Things To Consider When Finding A New Church Home

A picture of Pisgah Baptist Church in Four Oaks, North Carolina, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Banagher Presbyterian Church and Sunday School The building on the right is the church hall which was built in 1900, hence its name "The Century Hall". The church on the left of the picture was built earlier, in 1825, by the Fishmonger's Company, one of the London Companies. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A simplified chart of historical developments of major groups within Christianity. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you have decided that you need to find a new church or are looking for the first time to attend a church the search can take a while. Generally, you can only really visit one church a week. Below are some things to think about in your quest to find the right church home.

You should spend sometime writing down what your belief are . Simply find a church that somewhat lines up with your personal beliefs are not enough. Some people also are looking for a church to help them define their personal belief.

Write down what you believe and what your family values are. Then make a list of things you have spiritual questions about. You can later use this list to examine the doctrines of a church that interests you. It is wise to remember you will never find a church that line up a hundred percent with your personal beliefs. Most people are best served looking for a church that in general lines up with their personal view of Christianity. Think about how much separation you are willing to tolerate between church doctrine and your personal belief. Obviously, a church has to teach the things that you want your children exposed too. You need to look at how important it is to you to have your children have the same Christian perspective as you do.

Once you have a well defined understanding of what you believe now is the time to do your homework. The Internet is a great place to research what denominations believe. Most sites maintained by the various denominations have a statement of belief or doctrines on their web sites. If the theological jargon on these sites does not make what the group believe, clear to you , go a step father and join a Yahoo email group for people of that faith. Most people will be more than willing to answer your questions about their church. Doing this online can be less intimidating to you and you will find yourself being very honest when you are corresponding by email about these groups faith beliefs.

The next step to finding a church is to know what you want in an individual congregation. Is your family best suited for a small church or a large church. Your teen may not be excited attending a small church with no youth group. Some congregations are truly "dying" and cater to senior citizens that have attended that congregation for years. These churches have their value. They will value having the chance to get new members. They will shower your younger kids with all kinds of individual attention. They can be a great place to attend if you can live without programming geared to younger families and teens.

There are churches that are actually called 'program churches' and can have literally thousands of members They try to create a personal atmosphere by encouraging people to involve themselves in small groups with people who are of a similar demographic. They have programs for divorced , single, and married couples. Most of these churches have extensive Christian education programs and teen ministries. There is something for everyone and if you are looking for a church to have activities for your whole family then these kinds of churches may be great for you. The down side , is the social atmosphere is somewhat artificial and maybe you do not get to know people from varied background.

The next thing, you should look at is what opportunities the church offers you to do lay ministry. Some large churches have so much staff you can only really get involved with individual short term charity projects. This would be a good choice for families that are very busy but still want to give time to the church. Smaller churches always need volunteers from working in the office , helping with the food pantry, or teaching Sunday school. If you want to be able to participate in ministry on a weekly basis, the smaller congregation might be the most satisfying place to be.

When the Sunday comes to go church shopping; try to have as many household members who you want to attend with you present. You cannot make a decision about a final church home unless you can get everyone's feedback. Finding a church you love and your kid's are totally bored at will just lead you to have fights about them getting up early to go to church Sunday mornings.

Remember picking the right church home is important. Most of us mark the major events in our lives; birth , marriage , and death in a church. Picking the right church for your family takes a little effort but it can really end changing our lives in very major ways.

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The Milvian Bridge Experience

English: Side view of Ponte Milvio, Rome. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Head of the colossal statue of Constantine I, Musei Capitolini, Rome. Marble, Roman artwork, 313–324 CE. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Constantine at the battle of the Milvian Bridge, fresco by Raphael, Vatican Rooms. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When did the Church of Christ move from being an oft time persecuted sect to being truly "Catholic". The early Church was underground because of persecution and; many times did not appear to have a coherent system of theological thought? It was when Constantine faced his rival Maxentius on the Milvian Bridge that spanned the Tiber River into Rome.

It was on this bridge that Constantine prayed for victory over the enemy of Rome. It was on Oct 27, 312 CE. that Christ himself showed Constantine the chi-rho sign. This was the Greek letters of the first two letters of Christ. Constantine out fitted his men with this sign of the Lord's protection, and on the next day Constantine won a decisive victory over Maxentius. This was the day after his vision; where God assured Constantine of this victory in Christ's name.

