Based on Tithe Thread...

[Mysteria]

....Would you give to a church (religion) that is not your own? I had the chance tonight to visit St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan. Now if anyone is familiar with it, it is huge and magnificent and takes your breath away no matter who you are or what your backgroud.

Now I willingly donated and signed the guest book. The experience itself was worth that. Here is the awkward part. My MIL (Catholic) wanted to donate for us all to light a candle. I am not Catholic, I didn't feel right about it.
Don't get me wrong I'd happily give the money for such a beatuful experience but not being Catholic I didn't feel right about the candle.

Opinions are welcome but don't bash me or my MIL or I will engage you in a snowball fight in which you will lose.

Myst

 

[L107ANGEL]

I see you are up and scrappy today

 

[Glendamax]

I would donate to a church I did not belong to if, they followed the same doctrine. I would NOT donate to a temple/church who worshipped another god.

 

[birdiesunshine]

....Would you give to a church (religion) that is not your own? I had the chance tonight to visit St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan. Now if anyone is familiar with it, it is huge and magnificent and takes your breath away no matter who you are or what your backgroud.

Now I willingly donated and signed the guest book. The experience itself was worth that. Here is the awkward part. My MIL (Catholic) wanted to donate for us all to light a candle. I am not Catholic, I didn't feel right about it.
Don't get me wrong I'd happily give the money for such a beatuful experience but not being Catholic I didn't feel right about the candle.

Opinions are welcome but don't bash me or my MIL or I will engage you in a snowball fight in which you will lose.

Myst

Well, good morning. Now about that snowball fight, sine neither of us have snow....I accept that challenge

Anyhoo, I would have lit the candle, I don't think churches care who lights what as long as a dollar goes into the donation box

 

[Mysteria]

I see you are up and scrappy today

hehe Hey you snuck up on me!! I'm still up and still scrappy! lol Not really scrappy though. I was just wonderin'

 

[Mysteria]

Well, good morning. Now about that snowball fight, sine neither of us have snow....I accept that challenge

Anyhoo, I would have lit the candle, I don't think churches care who lights what as long as a dollar goes into the donation box

There is some snow from the local hockey rink I can throw at you! lol

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I would donate to a church I did not belong to if, they followed the same doctrine. I would NOT donate to a temple/church who worshipped another god.

What she said.

Hey Glenda, kinda OT, but when I see your DIS name, I don't "mentally" think of you as Glenda. I call you the "Seal girl."

 

[Mysteria]

Well, good morning. Now about that snowball fight, sine neither of us have snow....I accept that challenge

Anyhoo, I would have lit the candle, I don't think churches care who lights what as long as a dollar goes into the donation box

Ok on a more serious note the candle lighting is a Catholic thing. It's not the donation that bothers me. It's that they wouldn't be happy with me being a non-catholic taking part in a Catholic ritual. Or maybe it is more that I would feel weird about it. I have been shunned from participating in other Catholic traditions/rituals so maybe my vision is tainted?

 

[Glendamax]

Hey Glenda, kinda OT, but when I see your DIS name, I don't "mentally" think of you as Glenda. I call you the "Seal girl."

I too think of myself as Seal's girl

 

[tar heel]

When my neighbor's mother died, the other families in the cul-de-sac took up a collection to do a memorial. One of the other neighbors, with totally good intentions, suggested we buy a mass for her. Since the neighbor whose mother died is a protestant, I thought that would be inappropriate. It turned out that my Catholic neighbor had no idea we didn't do stuff like that. While I wouldn't be offended if someone did it for me, people in my parents' church would not like it and I wasn't sure this neighbor would either. For the record, I did want the money to go for a mass, but would have been okay with it if they were Catholic. So, that would be giving to another church, I guess.

Except for the collection and pledges, very little money changes hands in my church. Even the youth group is forbidden to do fundraisers, although there are churches in my denomination that have fundraising barbecues (using barbecue in the North Carolina way). I'm not sure where the prohibtion comes from, but in the fundamentalist Baptist church I grew up in it came from Jesus throwing the moneychangers out of the temple.

 

[helenabear]

Ok on a more serious note the candle lighting is a Catholic thing. It's not the donation that bothers me. It's that they wouldn't be happy with me being a non-catholic taking part in a Catholic ritual. Or maybe it is more that I would feel weird about it. I have been shunned from participating in other Catholic traditions/rituals so maybe my vision is tainted?

This struck with me... what have you been shunned from?

If you are talking about communion, if you believe in transubstantiation then feel free to partake. That is the rule on it. If you believe the communion wafer and wine are the actual body and blood of Christ, you wouldn't be shunned from it.

If you don't... then understand why you shouldn't partake

I can't think of anything else someone would be "shunned" from doing. And the Church wouldn't care if you are Catholic or not when lighting.

I would have lit the candle... and yes, I have donated to a church that was not mine.

 

[slo]

I'm Catholic, but I was raised Lutheran, and my parents are still Lutheran. I can very comfortably tell you that there is no way my parents would pay to light a candle in my church There is nothing wrong with you not wanting to do this.

 

[phorsenuf]

Myst, that is a beautiful church! I was there a few years ago and I was so struck by it's beauty!

I too really wanted to light a candle but It didn't feel right to me. Well it did and it didn't. I'm having some conflicts in my faith so that didn't help.

