Attending black church while white

[Anonymous]

Why don’t you consider a church that is openly multi-ethnic and diverse? I attend McLean Bible Church and it absolutely meets that criteria. I would say about 40% of those in attendance are not white. One of the two main pastors (Mike Kelsey) is black and does a fantastic job. This could be a good compromise. We love having new people join us for worship. The music will probably be more up his alley than some of the other suggestions here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t you consider a church that is openly multi-ethnic and diverse? I attend McLean Bible Church and it absolutely meets that criteria. I would say about 40% of those in attendance are not white. One of the two main pastors (Mike Kelsey) is black and does a fantastic job. This could be a good compromise. We love having new people join us for worship. The music will probably be more up his alley than some of the other suggestions here.

McLean is fine if you’re looking for a fundamentalist church.

[Anonymous]

McLean is not a “fundamentalist” church, period. It’s politics do not fit into a neat bucket — yes, on some issues they are more conservative but on many other issues they are more liberal than the average Republican. And, in any event, they have explicitly rejected the political idolatry that has come to mark religion the last few years, resulting in some loss of its own members. That took a lot of courage.

I was away from religion for a very long time and came back to religion in a moment of personal crisis. I had never attended a church like MBC and have been blown away at the love and community I have felt there from the most caring and fruitful people who welcomed me with open arms.

And the diversity too. My workplace can talk about DEI all it wants but MBC is dramatically more diverse than anyplace I have worked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:McLean is not a “fundamentalist” church, period. It’s politics do not fit into a neat bucket — yes, on some issues they are more conservative but on many other issues they are more liberal than the average Republican. And, in any event, they have explicitly rejected the political idolatry that has come to mark religion the last few years, resulting in some loss of its own members. That took a lot of courage.

I was away from religion for a very long time and came back to religion in a moment of personal crisis. I had never attended a church like MBC and have been blown away at the love and community I have felt there from the most caring and fruitful people who welcomed me with open arms.

And the diversity too. My workplace can talk about DEI all it wants but MBC is dramatically more diverse than anyplace I have worked.

c

McLean is fine if you’re looking for a fundamentalist church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been wanting to get anyone in my family interested in going to church with me again after not attending for a few years.

I’ve seen my opportunity recently. My freshman son has been hanging out with new friends who have Christian faith (though not our denomination and honestly more fundamentalist than I would ever be comfortable with). He knows the words to all the songs from Kanye’s Jesus is King and loves gospel music. So I asked him if he’d go to church with me next week. He said he’d like to attend if we can find a church with gospel music.

I attended St Augustine’s Catholic Church, historically black, here in DC maybe 30 years ago and they were welcoming. I attended a gospel service in Harlem some years later and they were decidedly not. I get it. Even though I was invited by friends, it may have felt to the some parishioners like we were there to observe some kind of cultural performance. Like we were intruding.

So here’s my question. Can I take my son to St Augustine’s as a way of reviving his interest in church?

If you are Catholic, yes. If not, go, but do not take Eucharist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been wanting to get anyone in my family interested in going to church with me again after not attending for a few years.

I’ve seen my opportunity recently. My freshman son has been hanging out with new friends who have Christian faith (though not our denomination and honestly more fundamentalist than I would ever be comfortable with). He knows the words to all the songs from Kanye’s Jesus is King and loves gospel music. So I asked him if he’d go to church with me next week. He said he’d like to attend if we can find a church with gospel music.

I attended St Augustine’s Catholic Church, historically black, here in DC maybe 30 years ago and they were welcoming. I attended a gospel service in Harlem some years later and they were decidedly not. I get it. Even though I was invited by friends, it may have felt to the some parishioners like we were there to observe some kind of cultural performance. Like we were intruding.

So here’s my question. Can I take my son to St Augustine’s as a way of reviving his interest in church?

If you are Catholic, yes. If not, go, but do not take Eucharist.

+1 Only Catholics in good standing can take communion

[Anonymous]

“We must face the sad fact that at eleven o'clock on Sunday morning when we stand to sing 'In Christ there is no East or West,' we stand in the most segregated hour of America.” ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t Catholic Churches open to everyone ?

Yes. But aren’t all churches?

[Anonymous]

We used to go to Our Lady Queen of Peace in Green Valley growing up and it was very welcoming. Still one of our favorite churches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t Catholic Churches open to everyone ?

Yes. But aren’t all churches?

y

Catholic Churches used to actually have unlocked doors so people could go in at any time to pray.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t Catholic Churches open to everyone ?

Only the doors, not the religion, and they don’t do gospel music.

And another ignoramus spouts their uninformed bigotry.

The Catholic Church is open to anyone who wants to attend but limits communion to members in good standing. Membership is open to anyone with a sincere heart who is willing to learn the teachings and put them into action to the best of their ability.

And as OP indicated, St. Augustine in fact does have an extremely well-known Gospel choir, and it is not the only Catholic parish with one.