I thought I'd start a new thread about it even though I mentioned it in my transitioning in church thread.
After being absent from church since Christmas when I was yelled at by the priest (for failing in my duty as a lector) I came back to church on Palm Sunday. And why not. Easter is about the resurrection and the season is about renewal.
The priest made a plea to people to renew their commitment to their faith and pleaded to everyone to at least attend the Holy Week masses. Attendance at our church has been spiraling down. We don't even fill the parking lot anymore much less the pews.
Tonight we had the Holy Thursday mass and the washing of the feet. And there were a ton of people there.
It made me happy. Happy that people are apparently renewing their commitment to their faith and that the church is full once more. Even as recent as 5 years ago you couldn't get a seat on Sunday mass. I long for those days.
On a side note I've been slowly coming out in church and nobody seems to be alarmed. They ask my wife a few harmless questions and some have to double take because they don't recognize me. I don't show up in a dress (just yet) but I do dress androgynously.
So anyone using Holy Week as an opportunity to renew their faith and relationship with the Lord?
Yes very much so Kate. I love the Holy Thursday mass and the message of humility and service in the act of washing another person's feet.
Yesterday at the good Friday passion mass it was also full. Lots of familiar faces too. They were happy to see me and the kids. My wife wasn't there. She had to work.