Saint Timothy Catholic Community

It has been about 12 years since I last went to church. Having only attended mormon services, I decided to start my journey at a catholic church. This one happens to be in Mesa, AZ and is under the pastoral care of Father Jack Spaulding. I was fortunate to be joined by a friend whom I’ll call “Sally” and I was pleasantly surprised by the service we attended.

We decided to take the advice of my wife by attending this church for a Sunday evening mass geared for teens. She had taken our sons there on a couple of occasions and they seemed to enjoy it. Since they have no religious background it seemed like a good place for an atheist like me to start.

Sidebar: I was very tempted to start my weekly trips by attending a mormon church but resisted the urge. Though, I would have known what to expect, it seemed counter-intuitive. One of the reasons for doing this is that I had no exposure to other churches. Therefore, logic dictated that I begin my quest in unfamiliar territory.

My first impression of the chapel was that it was spacious but cozy. Sally complained about the rows of chairs; preferring pews. There was an upper level that resembled an auditorium with stadium seating and what could have been an equally spacious lower level (we stayed up top). We made sure to sit in the back to facilitate a quick exit, if necessary.

In plain view of both levels was a central area for the band and clergy. The main wall was painted with a picture depicting Jesus ascending to heaven in view of some angels and several catholic saints. Dangling from the main beam was another Jesus who was nailed to a cross with a bloody sword wound in his side.

No one spoke to us which was fine by me. Although I intend to become more involved in theological dialog, minimal contact was fine with me. Besides some group signing and brief introductions with nearby church-goers, Sally and I only whispered to each other.

The beginning of the service was odd because it reminded me of the Tonight Show. In the same fashion as Jay Leno, Fr. Jack engaged his band leader with light banter and even cracked a couple of jokes. We were then lead into song for a few short hymns to get everyone’s emotions geared up for worship. It was very effective.

Fr. Jack introduced some other members of the clergy and led us in several catholic prayers (none of which I knew). Some members of the congregation and one of the clergy took turns reading scriptures; between which we were given short musical interludes for spiritual emphasis. I was surprised by the verbal cues given by each speaker that prompted scripted responses from the congregation.

This all led up to Fr. Jack’s simple sermon. He told us that since this was the feast of the epiphany we should focus on gifts. Specifically, we should all appreciate the gifts and talents that god has given us. According to our pastor, if we use our god-given talents we will get more. If we do not use them we will lose them. This certainly is not an original concept and did not inspire me to spiritual heights. I will say that I was moved by the music; almost to the point of getting emotional. At any rate, the music was the best part of the service.

At the end, they passed a donation basket and prepared for their communion (or whatever it is called by catholics). The funny thing was that it was Sally who suggested we leave early. I had no intention of partaking in the bread and wine but not for the obvious reasons. I do not accept Jesus (or any god) as my savior and would not want to disrespect any church by falsely partaking in their observances. I understand that those rites have meaning to them and feel it is most respectful to abstain. I didn’t leave a donation in the basket either.

Sally must have felt the same way but unlike me became very antsy when the communion was being prepared. She leaned over and whispered “Do you want to go now?” in a voice that was probably more audible than she intended. I quickly obliged and we quietly walked outside where we were greeted with some much appreciated desert rain.

Following the service, we went to Starbuck’s for coffee where we were joined by my wife. She had chosen not to join us because she didn’t want to have any direct impact on my experience. After describing the experience we bid Sally goodnight and returned home.

In retrospect, there were many differences of worship between this catholic service and what I remember of mormon services. I’ll try to touch on them below but might add future comments if I remember something later.

Catholic service:
Used a full complement of musicians
Gave prayers that were memorized and recited
Despite scripture readings from a few, relied on the pastor to deliver the sermon
Relied heavily on and expected scripted responses from the congregation
The congregation applauded on many occasions throughout the service
Physically passed a collection basket for donations

Mormon service:
Typically only uses a pianist or organist
Does not use recited prayers for the masses but encourages individual and personal prayers
Assigns a few members of the congregation to give scriptural talks each week
Mormons do not applaud in the chapel and only interject an “amen” at the end of a prayer or talk
Tithing and other donations are not handled during services but after the meeting on an individual basis (this is reconciled in a tithing settlement at the end of the year)