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sensitivity to public church services

I don't mean to start a Holy War, just to inform you for your situation. Nowhere in Scripture does it say bread and wine need to be blessed by a "trained person". The blessing is in the taking of it by the faithful with good motives, hearts, and minds. Paul the Apostle, whose instructions for Communion were the most explicit, was, in fact, rather sceptical of religious authority figures as having been approved by God to begin with.

If it's your personal belief that a priest must administer Communion for it to be proper, then that's fine, of course. I'm just clarifying the details, and making this known in case you find the hotline is unwilling to send someone to your home if you're not housebound. Here, anyway, priests only do home Communion if a person can't physically get to a church.
 
Okay I feel a need to chime in here, religions are man made cults for the purpose of scamming you out of money labor and obedience. Your relationship with the creator is your own, no man should have dominion over how you and whatever God you may follow communicate.

It is that power they attempt to have over the followers of their specific cult, whether it is one of the large mainstream religious cults, or the church of star wars, or those strange folks that worship Tom Cruise, that makes it such a corrupt and wrong institution. All be it the country I live in allows for full freedom of worship so whatever, let them do as they will I suppose.

As a side note you will find me to be a much more strict person than most on the subjects of not forgiving the sins of wickedness, and abusing others because you want to have power over them, whether by government, religion, deception, or any of the other grievous and heinous ways mankind has developed for a few people to manipulate the rest.
 
Have you tried a different church? I'm not catholic, but I am a Christian and attend church. Some churches are really overwhelming, others aren't bad. I've attended some where jeans and a tshirt are acceptable attire, which makes things so much easier. I just moved into a small town and am going to have to educate people at my new church about touching. Apparently, I'm this congregation, instead of speaking to announce your presence, you grab people from behind. It makes me crazy and I skip service more often than not because of it. I still go to my old small group, but I can't justify driving that far for service and Bible study. Honestly, I prefer just go to small group.
 
photoaddict said:
Have you tried a different church? I'm not catholic, but I am a Christian and attend church. Some churches are really overwhelming, others aren't bad. I've attended some where jeans and a tshirt are acceptable attire, which makes things so much easier. I just moved into a small town and am going to have to educate people at my new church about touching. Apparently, I'm this congregation, instead of speaking to announce your presence, you grab people from behind. It makes me crazy and I skip service more often than not because of it. I still go to my old small group, but I can't justify driving that far for service and Bible study. Honestly, I prefer just go to small group.
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I've found that people in small towns are much more likely to think that strong friendliness is acceptable, while in actual cities, they tend to leave you alone.
 
That seems to depend on the town, but it's certainly true in this church. I don't mind friendliness. I just don't want to be touched, especially without warning. I don't even know they're behind me until I've been grabbed. And then they wonder why I almost jumped out of my skin. I end up leaving church totally drained, instead of enjoying it. I've always enjoyed church, but I grew up going to really great churches. This one just doesn't know me, so they don't realize it bothers me.
 
i've had people tell me to simply "offer it up like Jesus did on the Cross". Honestly, my sensory issues and concentration issues are enough of a cross for me.
 
photoaddict said:
That seems to depend on the town, but it's certainly true in this church. I don't mind friendliness. I just don't want to be touched, especially without warning. I don't even know they're behind me until I've been grabbed. And then they wonder why I almost jumped out of my skin. I end up leaving church totally drained, instead of enjoying it. I've always enjoyed church, but I grew up going to really great churches. This one just doesn't know me, so they don't realize it bothers me.
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The small church that I am remembering where everyone was so friendly was so small that everyone knew everyone. There was one man with diagnosed Aspergers; people seemed to give him more space (while still being nice to him); maybe they'd known him for so long that they'd learnt that was what he needed. There was also a younger man with more severe autism: he actually was the person who was most likely to grab others! People didn't know me well enough to know what I needed, but it was cool to see how well they had adjusted to the needs of these two other persons.

I would like to add, though, that such issues as we've been discussing won't only be encountered at Church. One will encounter similar issues in most jobs.
 
Randomperson said:
Okay I feel a need to chime in here, religions are man made cults for the purpose of scamming you out of money labor and obedience. Your relationship with the creator is your own, no man should have dominion over how you and whatever God you may follow communicate.

It is that power they attempt to have over the followers of their specific cult, whether it is one of the large mainstream religious cults, or the church of star wars, or those strange folks that worship Tom Cruise, that makes it such a corrupt and wrong institution. All be it the country I live in allows for full freedom of worship so whatever, let them do as they will I suppose.

