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Yes, I'm a practicing Catholic and attend Church often with my fiancee. Everyone is welcome to even attend Mass (they just don't receive communion) and partici

Yes, I'm a practicing Catholic and attend Church often with my fiancee. Everyone is welcome to even attend Mass (they just don't receive communion) and participate in activities that we organize. We also have many support groups for elderly, grieving families, young adults and so on. Additionally, if you want to do volunteer work, contact the closest Catholic Church. You can join pretty much all of the events regardless of your background. We are not some "exclusive" membership, the doors are open.

kulahan 3y ago
Church is great for this specifically because it's a social group that spends all its time espousing the idea that all men are created equal, therefore ALL backgrounds are welcome. The most important piece of social mobility is knowing those outside of your economic circle. Example: You need a job, you know your great buddy Bob has a spot that you could hop into, he knows you pretty well and that you're not an idiot, so he hires you on the spot into a job you never would've had the qualification for otherwise.
- michaelmior 3y ago
  > it's a social group that spends all its time espousing the idea that all men are created equal I'm thankful that this is the case for my church, but unfortunately, that's not the case in a lot of churches.
mensetmanusman 3y ago
Start a morning coffee group that meets weekly. Been regularly attending the last decade. A silver lining of the pandemic is now we meet around a morning fire when it's the proper season.
thepasswordis 3y ago
This is one of those things where when you realize it, it's almost embarrassing how obvious it should have been. The Church is 2000 years old. It has outlasted basically any other institution that has ever existed in the history of humanity. The things The Church encourages are: 1) Building families 2) Building communities 3) Using these things to make the world a more loving place through volunteerism It should not be surprising that this is a good place to make friends and connect with your community.
mattbrewsbytes 3y ago
The issue I have with churches, specifically Catholic and other large ones, is belonging to and participating in an organization that has collectively done so many bad things to humans just doesn't sit well with me. Then there's the element of collecting money and hoarding it and its a huge turn off. You may say "the doors are open" and in fact they may be in your local church but official membership has requirements, rules to follow and some larger churches also are very much opposed to equality for all humans. I don't believe the Catholic church (or other denominations of Christianity, or Mormon church) would allow a LGBT couple to officially join. I understand that yours and others experiences don't reflect the entirety of ~1700 years of the organized state religion of the Roman Empire. When we're talking about finding community outside of work, I find large churches will have a facade of community but in practice are not as welcoming to all.
- midiguy 3y ago
  > I don't believe the Catholic church (or other denominations of Christianity, or Mormon church) would allow a LGBT couple to officially join. That's not entirely true. No legitimate catholic church would prohibit lgbtq couples from joining. The more conservative ones definitely would not condone their lifestyle, however, and probably none would agree to marry them. So if you are lgbtq you should probably just give some serious thought into more liberal denominations.
  - mattbrewsbytes 3y ago
    I was pointing out an obvious example of a facade of "welcoming all" from the community (would not prohibit people from joining, anyone can show up and volunteer) vs. really welcoming all where anyone could be full members through all of their ceremonies like baptism, confirmation, marriage, etc. or even allowing anyone to pursue theological leadership positions like pastor, deacon, priest, etc.
    - Breza 3y ago
      If that's important to you (as it is me) then I encourage you to seek a denomination that fits your values.

kulahan 3y ago

Church is great for this specifically because it's a social group that spends all its time espousing the idea that all men are created equal, therefore ALL backgrounds are welcome. The most important piece of social mobility is knowing those outside of your economic circle. Example: You need a job, you know your great buddy Bob has a spot that you could hop into, he knows you pretty well and that you're not an idiot, so he hires you on the spot into a job you never would've had the qualification for otherwise.

michaelmior 3y ago
> it's a social group that spends all its time espousing the idea that all men are created equal I'm thankful that this is the case for my church, but unfortunately, that's not the case in a lot of churches.

mensetmanusman 3y ago

Start a morning coffee group that meets weekly. Been regularly attending the last decade. A silver lining of the pandemic is now we meet around a morning fire when it's the proper season.

thepasswordis 3y ago

This is one of those things where when you realize it, it's almost embarrassing how obvious it should have been. The Church is 2000 years old. It has outlasted basically any other institution that has ever existed in the history of humanity. The things The Church encourages are: 1) Building families 2) Building communities 3) Using these things to make the world a more loving place through volunteerism It should not be surprising that this is a good place to make friends and connect with your community.

mattbrewsbytes 3y ago

The issue I have with churches, specifically Catholic and other large ones, is belonging to and participating in an organization that has collectively done so many bad things to humans just doesn't sit well with me. Then there's the element of collecting money and hoarding it and its a huge turn off. You may say "the doors are open" and in fact they may be in your local church but official membership has requirements, rules to follow and some larger churches also are very much opposed to equality for all humans. I don't believe the Catholic church (or other denominations of Christianity, or Mormon church) would allow a LGBT couple to officially join. I understand that yours and others experiences don't reflect the entirety of ~1700 years of the organized state religion of the Roman Empire. When we're talking about finding community outside of work, I find large churches will have a facade of community but in practice are not as welcoming to all.

midiguy 3y ago
> I don't believe the Catholic church (or other denominations of Christianity, or Mormon church) would allow a LGBT couple to officially join. That's not entirely true. No legitimate catholic church would prohibit lgbtq couples from joining. The more conservative ones definitely would not condone their lifestyle, however, and probably none would agree to marry them. So if you are lgbtq you should probably just give some serious thought into more liberal denominations.
- mattbrewsbytes 3y ago
  I was pointing out an obvious example of a facade of "welcoming all" from the community (would not prohibit people from joining, anyone can show up and volunteer) vs. really welcoming all where anyone could be full members through all of their ceremonies like baptism, confirmation, marriage, etc. or even allowing anyone to pursue theological leadership positions like pastor, deacon, priest, etc.
  - Breza 3y ago
    If that's important to you (as it is me) then I encourage you to seek a denomination that fits your values.