I Go to a Catholic Church. Read My Story

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#006633" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="001d6c00ddvuru.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#3399CC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Walmer Baptist Church</B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#333399" FACE="Arial" >    </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > |     </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Walmer Baptist Church"><U><U><IMG SRC="01a581f0.gif" border=0 width="88" height="31" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></U></A></FONT></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> I Go to a Catholic Church. Read My Story</div> <div> <B>I go to a Roman Catholic Church. As I go into the door there is a stoup (a stone bowl) containing holy water. I dip my finger into it and make the sign of the cross. </B></div> <div> <B>I am usually greeted by someone with a smiling face offering me a hymn books and a church leaflet. If I am having communion I put a round piece of special bread called the host into a goblet. This is so the Priest knows how many people want communion. Before I sit in my seat I kneel down on one knee and make the sign of the cross. I sit on a pew facing the altar, which has cloths and two candlesticks on it. </B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="02afa9f0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="159" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>The service I go to on a Sunday morning is called Mass. Some Catholics go to Mass on Saturday or Sunday evening; all Catholics are supposed to go to one of these services. A man called the Priest says the Mass; he is helped by boys and girls called altar servers. When the Priest says the Mass he wears special clothes called vestments. These are not always the same; a Priest wears different coloured vestments on different occasions. </B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="02bfba30.jpg" border=0 width="251" height="163" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>When I go to Mass I like being other Christians. The Mass has the same pattern every week. During the first part of the Mass we hear about the time before and after Jesus was born, the 'Old Testament' and the 'New Testament' of the Bible. People from our church read from the Bible, and sometimes children read. There are two readings. The Priest always reads a piece from either Matthew, Mark, Luke or John's Gospel. We have a talk from the Priest in the first half of the Mass, called a homily, and we also say prayers. Dance is sometimes used to help us think about what we have learned.</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>In some Catholic churches the small children take part in what is known as 'The Children's Liturgy'. This is a special group for the children, where they think about the Bible story in fun ways. During the second part of the Mass we offer gifts to God of the bread and wine, and money. This is followed by communion, when everyone who is allowed to comes to the front and stands by the altar rail. We first receive the host (bread) from the Priest or a 'Eucharist Minister'. Then we move to the person holding the chalice (cup) and take a sip of precious blood. During the time when the Priest offers up the bread and wine Roman Catholics believe that God changes the bread and wine into the essence of the risen Jesus Christ. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="02cf09c0.jpg" border=0 width="240" height="156" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>During our service we sing some hymns, and sometimes we sing the prayers in Mass rather than say them. Some churches have music groups with children and adults in; they play guitars, flutes and maybe an organ. I particularly like the modern hymns we sing. </B></div> <div> <B>In the Roman Catholic church, when we worship God we pray with the saints. Mary, the mother of Jesus is one of the most important saints with whom we pray. We believe that she speaks on our behalf to God. In their personal prayers, some people have a set of beads called the Rosary of the Virgin Mary, and they use them to say special prayers.</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> <B>In our church we have coffee every week. I enjoy this time. After having shared a service together we can all talk to each other, meet new people and see if anyone needs help during the week. The children play and if warm and dry go outside together on the grass. The church hopes everyone will join in with social activities in the church pancake parties, fetes, dances and a guide pack.</B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="02deb9a0.jpg" border=0 width="235" height="154" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Catholics believe that there are some days during the year that are so special that every Catholic should go to Mass to celebrate. In the Bible, St. Paul said it was important to come to church, and to encourage others to attend, too. (The Bible, Hebrews chapter 10 verse 25). </B></div> <div> <B>Every Sunday counts as one of those special days, and there are seven others. Sometimes they are called 'Holy Days'. Because Catholics say they ought to go to Mass, these days are sometimes called 'Days of Obligation' or 'Holy Days (Holidays) of Obligation'. </B></div> <div> <B>These seven days to remember are:</B></div> <div> <B>the birth of Jesus (Christmas Day) </B></div> <div> <B>the baby Jesus being shown to the rest of the world (Epiphany) </B></div> <div> <B>Jesus going up to heaven (the Ascension) </B></div> <div> <B>the Body and Blood of Jesus (Corpus Christi) </B></div> <div> <B>Mary, the mother of Jesus, is received into heaven (the Assumption) </B></div> <div> <B>Saints Peter and Paul </B></div> <div> <B>All Saints </B></div> <div> <B>In some countries these days are bank holidays, and schools have a day off. In England only some are holidays. When people are at work there are Masses at different times, including the evening, to make it easier for people to attend. When the date falls on a Saturday or a Monday, the Mass is usually celebrated on the Sunday.</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About the Catholic Church"><U><B><IMG SRC="019581f0.gif" border=0 width="88" height="31" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>