Do you attend church as a family?

meghans30

We've made more of an effort lately to go to church, but have yet to find a denomination that is a good fit for our family. The one we currently attend has a wonderful children's program, but the sermons make me fall asleep! Do you attend? How important do you think religion is in your child's life?

butterbeansmama

Yes. We go every Sunday. It is a Christian church. Extremely low key, comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. P goes to sunday school here and dh/I go to the adult sermon. Our pastor is younger and hilarious. We love it there.

oparcm

We do.  We go to the same Catholic church I attended as a kid.  Dd goes to their pre-school.  When I was younger, I changed and went to a Baptist church but I'm back to Catholic.  I like the Baptist church though.  I think it is important for dd to have some faith. 

jessicaclare

Yes, probably 3 out of 4 Sundays a month (depends on if we're gone at all). Its been a real challenge lately, because DD#2 doesn't always like to sit on one spot that long. Raising our children in our faith (we're Lutheran, LCMS) is very important to us.

PoundCake

The kids and I go.  None of the churches have cry rooms or quiet rooms so its tough  and we end up sitting in the back and missing parts of the mass.  But its important to me to present this to DD as a continuing thing for her to grow into understanding.

Andrewsgal

Yes and it took us quite a while to find a good fit for our family. We go to a methodist church. It is very important to us to raise our kids in a strong bible based church.

CleoKitty

No, we don't go to church and most likely never will. If we had to attend a church for some reason we'd chose a UU church, but even that's not really my thing.

PMQ:

I feel it's really important to educate my kids about different religions but to teach the basics of kindness, acceptance and human decency outside of any religious label.

Ditto this, 100%.

And even though I'm not religious in the slightest I do really enjoy religious studies. Oddly enough I spend quite a bit of time reading and learning about various religions and do look forward until my kids are old enough to also study world religions.  It's fascinating, IMO.

Halo79RN

I'd like to. But right now I work most every weekend. Dh and grew up catholic. Dd is baptized. Ds is not yet. But dh feels strongly about looking for a new church. We haven't gotten that far yet. Either way, we talk about God and Jesus and what it means to be a christian. But it's been a while since we went regularly... Since we moved here 20 mos ago. My job.

Mrs Manners

I've started going recently and take ds with me. Dh does not go although he has expressed some passive interest in "maybe going someday". I'm not going to pressure him because I feel like he needs to decide to come on his own...although I do think it's important for us to go as a family and an important example for him to set. I think it's important for us and our child to be involved - but I wouldn't choose a church that was just a good fit for one of us - we all need to benefit. And one day your child is going to be grown enough to attend the sermon and you don't want it to be so boring that they can't take anything away from it.

Angela814

We go to church together almost every Sunday. My sister usually comes with us. We go to a more liberal Catholic church (much different than the Catholic church I attended as a child). The church is great, and our priest has awesome sermons. It is important to us that DD grows up in the Christian faith.

championmama

We do.  We go about every Sunday, unless we're out of town or something.  But, if we're visiting family, we go with them.  We're members of the Church of Christ.  I grew up in a church of about 1000 members and knew just about everyone.  I don't live in that town anymore, and neither do my parents, but my dad was a  deacon.  If I run into anyone, we remember each other.  My minister married DH and I, even though he'd met DH only a few times.

Now, I live an hour away, and I was going to one church, but they had no Bible hour during the sermon and no tended nursery.  Two must-haves, especially since DH doesn't go as often as I do.  The church I started going to last summer has Bible hour during the sermon for 2-6y, a tended nursery, and a great youth program.  My kids will have lots of others their age in their youth groups.  I go to a ladies class on Sunday morning, and DH and i go to a young marrieds class when he comes.  The girls and I also go on Wednesday night. 

Plus my dad has started coming to church with us there, and I am so glad b/c after he and my mom divorced, he kind of left the church for awhile. 

I do think faith is important and but I agree with whoever said above about teaching kindness and human decency.  I mean, what good is being a Christian if you don't act like one?

