation before I go to this meeting? Will there be a mediatior - an objective person who can facilitate questions & comments? Am I too worried about leaving with the same feeling of disappointment I sometimes leave church with? HELP!!! I'm scared of confrontation, but I am so looking forward to healing & to returning to my home. I have wandered to different parishes over the past 4 years. I'm tired & I want to come home.
I too feel anxious about the July 11th meeting. I'm afraid that it is some kind of set up by the "insiders" to have everybody arrested or something. Who are the "insiders" that have agreed to be at the meeting?
I too believe that there should be an objective mediator. I understand that some parishioners who were denied the opportunity to be Eucharistic ministers attended a meeting once and were yelled at and told to "Shut up and sit down." What will prevent these people from doing that again?
Kanickers, thank you for putting my letter up. I just wish the people who don't believe the truth could actually look at what is truly happening. They see their faiths growing and their hearts being clensed, but it's really not what it seems. The world is not perfect though...
For those who read my letter in the comment section and responded with the questionable "sorrys", its ok. I am not the one anyone should be saying sorry to because I'm a sinner just as much as the next person. We're all human and we all get angry.
As the last person said on this comment section..."I'm tired & I want to come home."
My life is still growing. I just want God to grow with it instead of being forced out of faith by liars...and yes, it would be nice to go to church, sit in the pews with my family, listen and sing to the beautiful music and just wander in the mysteries...
~The Saddened Parishioner
In regards to the meeting after prayer on July 11th, I pray that it will produce meaningful dialogue. However, after reading some of the vile posts coming from some of the readers, I have deep reservations whether anything wothwhile will come from this attempt to heal and reconcile.
I pray that I will be wrong in my assessment.
Don't consider this a meeting in the formal sense; not everyone is okay with it, as we are all individuals. Someone may try to sabotage it; who knows? Come not with defensive but open hearts as Jesus does and see where the Spirit takes us. I am confident it will be for the better one way or another. I recommend you recite the Beatitudes before.
Brother in christ,
Sad to hear that some people are not into coming together in the spirit of God's love. I wonder if we will ever be open to listen to the Spirit.
Time will tell. I thank you for at least giving us hope.
Brother in christ,
Night Prayer has been a source of hope for me. I will never give up hope.
Our parish means too much to me to ever give up on our community, no matter how bad things may seem sometimes. I know that the spirit of the Holy Spirit is still there.
Sounds to me all of you are anxious because of the actions that you people take at HS. I will be there for night prayer, but no way will I meet with anyone of you. As far as I am concerned, the past is the past, I like what the present is doing and look forward to the future of our parish. I am glad there has been a good change at HS. I thank God each day.
Anonymous,
Could I ask you, what about our parish did you not like. What changes are you talking about?
I really would like to know.
Too bad you do not realize that most people liked the way things use to be and because of all the changes we have lost many, many families. Don't them Matter?
Dear last anon:
You are not the only person at HSP. I urge you to reach out to those you do not agree with, prodigal children if you will. Jesus requires it of you.
Dear Anonymous 7/05/2007 4:18 PM,
I don't think any of us would want to talk to you anyway. But we will still pray that you will one day better understand Christ's teachings.
Christ preached for the INCLUSION of all; the poor, the oppressed, prostitutes, even the tax collectors. Sad that as simple as his parables were, some still don’t get His message.
May the Peace of Christ be with you.
Dear Anonymous 7/05/2007 4:18 PM and 10:08 PM:
Shame on both of you! We are one body that is sick from not communicating. You can come to night prayer, the final act of the day, and already say that you will not address certain brethren gathered there. What has this parish come to? We know that the hierarchy has made no attempt to fix this; it is up to us faithful.
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