Constantine's Milvian bridge experience, like Paul's Damascus rode experience settled any matter of the truth of the Gospel; for him. The church became truly Catholic in that moment as this ushered in a time which is called the "Peace of the Church." In 313 Constantine became the undisputed leader of the Western Roman Empire. It was at this time the now Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the empire. in the Edict of Milan.

This time of peace allowed formerly persecuted church leaders and theologians some time to focus on the praise and nature of Christ. The sacraments and liturgical practices that had been the focus of Christian worship were now defined in a way that brought a wonderful reassuring uniformity that brought comfort to the faithful in the churches throughout the Empire. It also gave the missionaries of the church an opportunity to present a more coherent faith to the rest of the pagan world.

With in one generation of the ushering in of this unprecedented cohesion in the development of sacramental and theological teachings of the church, it could now be said the church was truly '"Catholic." Bishop of Jerusalem Cyril wrote a treatise on what differed the Catholic Church from those fragmented Christian sects that still continued to exist. He that when inqiriuing some place away from one's home Chruch one should not just as where the Lord's House was, but rather where the Catholic Church met." For this is the peculiar name of this Holy Church, which is the mother of us all;" wrote Cyril.

He went on say the Catholic church , because it extends over all the worldfrom one end of the earth to the other; universally and completely one and all doctrines which ought to come to human knowledge ,concerning things both visible and invisible, heavenly and earthly,

So even those of the faithful who do not practice this day in the Roman Catholic Church we are being nevertheless Catholic when were pray the liturgical prays of the Daily Office and in worship participate in the sacraments brought to perfection by the ancient Catholic church. We are transformed in fellowship with the risen Christ and moved to reconcile ourselves to God and to do the work among the least of us, in the name of the Lord. St. Ignatious of Antioch wrote in 110C.E "wherever Christ Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." Constantine's Milvian Bridge experience made the universal church a physical reality of a spiritual truth. Where the spirit of the Lord is and is honored the spiritual reality of the body of Christ takes hold and transforms all of us.

Sources 

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Celtic Small c Catholism

Kommunionglöcklein-01 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Irish Celtic Cross (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Vector version of a design from the Book of Kells, fol. 29r. Traced outlines in black and white representing three intertwined dogs. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is Celtic Christianity a legitimate faith apart from the historic practices of the Roman Church? It depends who you ask. Some see it as a subtype of Christianity marked by beliefs and practices that have come to be regarded as Celtic. Serious orthodox Celtic Christians believe it is a separate entity that can rival Roman and the various assorted Eastern churches for legitimacy. Orthodoxy theme churches whose roots reached back to before a 1000 A.D. A church that defined itself outside of the influence of Rome is a catholic church. The creeds of the Ancient Churches unite the orthodox.  A cultural catholic Church is one whose liturgical and theological practices are marked by the local landscape and histories

Legend seems to support the idea o that Celtic Christianity had roots outside of Rome. A tradition of the Church having been founded by St. Joseph of a Arimathea in the Brithish Isles raised questions about Peters claims to the keys of Heaven in Celtic lands.

Peter was not the source of faith for the Celts. Supposedly the illustrious King Arthur was buried in the abbey founded by Joseph of Arimathea.. Like family history, it the ultimate truth of the story is not important but its influence on future generations.

Joseph of  Arimathea is said to have been a merchant of tin. In his many trips to the tin mines in Roman Britain he occasionally brought his nephew Jesus. What give the Celtic Christians more legitimacy then having the Christ himself walk the soil? It is also said the Joseph of Armathea brought the Blessed Mother to England after the Assumption of Christ .  What could make a Church less Roman  then its roots than having the Holy Family using the British Isles as a home away from home! We almost must not forget Joseph brought the Holy Grail to Celt country.

Legend is fickle because it also says that St. Patrick founded Christianity in Ireland. St. Patrick brought the authority of the Roman Church to Ireland, but not the faith. History supports the idea that Celtic Christianity was there first.

