Advent (continued)

I went back to Sunday evening mass with Father Fire and Brimstone for the second week of Advent.  There's been a big push to welcome people back to church when they turn up for Christmas.  I'm all for that.  In fact, send them my way.  Looking for church with organ music?  With an older crowd?  On a winding road?  I can get you there.  Oh, wait, you want them to come to this church...

The word being tossed about has been stodgy.   We were told for two weeks in a row that we were too cold and too uptight and that people like other nearby churches because they are all warm and fuzzy.  I've been to some stodgy churches, and I don't think this is one of them.  In fact, I don't think it's stodgy enough.  I wear jeans half the time I'm there for goodness sake.

But really, when I find myself searching, I could use a little more order in my mass and a little less open mike night.  So I took a break from Sunday evening mass and checked out Sunday morning.  The mass itself was a little more me, but I'm not so sure about the crowd.

In other news...

I went back to Nativity for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and it was lovely.

I have finally been to see Handel's Messiah.  It was amazing and of course left me with lots of questions.  The biggest  being why do we sing this at Christmas?  It was written for Easter tide.  Christmas last year, I commented that Rick "we can't change manger to feed box because that would be ridiculous" Hilgartner has a nice voice.  Turns out I was right.  He sang the Messiah with the rest of the Baltimore Symphonic Chorale.

I'm glad I included book club for one on my to do list for this year.  Rebuilt: The Story of Building a Catholic Mega Church (okay, that's not the real title) will be hitting an online bookseller near you in February.  I'm writing a book too.  It's called Demolished.  Or Already Built.  Well, it's a work in progress.

And lastly Theology on Tap has gotten off to a sputtering start.  If at first you don't succeed...

Here's to finding joy in the third week of Advent.  Until next week...

2012 Resolutions

Seems like I should get my blog related resolutions up before the end of January...here it goes!

1.  More pictures!  I have some and never post them.  

2.  Some of my more dedicated readers (my mom) think that I have been too hard on Rick "my most grievous fault" Hilgartner.  That's true.  I have no reason to pick on him as much as I do. As I understand it, he baptized more than his fair share of cabbage patch kids as a seminarian.  I'll refrain from any more jokes.  Unless, of course, they are really, really good.

3.  Bringing me to my next point, I should post a guide to the new translation for my pseudo practicing Catholic friends.

4.  As for friends, I need to be better about picking churches in advance.  Much of the fun so far has been the company that comes along.  

5.  I make the rules here, so they are about to change.  If friends of other faith traditions are willing to take me to their houses of worship, I am willing to go.  

6.  I'm thinking of a Spiritual book and/or movie club.  In my previous drifting, one of the ways I felt connected to the church was through reading.  First it was The Life of Saint Francis, then it was My Life with the Saints.  (Thanks to James Martin's book tour, that one is now autographed.)  Both the Bishop's Conference and America Magazine have suggestions.  

7.  No more crazy ideas.  No more half marathons.  No more go to a new church every week for a year.  Who am I kidding?