I am such an unlikely Catholic, I thought to myself yesterday, as I packed my well-thumbed copy of Marianne Williamson’s A Return to Prayer.

I believe in birth control, choice and in papal fallability. I actually said “shit” in church, not too long ago. {It was an accident.} I’m not very compliant with rules.

But off we went to a Catholic church known to be so liberal the other churches in this Diocese look down on it. “Our kind of church,” I thought.

After we were settled in the pew and before Mass, the pastor came by to introduce himself. He seemed a little ill at ease, but then, the extroverted and much beloved prior pastor who died last month was a hard act to follow.

It was a big game day so the church was only about half full.No kneelers–whoa! Different. And I liked how friendly people were. The pastor was very dear with the children of the parish, who played a role in the Mass.

Mass was fine. But….

The sound system was muddy. We couldn’t hear the choir’s enunciation at all and only about half of the pastor’s words. Plus, his speaking voice had a very strange cadence, with stresses on all the wrong words. I had the sense that either he’d gotten some very bad public speaking advice or he was perhaps on the autism spectrum. {Not kidding.}

I liked the music. The lyrics were projected on the wall, but there was no sign of a hymnal. If you didn’t know the tune you couldn’t even attempt to read the music as it wasn’t provided. {I wanted to walk over and snatch a hymnal from the choir}

No missalette in the pews either, although I saw a few people had them. No idea where they found them.

Meh.

We aren’t sure it is the right church home for us. However, the pastor happened to mention his prior parish, which is significantly closer to our new home. So we’ll try it out.

A BFF in Tampa recommended a non-denominational church she knows here, and while I found it online a few months back, it’s either changed names or disappeared.

The search for a church home continues.

Nonetheless, spiritual inspiration is not in short supply this season. Opportunities to help people keep cropping up.

It’s a tough season for many and those of us who have been fortunate in our lives are also lucky in our ability to help others. I’ve always done this, in one way, shape or form, but I seem to feel a stronger calling this year.

Nothing to do but to heed it. {God appears in our lives in many different ways. All we’ve got to do is pay attention.}

And speaking of church, if you haven’t seen this Catholic vs. Presbyterian church debate on their outdoor signs, take look. Cracks me up every time:

http://tinyurl.com/5cnwkq