Do you attend Church? Synagogue? A Mosque? Do you attend, on any regular basis, or do you belong to your local house of worship?
We joined a Synagogue when my son was in Kindergarten as I needed him to go to Hebrew School! I had decided our son would be raised in my religion, and since I am the mom, that’s my choice!
So we tried out a temple that was around the corner. I knew for religious training it would not work for us as those classes were Sunday mornings 9 am-12. It would not work for me to choose something that would interfere with my spouse’s family visits.
We ended up at the Temple that we had been to when our son was 9 months old, where we started the conversion process: as an adopted child who’s birth mom was not Jewish, there were a few steps that we needed to do to convert him. We did not expect to be back at this Synagogue, but it is where we were guided to!
And I am so grateful that this is where we ended up! My son is in his 6th year of Hebrew School, and at this point there are 6 other children from his elementary school that also attend. There are kids from his various summer camp experiences, and also some from old baseball teams. I have written before how I love the community aspect of our NYC life, and this is a perfect example of that!
And we love our Synagogue! As everyone should, you must absolutely love your house of worship! If you do not go to the best Church or Mosque or Synagogue, etc, then join another ! You should always feel you belong to the best, in my humble opinion.
And now my son has to go to weekend services as part of his religious instruction, as he gets ready to prepare for his Bar Mitzvah. Yes, I got the Bar Mitzvah date last year, it is very competitive, I got the last Saturday that was available in May, 2016!
And if I asked you to guess who enjoys the Junior Congregation services the most, would you guess my Catholic husband? Of course! He loves listening to Phil, the guy from the Synagogue that leads the kids in Sabbath learning. And well he should, after all, the Jewish Bible is Part 1 of the Catholic Bible! But it is really all about Phil, he makes the service so accessible, so interesting for all of us! Last week he referenced Professor Dumbledore and the Harry Potter world to explain something to the kids. What a brilliant way to get and keep the kids (and my) attention! The next week he mentioned the WWE and I went right up afterwards and let him know that we came to services because we had to, but we stayed because of him. I always like to acknowledge the positive to balance out how often I complain about stuff!
I am thrilled that we found the House of Worship that we found, and I hope you are thrilled with yours as well!
I agree that you should love where you go. We moved to a new state a few years back, and it took me several places to find one I was happy with here. Happily, I have. I’m happy you have found a place you love too. It makes a big difference in motivation to go, and to be involved (to name just two things that came to mind immediately when I was reading your post).
I so agree with every point you made. YOu definitely should feel your best in your place of worship. I definitely do. I firmly believe if you don’t feel your best that you will get nothing out of a place you should be receiving from. Great post Mitch.
What a beautiful sentiment! I wish we felt that way about our place of worship. It is so important for children to have a faith, no matter what that faith may be. Maybe after all this snow, I will start start searching for a place where we fit in!
i go to Catholic church but I notice I seem to be attending more funerals.
I absolutely LOVE my church! I agree, if you don’t feel like part of a family; you should probably move on 😀 Like many families though, you may go through “seasons” of not fitting in. Overall, though, you should feel at home 😀 Great article!
It makes a difference. My son was Bar Mitzvahed in December at the same shul I had my Bar Mitzvah at and it made it all that much more special.
Our connection runs very deep there and it just feels right.
I agree with everything you said, it may take a few tries to find the right place for your family to worship
I am Jewish and never thought about a child converting to Judaism! Obviously it makes sense, but I am used to hearing adults do it in the context of intermarriages. I am curious as to the process and how it differs by age. Glad you all seem to be enjoying your temple!
I am very happy that you love where you go! I have just recently found my church home and I couldn’t be happier!
Being comfortable is essential in any place of worship. Not only for yourself but for your entire family. I have attended the same church that my family has been involved with for almost 70 years. I did however find a second congregation that my children found to be more comfortable in for family attendance.
I am so happy that you really like your Synagogue. It is very important and a big part of life. Thank you for sharing