So what makes the Celtic faith better than its kissing Roman cousin? The ideas that became central to fourth century faith had their roots in ancient Celtic cultural beliefs. The Druids got their tradition of respecting women in Celtic Church faith and practice.  The Roman Church had less than woman friendly practices came from patriarchal Judaism. Roman concepts of strength and plebian order made the Roman Church less egalitarian. Respect for the Feminine and lay person were core to the Celtic Church .They mark marked the Celtic catholism as very different from other ancient orthodox churches.

Core Celtic values are a respect for nature, gender inclusiveness, and egalitarian liturgical practice. There is a place that the faith escaped the hierarchical patriarchal influence of Roman culture. The faith a Rome may have flourished because of it’s compatibility with the patriarchal ideas that infested tribal Judaism from the start. Many today wish to have little connection to Middle Eastern culture. It was in that patriarchal environment early Churhmen killed the best expression of the female Divine. Tribal Judaism marked scripture with nothing but misogynic hated of the Goddess and spiritual fertility.

When Rome found out about its cousin the Celtic churches separate tradition it felt bound to crush Celtic expression of the faith Rome to use Peter’s hierarchal hammer to dismantle the Celtic faith. The Synod of Whit by in 664 AD was such an attempt. It was about establishing Peter as the keeper of the keys to Heaven and the Roman Church keeper of proper Christian expression. Still Celtic faith defined the conversions and practices of the British Isles and Ireland for Centuries. Rome in later times martyred and suppressed the adherents of Celtic beliefs.. The thoughts of the great monks and thinkers of Celtic churchman were purged from the libraries of Europe, except for Ireland.

Radical Protestants in Scotland tried to use the existence of a Celtic Church establish a spiritual history apart from Rome. Celtic practices that were egalitarian, but not without respect proper order. Celtic Christianity never elicited Christian conformity from their ancient sister churches. Celtic churches simply wanted to maintain a catholic faith that was relevant to the culture and traditions of their people.  If such cultural control had been given to the ancient orthodox Churches the Reformation may have only impacted those of Roman Catholic Faith.

Anglicanism being defined by ‘bridge ‘ Church status only fails as a orthodox expression of Christian faith in it’s more extreme forms. Celtic Christianity does not seek to be a more right believing faith, but one that can speak to the needs of those who feel culturally separated from  catholic faith. The natural world becomes a place to experience God’s grace. It is a place where while not co creators with God, we are co workers. Creation is not flawed waiting for salvation. It is God’s perfection waiting for our protection.

Apostolic succession separates those bodies of Christ celebrating legitimate diversity in the Church from heresy. There are many proper expressions of Christian faith and practice.  There are none outside of God’s protection of true Catholicism universal truth. The ancient Church creeds are that protect Orthodox faith, not Peter.

Celtic Christian practice offers a people of Northern European ancestry; a chance to celebrate their Christian roots apart from the various flavors of Lutheranism, Calvinism and Reform Protestantism. It is a place to finally call home; when the search of a spiritually legitimate catholic Christian experience ends. Celtic catholic practice can take place within the context of the various expressions of Anglicanism or within a well defined corner of Roman Catholic expression.

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Thoughts on the Chosen Submissive Lifestyle and Christianity

A BDSM-style collar that buckles in the back. This was a featured picture of Lady Byron (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Be cruel in your erotic play: snap on handcuffs, neck-collars, and chains, lock pins and clips on nipples, administer meticulous floggings; or, be a slave for a night and, with your master's help, mimic the ancient 'art of unbearable sensations', tremble with the most exquisite agonies, savor the disintegration and humiliation of the self in the joy essence of exploded limits.

--James Miller The Passions of Michel Foucault p.237.

A quick search online combining the two unlikely terms Christian and SM bring up to some a disturbing number of hits. There are now many publications and groups looking at the over all spiritually of BDSM as a lifestyle. If you are a new submissive or slave you may believe you must give up your traditional spiritual practice to cater to your chosen lifestyle.

The truth is looking for scholarly or orthodox legitimate reasons to participate in the BDSM will leave any new submissive or slave confused. Your real spiritual reasons for seeking this lifestyle and being fulfilled by it lie within you. You can not "biblically' or "religiously 'justify your lifestyle choices. This choice is no more damaging or uplifting of your soul then deciding to be a health fanatic or taking on a political cause. You reason you must admit is personal and to some degree selfish. The BDSM satisfies some deep need inside you to serve, be corrected, and be protected by the Other.

