As someone who is expected to attend church every Sunday, I feel I am fit to talk about positives as well as negatives of the church and the priests, who, more often than not, bring the community together and make it feel like a family.
As part of the youth, I have mixed feelings towards church and its members, most of which come from personal or firsthand experience.
Being part of the church and the Catholic community has brought me closer to Christ, but also away from real world issues and problems. The minimal emphasis placed on so many issues that are taking place right now and only focusing on charity or just the in-group members—that feels like a lost cause. Sometimes, the experience of Christianity also feels stifling, fear-based and risk-averse.
Relaxing? Judgmental?
As for the experience that most people, especially the elder people, get from the church, the church may seem as a place to relax and unwind after a week of work and stress. More so, people may not even come to church because it is not as engaging as the youth would want it to be. Not only is the experience bland and dull, and someone would rather sleep at home and rest, but the church and its members, including the priests, sisters and the parish members, come across as judgmental. I have personally experienced people in the church being judgmental and focusing on what I am wearing than what is being said during the sermon. I was told not to wear ripped jeans. If so, why exactly would I want to come to a place where people are judgmental and have opinions on my body and what I wear, more than focusing on God. I am sure Jesus wouldn’t judge me for wearing ripped jeans and crop tops.
Apart from this, I am not saying that today’s youth want it easy and want the church to be hip for it to attract the youth. what the youth wants is for the church to inspire us to act. I, like many, appreciate challenging teaching in my church, even when it makes me feel uncomfortable and invites me to make changes based on scriptural principles.
Angela Peter
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