Church Buses or sometimes you've just gotta get it off your "chest"
Once upon a time there was a youth minister at a church. One of the church folks came up and asked her to make sure the kids were nice to the children in the family she had brought to church that day.
"Of course! I'll be sure to ask them to be nice but they are usually great about welcoming new kids."
"The last family I brought to church had kids but now they are going to the Catholic Church. I just want to be sure that this family stays here."
The young youth pastor thought, hmm...perhaps they WERE Catholic to begin with but didn't say this, instead
"Well, it is good that they found a church that they like and attend, even if it isn't ours."
"I'm not so sure about that!" replied the parishioner.
"We might be on different busses but we're all going to the same place!" replied the youth pastor as she escaped the conversation and went to change into her robe and prepare for the worship service."
The worship service went well. The senior pastor's sermon was on target as usual. However, as soon as the young youth pastor was heading to her room to disrobe, the parishioner from the earlier conversation was disturbingly poking her shoulder, "Yes?"
"I just wanted to tell you, that for the record, I highly disagree with what you said earlier this morning. We are NOT all on the same bus! Catholics are NOT Christian and certainly NOT going to the same place we are!!!"
Then the parishioner continued down the hall and excited the church while the young youth pastor stood with her jaw dropped to the floor.
"Of course! I'll be sure to ask them to be nice but they are usually great about welcoming new kids."
"The last family I brought to church had kids but now they are going to the Catholic Church. I just want to be sure that this family stays here."
The young youth pastor thought, hmm...perhaps they WERE Catholic to begin with but didn't say this, instead
"Well, it is good that they found a church that they like and attend, even if it isn't ours."
"I'm not so sure about that!" replied the parishioner.
"We might be on different busses but we're all going to the same place!" replied the youth pastor as she escaped the conversation and went to change into her robe and prepare for the worship service."
The worship service went well. The senior pastor's sermon was on target as usual. However, as soon as the young youth pastor was heading to her room to disrobe, the parishioner from the earlier conversation was disturbingly poking her shoulder, "Yes?"
"I just wanted to tell you, that for the record, I highly disagree with what you said earlier this morning. We are NOT all on the same bus! Catholics are NOT Christian and certainly NOT going to the same place we are!!!"
Then the parishioner continued down the hall and excited the church while the young youth pastor stood with her jaw dropped to the floor.
Comments
I run into anti-Catholicism as a Pastor. I grew up in the Catholic faith, it is what formed me. Yes I left the Catholic church yet there are pieces that I just love and won't let go of such as Mary, Jesus' mom. There is a woman in my current church setting who has complained to her friends that I am just too Catholic for her taste and that she won't come back to church until my interim is done. What ev.... She grew up in a fundlementalist church that was very anti-Catholic.
Yep, we are all riding on the same bus, just some of us are sent to the back of the bus.