Do you go to church?

TriciaChick

If you do, do you look fwd to it?  Does it have a sunday school for your kids?  Does the whole family go? 

I am thinking about starting to go (really have not gone regularly since I was a kid)  I know most of the time DH would not be able to since he works midnights and I don't think he would have a huge interest in it anyway.  We have always been under the school of thought that you do not have to attend church every week in order to be a good person.  However, I do think it is important to expose my kids to it as I was.  Sorry for the rambling...just wondering if you have any thoughts...

juniper19

We're Jewish, so no to church. But I just took my 6 year old to synagogue for the first time because I want her to have a connection to Judaism. She liked it, and I am also signing her up for Hebrew school. I am actually an atheist, but I feel a strong cultural connection to my religion. If my children choose to reject religion when they are adults, that is there choice. But I want it to be an informed choice.

firefightersgal

Yes, we go every Sunday and are members of our church.  I take DD to Sunday school in the morning, then have an hour to get ready by myself.  (Heaven!)  DD currently stays in the nursery during the church service, so I get to sit by myself or with DH, which is nice.  She will be kicked out of there before too long, though.

Honestly, I don't know if I look forward to it.  I don't mind going and I do go, but it isn't something I think, "Oh, goodie!  Church!"  Is that bad?  LOL.  I really enjoy interacting with the people there and singing, though.  I almost always leave with a good feeling.

littlemermaid

We are Catholic and our children attend Catholic school so yes we go to church.  We go as a family.  If my husband is out of town I will go with the children.  Our church does offer children's liturgy during one of their Sunday masses and also have a nursery for the young ones during that same mass.  We have always enjoyed bringing our children to the mass though so we didn't use either of those services.  Our church does have a "cry" room in the back which we used when the children were babies but otherwise they have always sat with us.  They learned that they had to be quiet, sit still and listen.    I do enjoy going, the children enjoy it too.  Even though I feel it's hectic to get up and get everyone out the door once I get there I feel a wonderful calm.  It's like an hour long meditation. 

penguingrrl

We don't. Our kids only got baptized because my aunt threatened to take them to a priest and have them baptized without us if I didn't plan one. Other than weddings and funerals I don't go to church and don't plan to.

My mom took us to church growing up because she felt like it was the right thing to do and would give us a connection to religion even though she's not religious at all. The only lesson I took out of that was that religion is something kids were exposed to an adults didn't believe in and it took until I was 25 to realize that some adults did believe. I think that was far more confusing a message than not going since my mom didn't believe, so since DH and I no longer believe in organized religion (we're very spiritual, but have issues with the organizations) we likely will not start going just for the kids.

Carol*Brady2

littlemermaid:

We are Catholic and our children attend Catholic school so yes we go to church.  We go as a family.  If my husband is out of town I will go with the children.  Our church does offer children's liturgy during one of their Sunday masses and also have a nursery for the young ones during that same mass.  We have always enjoyed bringing our children to the mass though so we didn't use either of those services.  Our church does have a "cry" room in the back which we used when the children were babies but otherwise they have always sat with us.  They learned that they had to be quiet, sit still and listen.    I do enjoy going, the children enjoy it too.  Even though I feel it's hectic to get up and get everyone out the door once I get there I feel a wonderful calm.  It's like an hour long meditation. 

. Pretty much ditto though we use the nursery & Sunday school

Mrs Manners

I started going last year. I went regularly until I went to college and then only when I was at home visiting my parents after that. Ds goes to the nursery while I am in church. He loves it. Our church does not have Sunday school, only small group meetings during the week. Dh does not go with us because he works overnight a lot and because he just isn't that interested. I tried a few churches before finding this one that I really like.

CMMC23

We attend as a family and do look forward to it. There is a nursery and Sunday school for all kids divided by ages. DS is only 17 months but does have fun. It's kind of like a play date for him.  There is a cafe we sat sit in and chat with some other friends before service. I always leave service feeling renewed and kind of prepped for the week ahead.  

jettagurl

We go often, not always.  We just changed churches due to the children's department....we wanted somewhere the kids wanted to go - where they enjoyed to be and there were many activities for them. The love to go.  B & N are in a 4-5 yr old class (about 10 kids) and E & G go to the nursery.  When they are PTed, they will move to the 2-3 yr old class.  Even in the nursery they do little lessons/color/sing....so they run right in. 

