A Faith Journey: from Catholicism to Congregationalism
My Faith Sprouted from my Catholic Upbringing
My faith has its roots in a memorable Catholic upbringing that I am thankful for.
I have fond memories of my father teaching the Lord’s Prayer to me and my brothers each night from outside our bedroom doors. I am thankful that my father was my first Catechism teacher since this commanded my attention and respect. My private prayers to God in my bed at night were an important part of handling the setbacks and disappointments of growing up. Hearing the enactment of the story of Easter and of the story of Christmas at my church was something I looked forward to and still do. Celebrating the sacrament of Communion was special.
I am thankful for my Catholic upbringing because of the many memories described above but also for instilling in me a belief in God and in Jesus.
A Different Experience at College
My religious experiences at college helped me to see new dimensions of faith. For example, in services I attended at the non-denominational chapel on campus, I found the sermons had messages that were relevant to me and called me to action. This was the first time I appreciated that a sermon could help make me a better person or help me enjoy life more.
The pastor of the chapel on campus lived in a house called Newman House which had an open door policy so that students were welcome at any time. A group of students regularly "hung out" at Newman House and talked about their beliefs and what different parts of the Bible meant to them. While I found the conversations very interesting, I also realized that I held some beliefs that were at odds with the beliefs formally taught by the Catholic Church. For example, I didn’t understand why or agree that priests or preachers of the faith could not be female and could not get married.
With the realization of these conflicts I had with Catholic beliefs, I felt like a hypocrite calling myself a Catholic. I knew I still held a strong belief in God and in Jesus so I began to inquire about other Christian faiths. Unfortunately, the Internet was not a resource at the time or this process of exploration might have been much faster!
Search for the Right Christian Experience
In discussing faith and beliefs with friends and work colleagues who practiced different faiths, I found out that my beliefs were accepted in several other Christian faiths. Undecided as to what to do, I did not attend any services for many years. During that time, I married my husband Todd and became pregnant with our son, Jake. Todd and I attended several Christian services to find a suitable Christian experience and happened upon the West Stockbridge Congregational Church. Not only was there a thought-inspiring female pastor, but there was a warm and engaging congregation. It was second nature in this Church to discuss faith and your spiritual journey with others so I grew spiritually during this time
When we moved from West Stockbridge Massachusetts to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, finding a suitable Church for worship was a top priority. We attended several different churches but found the sermons to be too intolerant of other faiths. We attended several services at the Unitarian Universalist Church and while we enjoyed the sermons we found that we missed hearing readings from the Bible. Then we discovered the Congregational Church of Etna and bingo we had struck gold once again.
Spiritual Journey is Alive and Well
You are encouraged to peruse a sampling of Reverend Ray Luber’s sermons on this site. I find Reverend Luber’s sermons to be relevant to world events, thought provoking, and entertaining as he has a wonderfully healthy sense of humor. I am thankful for the special spiritual events that Reverend Ray Luber organizes with his wife Suzy Luber and look forward to more of these.
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