The Other for most of us on the highest spiritual plane is God. The other for the satisfied slave or submissive in day to day life should ideally be their Dominant. This is why it is very important that you and your Dominant share some like spirituality. A true Christian Dominant does not encourage their slave or submissive to put their interests before the interests of Christ.

The Christology of BDSM lifestyle is almost infantile in it simplicity with the dynamic of service and sacrifice. Soon new submissive and slaves learn quickly that the greatest sacrifice and service in their relationships comes from their Master or Dominant. It is this knowledge that fosters such adoration from slaves and submissive to their Masters. If the slave or submissive is a Christian this brings home the message in a very personal way the sacrifice of the incarnation of Christ. That anyone who is higher lowers themselves to the lowest inspires great devotion from those they are ultimately caring for.

The Christian lessons of BDSM should not ever be taken as literal religious truth, only as truth that speaks to your experience as a Christian and a slave or submissive. The spiritual truth that Christian teaching and practice bring to your personal life can not be projected into wider Christian thought and teaching. These lessons are in the end only for the slave and submissive and the wider community of sisters in service to which they belong.

Below are scriptures that encourage slaves to be good servants especially to their Christian Masters. These scriptures addressed slaves who had no choice of servitude and who had not said about their service. They address the issue of a real slave in the context of a society where real slavery was common; and issue of being free in Christ and bound to someone by law had to be addressed.

Those who seek to be slaves or submissive consensually can read the same scripture and take a way a message of the rightness of their chosen service and their ability to call themselves Christian This is a very legitimate use of scripture for the Christian slave or submissive as long as they understand the true message to real slaves these scriptures addressed. 1 Timothy 6:1-2 reads:

All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honors so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against? Those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but must serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and preach these principles.

Ephesians 6: 5-9:

Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eye service, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

Titus 2: 9-10:

Urge bond slaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.

Those who look for spiritual justification for the submission of the female to Males will be just as disappointed if they believe that scriptures or historic practices teaching the submission of women have legitimate value in this day of sexual equality .The idea that the submissive or slave is lacking and need s the improvement or protection of the Dominant is part of most slaves or submissive personal belief system. We as slaves or submissive can give credence to the superiority of the male (or butch) to edify our own choice of submission but we can not act as though this is a larger truth outside of our own choice or lifestyle and sexual practice.

So the Christian submissive or slave can engage in a spiritual search within the confines of traditional Christianity it can improve their submissive attitude and relieve guilt about their lifestyle choice. One should keep the confines of spiritual study within the degree the Dominant wishes it when they are in service

Taking to heart as a submissive the personal message that it is within the will of God for you to submit as a female to a Butch/or Male dominant or as slave can enhance your time in submissive space. The only personal spiritually that matters to you at that time is the one that speaks to you being uplifted by your chosen state of submission.

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How Your Youth Group Can Make Money and Gain Exposure

English: Front of the former Washington Township School — now the Son Center, a Protestant youth ministry center — along Center Street (County Road 54) on the southern side of Lewistown, an unincorporated community in Washington Township, Logan County, , . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Kids from a church youth group were sliding down the big hill in Gas Works Park on blocks of ice. Tons of fun, though probably bad for the grass. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rising money for church youth groups or other youth groups can be challenging. You can't depend on the old magazine and candy sales to get by. Many parents and relatives of members of your youth group are probably tired of pushing candy bars at work or having to subscribe to Lawn Mower Monthly to support their youth's activities.

There are ways to raise money for your Youth Group that will have wide appeal and raise money They take some imagination and preparation, but since they are community oriented they also raise awareness in your community about the activities and good your youth group does in the area;

The first idea is to use your church's kitchen and fellowship hall to sponsor a dinner auction. If your church does not have these facilities try to hook up with a local youth group whose church does have these facilities and do a combined fund raiser. Other youth clubs might be able to use a larger church facility for a fundraiser as well.

