Finding
Faith with Grayson: St. Michael's Catholic Church
Grayson Thomas, entertainment
editor
Church
Stop: St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Levelland.
The
last time that I was in a Catholic church, I was 12 and it was a blur.
I was
young and had only been exposed to a sliver of the world’s religion. For
all I knew to expect, it was going to be the same. I was wrong. The
traditions that I am accustomed to are solemn and simple, while the Catholic
traditions are more ceremonious and the congregation is more involved than I
was expecting.
For
this experience, I was a little more open to all of the differences between
the ways in which I was raised and the way that the Catholic religion
teaches. As I get older, I’m learning to discern between ideas and ideals
that were offered to me as a child.
I had
to learn for myself that not everything that I was taught by my elders in
life was true, some values are highly upheld and some are completely
ignored, and no matter what religion we are, we’re all headed toward the
same general goal-no matter which curvy road we take to get there.
After
my visit to the church, I called to see if I could get some details on
everything that this church offers its members.
Rosario Smith was kind enough to walk me through the inner workings of St.
Michael’s. St. Michael’s upholds Christian living as one of the highest
values and continues to instill that in all members. Everything in life
starts and ends with a foundation that you have set for yourself. St.
Michael’s tries to set Christ as the basic foundation for all of life’s
matters, so that when one either begins or ends a stage of life, it comes
around full strength to Christ.
The
church’s mission statement is to “celebrate new life in Christian
communities.” One of their focuses is to unite Catholics from the region
together for the greater good. Locally, St. Michael’s offers a range of
activities for children, youth and adults. The learning process is offered
for children through adults to learn all of the steps to become a Catholic.
Children, youth, high school, and college students are all divided up into
their own fellowship studies and groups according to age and depth into
Catholicism, creating a stable and comfortable learning environment.
For
college students, they offer a range of activities around town. There is a
student center across the street from Dairy Queen that allows college kids
to come in and study, lounge, play ping-pong, and watch television. They
offer a lunch spot for commuting students who don’t have a dorm or a place
to go for lunch. Soon there will be a fellowship night once a week that
will give an excuse to anyone who wants to get together for worship and have
a little fun.
Couples on the brink of marriage are required to attend a weekend retreat
that offers advisement, instruction, and meetings with a priest. The basic
goal of the retreat is to ensure that marriage is taken seriously, is not
done on a whim and has been given the appropriate amount of thought and
consideration. Young couples are encouraged to attend Mass and make private
meetings with a priest before and after marriage.
Now, I’m not Catholic, but this is the kind of attention and
guidance that I was searching for before I engage in marriage. St. Michael’s
has a lot to offer for everyone in any stage in life and has certainly
caught my eye.
New in town and looking to break the ice at a new church?
On the afternoon of Oct. 4th, St. Michael’s will
celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis was known as the
Patron Saint of Animals and was widely known to love all animals, great and
small. Paintings and statues of him often show him surrounded by forest
animals. St. Michael’s will hold a “blessing of the animals” event in his
honor. Anyone, Catholic or non-Catholics alike, is invited to participate
and bring their pets for a blessing and a short service. See you there!
Next stop: The Heights Fellowship