Richardsmom_817

My husband believes taking your children to church starting at a very young age is important......he feels more strongly than I do, but we do it...we started taking my son around 6 wks...my daughter started immediately...my last 2 children are 14 months apart so it's a matter of each of us watching/taking care of one of the babies at church...we have 3 so it's gotten tough w/ the 2 girls being so close in age....trying to keep all 3 happy & quiet is a task to say the least.....alot of times my husband just takes my son (he's 4 1/2).  I wish we could all go every Sunday, but honestly it's alot of work & maybe it will get better as they get a little bit bigger.

championmama

Richardsmom_817:

My husband believes taking your children to church starting at a very young age is important......he feels more strongly than I do, but we do it...we started taking my son around 6 wks...my daughter started immediately...my last 2 children are 14 months apart so it's a matter of each of us watching/taking care of one of the babies at church...we have 3 so it's gotten tough w/ the 2 girls being so close in age....trying to keep all 3 happy & quiet is a task to say the least.....alot of times my husband just takes my son (he's 4 1/2).  I wish we could all go every Sunday, but honestly it's alot of work & maybe it will get better as they get a little bit bigger.

 

This is what I worry about for the coming fall.  My husband doesn't attend regularly, and my Dad comes to the same church, and he doesn't have much patience.  Last week, I took Blaire out b/c of a fit, and as I was standing up, he said "take her out and spank her".  I told him to stop and I later reminded him that we don't spank.  Kids will be kids, and as I mentioned below, it is unreasonable to expect a 3 year old to be quiet and pefectly well behaved for 30 minutes, or howevver long.

~Kat~

We go as a family to a Baptist church every single week. It is really important to us, both as spiritual refreshment, and as a community. I love our church and have never met so many people that are as genuine and truly kind as some of my friends there. They challenge me to truly act like a Christian and not just say that I am. DS loves going to the nursery during the service, so that makes me feel much better about leaving him. We found our church almost accidentally 3 years ago, and I am so glad that we did.

gracendantho26

Yes, we do go as a family. My DD loves her Sunday school class but DS is a little more iffy. He'll go but he's sorta whiney about it. We like the sermons so it works out well. We definitely would not go if we didn't think it's important. We go to the same church that DH grew up in (and where we were married) and he still knows a ton of people there. His youth pastor married us.

gracendantho26

PMQ:

No, we don't. We go out for breakfast with a group of friends every week, that's our "church". DH and I were both raised in non-practicing Catholic families (well, MIL attended church but that's it) and attended Catholic schools. We have never attended church and our kids will go to public school.

I have never seen/heard of a church I'd like to attend and, to be honest, it's just not important enough to us for me to spend much time looking for one.

I feel it's really important to educate my kids about different religions but to teach the basics of kindness, acceptance and human decency outside of any religious label.

Our pastor was just talking about the importance of learning about the various religions.

springfallwed

We go to church as a family. We're Baptist, and attend Sunday School, then preaching in the morning and then we go back for evening sermon. DD loves her Sunday School class, and her teachers stay downstairs during morning sermon and use the room as a nursery, they do have a live feed of the sermon on the computer. We actually found our church a couple of months before we had DD, it was and is extremely important to me that she be raised in church and has that foundation. Our church is really small, and even if I have to take her upstairs, everyone keeps an eye on her and for that matter, she rarely sits with us, but sits with an other family with older children. They have given us a sense of family that had been lacking in our lives. And we have went to being there hit or miss to being there everytime the doors are open, I teach & DH is now a deacon.

You can find a perfect fit, sometimes it just takes a lot of time & even more prayer. God led us to our church, I don't doubt that, I had spent years praying and had my church back home praying for us. Until you find a church where YOU are being fed, in one way or the other, you should keep looking, IMO. While I don't always get "fed" during the sermon, I do during the testimonies & being a part of our congregation & being with the kids, I come out feeling much better than when I went in and that's the key for me.

shopgirl78

The kids and I go.   It's really hard for me to get us there now, so we haven't been in a while.   I am afraid to have a NB screaming with no cry room.   It's really important to me that we go.  DH could care less...

GrowingFamily

Yes, every weekend.  Religion is a very important part of our lives & I want our children to grow up knowing God, as I have.

mauceddie

I go to Catholic church with my older DD. She attends Sunday School. Dh isn't Catholic, and my younger DD is a bit of a handful, so they stay home. Once DD2 is old enough to attend Sunday school, all of us will attend.

hopefulmom

Yes we do.  It is a non-denominal protestant church.  People must really like it.  When we first started attending about 6-7 years ago there were maybe 300 in each service.  The church has grown and there is now usually about 1300-1500 in every service AND there is a satellite "church" in another town that watches via video monitor.  I think if a church is growing it is obviously well liked by the attendees and something is holding their interest.

Our church has a great children's program...all ages are broken up and then in junior high and high school they each have their own pastor and own band.  Our church is pretty laid back and wears jeans (as do many of us).

Just look for a church that is GROWING and try that.  Also, ask around...neighbors, friends, coworkers, etc.