Funny but as I look back at it now I should have lit one.

If it was going to bring peace to my soul than I highly doubt God would have cared if it was something that would bring me closer to him.

 

[bicker]

I'd need to understand what the money would be used for. I feel that donors have some responsibility for the works that are accomplished through their donations, and that cuts both ways. Generally, as a non-member, I wouldn't be in a position to know how such donations would be used. With regard to St. Patrick's, I suspect that at least some of it would go to programs run by the Catholic Church which I feel are counter-productive, so I wouldn't make such a donation. By contrast, I would probably willingly provide a donation to a fund which is exclusively used towards maintaining such an historic building.

 

[L107ANGEL]

I'd need to understand what the money would be used for. I feel that donors have some responsibility for the works that are accomplished through their donations, and that cuts both ways. Generally, as a non-member, I wouldn't be in a position to know how such donations would be used. With regard to St. Patrick's, I suspect that at least some of it would go to programs run by the Catholic Church which I feel are counter-productive, so I wouldn't make such a donation. By contrast, I would probably willingly provide a donation to a fund which is exclusively used towards maintaining such an historic building.

I bet you are alot of fun to party with

 

[bicker]

Are Catholics specifically better partiers than Pantheists? I didn't know that. I figured with all the naked dancing in the moonlight, we heathens had the partying thing down.

 

[barkley]

This struck with me... what have you been shunned from?

If you are talking about communion, if you believe in transubstantiation then feel free to partake. That is the rule on it. If you believe the communion wafer and wine are the actual body and blood of Christ, you wouldn't be shunned from it.

If you don't... then understand why you shouldn't partake

I can't think of anything else someone would be "shunned" from doing. And the Church wouldn't care if you are Catholic or not when lighting.

I would have lit the candle... and yes, I have donated to a church that was not mine.

technicly it is against canon law for a non catholic or a member of a church not formaly 'united' with the catholic church to partake in holy communion (and a good number of members of those 'united' churches are precluded by their own churches from partaking in catholic communion). there are very rare exceptions to this and they have to be evaluated on a person by person basis by a bishop who must adhere to the exception guidelines in canon law (which include things like ensuring the individual believes/practices the catholic faith and there is no spiritual figure-pastor, preacher...-of their member faith in proximity who can provide communion services to the individual, it's a lengthy list).

some catholic churches still adhere to the 'old' practice of not permitting non catholics to stand at the alter-therefore they are not permitted to be a member of wedding party that utilizes the alter area (my own father-a non catholic- was not permitted to stand at my mother's side at my baptism-he had to remain a 'respectful distance' from the alter-and they were not permitted to marry in the church. technicly, a god parent in the catholic church (according to canon law) is only to be a catholic-so churches that follow the strict quidelines do not permit non catholics to be participants as god parents during baptisms.

there are in actuality many things non catholics are 'shunned from'.

 

[#1hockeymom]

While in Paris I donated to many Churches that we visited, but that I obviously don't belong to.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Opinions are welcome but don't bash me or my MIL or I will engage you in a snowball fight in which you will lose.

No you won't because I will have Buddy the elf on my side.

I do all the time. Operation Christmas Child is not run by my religion but I sent a shoe box and the shipping money to them.

 

[helenabear]

some catholic churches still adhere to the 'old' practice of not permitting non catholics to stand at the alter-therefore they are not permitted to be a member of wedding party that utilizes the alter area (my own father-a non catholic- was not permitted to stand at my mother's side at my baptism-he had to remain a 'respectful distance' from the alter-and they were not permitted to marry in the church. technicly, a god parent in the catholic church (according to canon law) is only to be a catholic-so churches that follow the strict quidelines do not permit non catholics to be participants as god parents during baptisms.

Since I cannot judge on the case by case basis for when people were given the eucharist when they were not Catholic (and yes, I have read stories where they weren't Catholic and allowe to recieve) I will not go into what the law says. There are the case by case ones that I know of and just didn't feel like being nitpicky about. I stand by what my church has written on the missellette. It isn't so blatant about saying if you aren't Catholic it is a no no... it says generically what I stated.

However what you wrote about isn't 100% correct either. There is no rule about non-Catholics forbidden from certain roles in weddings. The old "practice" you speak of has no bearing on how things are done now. To be married in the Church one needs ot have one Catholic and they both have to attend pre-cana. If previously married, there are rules to follow for both the Catholic and the non-Catholic. Both have to promise to raise any children in the Faith. Otherwise, no rules or laws I find will prohibit anything else.
The rule on being a God-parent is that one of them has to be in good standing with the Church. Not both, and if you aren't Catholic and in good standing, you can still be a god parent or allowed on the alter for the weddings and baptisms.
The canon law(s) you are referring to states that there only need be one sponsor, and that they must be in good standing ang having been given the Eucharist by the Church.

So no, there aren't things you are shunned from.

However as a personal note, I wouldn't want someone who is not of my faith as a God parent. I have people I would trust to raise my child, but not the ones I want to raise the faith of my child. A friend of mine stated she wanted us to be her childrens God parents and I told her I couldn't. Our beliefs are too different and I would be afraid to teach her child incorrectly. Just my personal thoughts on that specific thing.