I think it is important to do more than just read a Bible/do devotions...but it is essential to find a church where you really feel you belong.  There are a lot of issues in churches, a lot of judgmental people, and a lot of 'politics,' so even though we've changed churches, we haven't officially joined yet - we want t be absolutely sure we are where we want to be. And we are Baptist. - we just left a Missionary Baptist church that was 'full-gospel' - a lot of singing/"amen"ing/loud/ and ladies that go all out in their dress.  I was 1 of only about 4-5 non-black people.  The new church is just the opposite, and very calm, super friendly, and much more laid back - it is a huge change.  Be sure to 'shop around' so to speak. 

 

 

AZ_Erica

I go to church.  DH rarely goes.  Sometimes I take the kids sometimes not.  We have no nursery or childrens service.  I like taking DS he is well behaved but DD can't sit for an hour yet, and if she is in the cry room she just wants to read books then I can't pay attention.  So usually I try to go alone.  I look forward to it, it's sometimes my only "me time" each week.

Temp108743750006959

DH takes DS most Sundays. DS doesn't want to go, but once he's there he seems to enjoy it.

I'm Jewish and don't know what I really believe. But DH tells DS is a time to think about people he cares about and hope they feel better, etc. I think DS likes that.

r9stedt

We have recently started attending.

To be honest, I really do not look forward to the Sunday service, but I feel like I do get something out of it.  It is also a positive for the peen and I to spend some time together, as well as us expanding our support system.  Numerous of my friends/coworkers attend the same church and we all sit together.

I do, however, really enjoy the Wednesday night small group that I attend.  Right now we are covering 'The Good and Beautiful Life'.  It is really changing my perspective on certain things.  I am going to be sad when it ends in October (it is an 8 week class.)  

L enjoys it, and he also goes to a private Christian preschool that has chapel every Tuesday.  He likes to learn about creation, Adam and Eve, and God's love.

One of the best things my parents ever did for me, I believe, is that I was raised going to church twice a week.   It made me solid in my faith (even though I have strayed), and gave me enough knowledge to be able to argue, and even question God at times.

The peen and I want to raise L (and future children) in a Christian home, and provide them with the knowledge for them to make their own informed decisions about their faith as they grow and age.


Tada!  There you have it folks!

AggieCouple

We do, but we prefer to go to the Saturday evening service, if we can bum dinner off one of my sibs.  9:00 Sunday morning is sooo early, esp since we have to feed the kids breakfast first and it conflicts with AM's morning nap which is just a disaster waiting to happen, and the 11:00 is way too crowded.  I don't mind if we can get in Saturday evening.  I kind of like it.  Both the older kids are pretty well-behaved now, and AM is still pretty immobile.  Once AM is older, I will probably hate it.

jessica1080

I grew up in church and so did my DH, but since we have gotten married and moved we have gotten out of the habit of going and honestly I don't think my DH wants to.  My DD LOVES to go to church.  If you tell her we are going (with my parents or randomly somewhere) she gets so excited!  She screams, YES, WE ARE GOING TO CHURCH!!!!!! and jumps up and down.  As I type this I feel so guilty that I haven't made the time to find a church where we live now and take her. 

She definitely looks forward to it and loves going to her class.  She also likes to go to big church, but has a hard time sitting for the whole hour.  She will color and eat her snack and do pretty well.  Like pp I don't necessarily look forward to it myself...it is definitely harder to get up and get ready and get there than to just have a lazy Sunday and cook breakfast and hang out, but I do feel better coming out of it. 

I think it is important for my DD to have the same foundation as I did so when she is older she can make an informed decision and at least know the basics.  I do have a strong belief...just have gotten lazy.

peekaboo716

We go, but not as often as I would like. The kids are starting to struggle with sitting in the service more, but I always feel like I get something out of the service. I try to see what the upcoming lessons are/who's preaching (since we have mulitple pastors) to choose which week I would want to attend. It also helps that DH likes to go when one particular pastor is preaching, so he is always willing to go on those mornings. We do belong to our church, and the kids are starting Sunday School there (it's the hour after the regular service). My goal is to make 2 Sundays a month.