u/SammyStands

Mid-40s, M, looking for a gym. Have literally never worked out before and need to start. I hate physical exercise, but it's time to get serious.

Any good places for a newbie, and also, personal trainer recommendation?

Thanks in advance!

Hi All,

I'm a gay Catholic, and although I love my faith, the church's anti-gay stance has finally worn me down, and I'm ready to find a community in which I can fully participate. I also have two kids that I want to raise as church-going Christians.

I've been looking into Episcopalianism and Lutheranism as faiths that will be familiar to me as high church and sacramental in nature, and there's a pretty good chance that is the direction I will go. That being said, I happened to be reading an old novel last night in which a character attended a Wesleyan chapel (in England), and the description of the sermon was very attractive to me. The pastor reflected on three words ("He made summer"), quoted from Spenser, drew from the Gospel of John, it was beautiful. I then looked up John Wesley, learned a bit about him, read one of his sermons, which I found to be very compelling.

A couple questions I had:

1. Are there any converts from Catholicism to Methodism here who can speak about their experience?
2. What are the best books I should read to learn more about Methodism and its principles?
3. The UMC in my town is very "modern," for lack of better word - they sing Rock/Pop style songs, have neon lights all over the church, host chats about anti-racism or cancel culture as the opening portion of a Sunday service, and generally seem to want to cater to 20-somethings as their main focus. Up the mountain there is what I assume is a more "traditional" UMC, which sings old-school hymns, seems more structured in general, but based on video evidence, has no one in attendance under the age of 65. Is this generally how Methodist churches run these days? (One extreme or the other?) I ask because the latter church appeals to me, but it will likely be gone in a decade, and the former does not appeal to me at all.

Thank you in advance!

Hi All,

I posted this on /Lutheranism, and someone pointed out that there was an ELCA-specific sub, so figured I'd try it over here as well.

These questions are specifically directed to Lutherans in LGBT-affirming churches. (I understand and respect that there are Lutheran denominations that feel differently about this question, so I'm directing this to those who attend affirming churches.)

I'm 43, a gay Roman Catholic. I love many aspects of my church, even given its hostile stance towards gays, but I am at a point where I feel the need to fully participate in the life of the church with my husband and kids. Until this point, I've been attending an RCC parish on my own, but after a lot of prayer and thought, I'm ready to find a church home where I can feel like a full member of the church, do some significant volunteering, and raise my children as churchgoing Christians. (Their religious education to this point has been a combination of occasionally attending church with me, hearing me pray, reading children's Bibles and singing along to hymns that I sing around the house. They have not been baptized.)

I looked closely at the Episcopalians, given the many liturgical parallels between that church and the RCC, but have found that the few Episcopalian churches in my area are overwhelmingly old (literally not a child in sight at any of their services) and also extremely political. There are two ELCA Lutheran churches in my area that had kids visible at their online services, and which also focused on the Gospels in their homilies. There is a third, older congregation in the area, but when I covered for a musician friend there last year, the pastor spent her lengthy homily attacking the RCC and its practice of confession, so I'm only looking at the other two congregations.

1. Are there any former RCs here? If so, how did you choose the Lutheran church?
2. For all former RCs, was it a tough shift to Lutheranism theologically speaking?
3. Am I allowed to bring some of my RCC practices with me? (Crossing myself, kneeling in church, praying the rosary, praying to saints for intercession, etc.)
4. How does the Lutheran church do when it comes to teaching kids about the faith?
5. Where should I start in terms of learning about Lutheranism before making any decisions?

Thank you in advance, and God bless you all.

Hi All,

This question is specifically directed to ELCA Lutherans in LGBT-affirming churches. (I understand and respect that there are Lutheran denominations that feel differently about this question, so I'm directing this to those who attend affirming churches.)

I'm 43, a gay Roman Catholic. I love many aspects of my church, even given its hostile stance towards gays, but I am at a point where I feel the need to fully participate in the life of the church with my husband and kids. Until this point, I've been attending an RCC parish on my own, but after a lot of prayer and thought, I'm ready to find a church home where I can feel like a full member of the church, do some significant volunteering, and raise my children as churchgoing Christians. (Their religious education to this point has been a combination of occasionally attending church with me, hearing me pray, reading children's Bibles and singing along to hymns that I sing around the house. They have not been baptized.)

I looked closely at the Episcopalians, given the many liturgical parallels between that church and the RCC, but have found that the few Episcopalian churches in my area are overwhelmingly old (literally not a child in sight at any of their services) and also extremely political. There are two ELCA Lutheran churches in my area that had kids visible at their online services, and which also focused on the Gospels in their homilies. There is a third, older congregation in the area, but when I covered for a musician friend there last year, the pastor spent her lengthy homily attacking the RCC and its practice of confession, so I'm only looking at the other two congregations.

1. Are there any former RCs here? If so, how did you choose the Lutheran church?
2. For all former RCs, was it a tough shift to Lutheranism theologically speaking?
3. Am I allowed to bring some of my RCC practices with me? (Crossing myself, kneeling in church, praying the rosary, praying to saints for intercession, etc.)
4. How does the Lutheran church do when it comes to teaching kids about the faith?
5. Where should I start in terms of learning about Lutheranism before making any decisions?

Thank you in advance, and God bless you all.

Hi All,

Background:

14-mo baby boy, goes to daycare during the week, eats/drinks well, sleeps well (goes to bed ca. 7pm, wakes up ca. 7am), has generally been a very happy and healthy baby. When he has a cold or other illness, he can be fussy, but again, generally very happy baby.

Over the last few weeks, he has been more fussy in general, and at certain times of day, demands to be picked up. He is not content to be held on lap while you're sitting, only wants to be carried while you stand up. Any deviation from this = screaming, tantrums, etc. Generally, if he becomes completely unreasonable, we pop him in his crib for a couple of minutes and he will calm down and then be ok.

He was sick last week and over the weekend, seems better now, but has been screaming/tantruming non-stop if not held while standing. I'm currently out of town for work, husband reports that baby is not responding to the "pop him into the crib" approach, is just tantruming non-stop whenever not being held. He is still falling asleep at naptimes, and is eating. Obviously it's not possible to hold him 12 hrs a day, so there's a lot of yelling going on.

My guess is that there is some residual discomfort from last week's cold that we're not aware of, or that possibly he's teething. Husband is concerned that it might be some sort of phase rather than a temporary discomfort. (He said it seems like the baby's personality is different.)

Has anybody else experienced this at this age, and is it more likely to be discomfort, or some sort of separation anxiety? Thanks in advance.