I just came back to church because of an artical I read by cinders a few months ago.

The people are making me leave again.

I wish there was a "it depends on the church" option. Each one is a little different; it's not fair to judge ALL of them the same way. Some can be elitist jerks, some can be so wishy-washy that you wonder why they call themself a "church" at all since they're not even preaching the Bible, some are good Bible believers, and some are GREAT Bible believers who actually walk the talk and get active in the world. Like I said, it all depends.

What is your church like, Squib?

Thanks for the heads up about that. Any options can be added on the pick now.

My "fellow" church members did everything they could to **** up my sister's wedding from the organist backing out on short notice, the church's minister not showing up, the sound guy fighting with my uncle who was marrying them and, to get back, failed to tape the wedding. and everybody's getting paid and was told about this up to 2 years in advance. It's not like this was a volunteer job and most of these people are staff and know what they're doing.

I think "equal" treatment at church flows from the wallet and my family and I not rich.

My family has been going to this church for over a decade, I just started really coming back.

Church can rot in hell.

Yeesh, I can see why you have a bone to pick there. >__>

This may sound like a weird question, but was there any prayer involved with the preparations? I don't mean like blessings out of a book or saying "grace"; I mean real communication, as in actually talking to God and asking Him for help. Did you see anyone take time to do that?

That's a crucial part of any church event, whether it's a wedding, a concert or a regular Sunday service. As Christians, we need to include Him in every aspect of our lives, and prayer really helps with that. Praying doesn't only connect you to God; it helps you to check your attitude, get your heart ready to serve others and focus on the task at hand.

So if none of the members took time to pray about the wedding...I think that would explain a lot. I've seen this kind of thing happen a few times before, and the main common denominator was that there was no prayer involved. No prayer, no attitude check, no focus, no servant heart, nothing.

That's how I see it as a Christian, anyway. Sorry if it sounds stupid to you.

I didn't do much for praying there, but I know my mother and uncle did. That apparently did no good. The argument with the sound guy was over a microphone. My uncle's voice was loud and articulate enough (he's a minister) he didn't need one. The sound guy got mad.

There must be something fundementally wrong with this church for the staff to walk all over a family.

The parishioners are part of the reason why I have a hard time going back to Church. I get judged so much because I am a Theology major but not religious (major issues from when I was a child) so going to Mass is not a very enjoyable experience for me.

Like Dearheart said, I understand that not all Churches are like that. But, some people have lost sight of what the community of a Church is supposed to represent.

It depends on the church, the culture of the community, and the individual person. I've been treated badly as an outsider by many religious people, but I hate generalizations and I don't condemn any one church or religion.