As a side note you will find me to be a much more strict person than most on the subjects of not forgiving the sins of wickedness, and abusing others because you want to have power over them, whether by government, religion, deception, or any of the other grievous and heinous ways mankind has developed for a few people to manipulate the rest.
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That sadly is a common occurrence. Pope Innocent III certainly wasn't as innocent as his name implies. While I do feel my first church was definitely a cult, I have trouble feeling that way about my second one. Donations were never mandatory, they were simply donations made to help pay for the church's utilities and were available funding to host dinners for those who had lost a relative or to give to those struggling with bills or other needs. There were definitely a few creepy and bossy people (every group's got 'em), but the majority were very kind and genuinely interested in friendship, compassion, and offering guidance similar to how we do to each other here, rather than a congregation desiring to be The One To Rule Them All. Like any social gathering, it all depends on the lot you find. Some are horrible and bad for people, some are gems and good for people. Churches just center around spirituality instead of knitting, puppies, or brain disorders.

photoaddict said:
That seems to depend on the town, but it's certainly true in this church. I don't mind friendliness. I just don't want to be touched, especially without warning. I don't even know they're behind me until I've been grabbed. And then they wonder why I almost jumped out of my skin. I end up leaving church totally drained, instead of enjoying it. I've always enjoyed church, but I grew up going to really great churches. This one just doesn't know me, so they don't realize it bothers me.
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I know, right? I've nearly reflexively smacked so many old ladies for that! Good thing there was a convenient altar nearby to beg forgiveness...
 
I'm not here to proselytize, but just for the sake of clarity of discussion I wanted to add some links that might clarify what the teaching of the Catholic Church is in regards to the priesthood and communion, since many of the teachings of the Catholic Church are different than those of many other types of Christians and the original poster is, after all, Catholic.

Another way to explain the doctrine of Transubstantiation | Catholic Answers

Transubstantiation: From Stumbling Block to Cornerstone

Catechism of the Catholic Church - The sacrament of Holy Orders
 
i feel like Leviticus 19 is often misinterpreted. "you shall not lay down with another man like you would a women" 1. they didn't have condoms back then and 2. did they mention rape or not?
 
HDLSeanWiley said:
i feel like Leviticus 19 is often misinterpreted. "you shall not lay down with another man like you would a women" 1. they didn't have condoms back then and 2. did they mention rape or not?
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I doubt condoms play into it, one way or the other, but as far as how it should be interpreted, I'm not sure anyone really knows. I've seen it twisted different ways. I've heard arguments that it doesn't count because it's in the Old Testament and the OT laws that matter were restated in the New Testament. I really don't know who, if anyone, is "right".
 
Ste11aeres said:
I'm not here to proselytize, but just for the sake of clarity of discussion I wanted to add some links that might clarify what the teaching of the Catholic Church is in regards to the priesthood and communion, since many of the teachings of the Catholic Church are different than those of many other types of Christians and the original poster is, after all, Catholic.

Another way to explain the doctrine of Transubstantiation | Catholic Answers

Transubstantiation: From Stumbling Block to Cornerstone

Catechism of the Catholic Church - The sacrament of Holy Orders
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Coooool. Catholicism is still on my checklist of religions to go check out. Although I guess it'd be a sub-point, since I'm familiar with Christianity in general and the sub-point of protestantism. Some of protestantism. All these blasted denominations make my head swim... I always enjoyed how the Catholic church appeared to be so much more formal. I'd certainly like to visit one that still sang in Latin!

The communions I've been to seemed to be honorary of the Last Supper, rather than the transubstantiation kind. I'll probably look someday to see if that's one of the important difference between the two main branches.
 
AsheSkyler said:
The communions I've been to seemed to be honorary of the Last Supper, rather than the transubstantiation kind. I'll probably look someday to see if that's one of the important difference between the two main branches.
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This is a big and important difference between Catholic and protestant beliefs. There are other key differences that need to be recognized, too, but this is an easy one for people to see and understand. I'm only vaguely familiar with Catholic beliefs. I know what I've been told by Catholic friends.
 
AsheSkyler said:
Coooool. Catholicism is still on my checklist of religions to go check out. Although I guess it'd be a sub-point, since I'm familiar with Christianity in general and the sub-point of protestantism. Some of protestantism. All these blasted denominations make my head swim... I always enjoyed how the Catholic church appeared to be so much more formal. I'd certainly like to visit one that still sang in Latin!
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Sometimes I go to a Church that has the "Tridentine Rite" also called the traditional latin Mass, which is the older version of the liturgy in latin. Very beautiful, although it takes time to understand and appreciate it.
I go for religious reasons, but this particular form of the liturgy is cool also from a historical/cultural/aesthetic perspective.
Also more Aspie friendly imho.
 
i don't think it's sensory friendly. they make you pay attention to everything, they make you wear pants even if it's really hot, and you can't stim, and you can't even count down the minutes to Mass' end.
 
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