April, 2007
I apologise to you, dear reader, for the length and garbled nature of this record of my journey. I am painfully aware that many key facts and events have been left out of this version. Some by design and some because they simply don't exist in written form.
Some day I will get around to typing up an account of my journey from a Brethren congregation in the country, through a short stint with an Assemblies of God Pentecostal group, a year of despair inspired by John Calvin to be finally baptised as a Lutheran at the age of 20.
Our experiences since becoming Catholic are another story. The only part that is relevant to this account is that the Lutheran authorities continued to harass me in various ways over the next five years, culminating (please God) in issuing legal summons and debt collectors demanding (and refusing to negotiate) that I 'repay' a significant amount money for my seminary training. Only the charity of some Catholic friends saved us from bankruptcy.
Our respective families are talking to us again now, but most of my Lutheran friends have not spoken to me since the call I informed them I was resigning to become Catholic. Out of 65 Lutheran pastors I have records of a meaningful and regular interaction with before my resignation, only 2 still talk freely with me on occasion. Some others have approached me with questions now and then, on the condition of anonymity. They are afraid to ask the questions openly. There are some extraordinary individuals still asking tough questions within the Lutheran community in Australia and I tip my hat to them. May God guide them home soon!
There is much more I could say, but I will leave this account of our journey with this comment. I never dreamed of becoming a Catholic, it was the last thing I wanted. Seriously! Since becoming a Catholic I have been at peace in mind, body and soul in a way I never felt before. For all it's flaws, nuts, heretics, sinners, enthusiasts and idiots (including me) ... Christ is the head of this house! This glorious, cracked, flawed and complex Church is the only true home for me. I hope you can join us, if you're not already here.
Next?: I'm done here. You can read my regular blog HERE.
About Me
- Peter
- Married with eight children, I read for work and recreation which results in the current combination of G.K. Chesterton, Orson Scott Card and Terry Pratchet in my backpack. I'm not always certain which is work and which is recreation!
3 comments:
John17:20. My prayer is not for them alone.I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one,Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
Your journey is an inspiration to all of us.
Thank you Peter for sharing these pages, and I'm glad you included all that you did. Much food for thought.
Personally, I'm no longer in an LCA parish (tho still on the roll). Teaching part time here in Toowoomba, now, but still recovering, I think, from the mix of theological, personal and practical issues that almost drowned me and led to my decision to resign from the parish. To state the obvious: there is a real need for better pastoral care in the LCA, for pastors too, and for serious and extensive engagement with theology and Church history, that goes beyond the usual platitudes.
I hate to accuse the Nebulous Church of simply being lazy -- after all, most of these house churches and non-denoms came about through anquished soul-searching. But there is a distinct unwillingness to dig into the Fathers or into the history of the Church/church. Love for God, neighbor, your church family, and the Bible are the bedrock loves of these thousands (and thousands) of groups. Truth, in other words, consists of these loves. It can have nothing to do with history or doctrine because that leads to argument, which is unchristian.
I'm thinking through this because I cannot of course talk with my husband about history or doctrine. To do so has only led to heartbreak in the past, and love must always cover this sin.
Your own journey has amply described the heartache, and the peace. Thank you for this affirmation.
PS. Son and daughter (and spouses) are both Catholic and we have had five grandchildren in 7 years. And my dear husband is completely devoted to all of them!
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