Last night the kids and I went to a different church for Palm Sunday services. We went, really, because this church offered a Sunday night mass that was more convenient for our schedule than Sunday morning; what was interesting was the kids reaction to this change...and I knew this about them, it just drove the point home. They really didn't like it, especially Rebecca. On the way home, I commented that it was nice to see another church's traditions and recognize the similarities that thread throughout Catholic Church services everywhere. Rebecca, kind of out of the blue, said, "I don't want to go there ever again. I only want to go to our church." I was kind of aghast - but in asking her more questions, she was able to clearly say that she liked seeing people she knew and people who knew her when she was in church. For her, going to church is about being a part of a community, after all, this is the church that she has grown up in. I appreciate that. For all of my struggles with the Catholic Church, there is a part of me that wants to raise my children in the Church and be a more active member myself. For me, too, this has more to do with belonging to a community than it does agreeing with the doctrine that is set forth. Nothing too deep here - just ruminating on a thought.