The kids can participate by making and serving the food. An adult needs to be in charge to make sure safety and sanitary concerns when cooking for a large group is being followed. The traditional spaghetti dinner is a good inexpensive choice for a number of youth groups. You can add a twist to this by offering spaghetti made with soy alternatives and organic sauce. This way you can appeal to more people in your community. Organic ingredients are a little more expensive but you can charge a little extra for the organic alternative.

One fun and easy dinner would be an all American Dinner where you serve hot dogs, American Potato salad (mustard), apple pie and serve lemonade. Again you can offer kosher hot dogs, soy dogs, in addition to regular hot dogs to have wider appeal. Since two of your dinner items are served cold you cut down on your cooking time. You can charge extra for specialty hot dogs. The theme of red, white, and blue can be inexpensive as well if you have the dinner after the fourth of July as you can pick up decorations on clearance.

You can get local businesses to donate things to auction off or you could hold a rummage sale during or after the dinner. Arts and crafts made by local artisans are a good choice. You can get a portion of the auction price and make help the local starving artesian make a little money and get some community exposure. Don't forget you can auction services. You might get some of the kids to auction lawn mowing or dog walking services.

Be sure to have the kids involved in the preparation and clean up of the dinner event. If you can leave the donated kitchen space cleaner than you found it. If you leave a mess for the host congregation to clean up there is little chance your group will be asked back.

Another unique fundraiser is to get a local merchant to donate a video game system to serve as a price in a play for a fee video game contest. Again you can hold the contest in the church's fellowship hall and get the kids to donate the game equipment for the contest. Guitar Hero and Dance Revolution are two high energy games that all the youth in the area will be glad to play. You need to consult the kids who are the experts on these games to help organize the rules for the contest. Donated games and gaming accessories can be used as prizes for the winners of these contests. Don't forget to get your youth to twitter and use other social media to promote any of your youth group fund raisers.

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The Issue of Christian Women Covering Their Heads

When I first saw some women of Mennonite faith with their simple and quaint bonnets. I did not understand the spiritual or historical precedent these women had to cover their heads. I assumed that it was some cultural expression of this group's separation from mainstream society. Separation from a worldly society is certainly a valid theological motive for women covering heads, but the issue is much deeper than that and applies to all women of Christian faith.

Standard Christian Women's Head Covering

Covering the History of Women's Head Coverings

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Mennonite and Amish women equip themselves with what are essentially prayer head coverings. These women wear head covering the majority of the time as obedience to the concept of being in a constant state of prayer. I realized that it was in obedience with 1 Cor. 11:3-16, which indicates that men should not dishonor God by having their head covered. This would indicate to those in that society that the man was under another authority besides Christ. Women in service to the Church should honor God by covering her head to show her acceptance and obedience to the authority of the Church and Christ. The primitive Christian women veiled their heads in the church, but also when they were in public as was the custom for most women of this period of time.

Looking to the historic context in which St Paul was speaking, I discovered that the Christian women continued to maintain this practice of covering their heads while at worship every century until the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. During the 19th century, much of Christendom in the United States and Western Europe started to allege that the long hair constituted a sufficient head covering for women in the sanctuary. Therefore, many concluded that the practice of women covering her head in worship was a unnecessary burden to women of faith. Some churches still saw the necessity of women covering their head when in the church.

The rich and middle-class and women donned some rather extravagant hats in place of prayer veils. Covering your head in the worship in the Anglican Communion was more an indication of a Christian women's taste in the millinery fashions of the moment ;then a statement of her modesty and faith.The significance behind wearing hats was lost.
Today, the women Christians in the Eastern churches always cover their heads in the church. In the west, women of the more austere Christian separatist groups always come equipped the with a prayer veil in the church. This is true in congregations with many African American women, many of whom don hats at worship.

Some women in the "high church "wing of the Anglican communion practice the wearing of veils when attending the Eucharist and other worship services. Normally ,these Christian sisters do not cover their heads when about their daily activities in public. Generally, in the west today, exclusively women in Mennonite, of Amish, and of Hutterite sects always practice the habit of covering their head when in public.

Catholic Head Covering

Understanding the Theological Context of Women Covering their Heads in Worship

The need for this direction to the Christian gatherings at ancient Corinth better is understood when we realize that it was generalized then practice for women of sound reputation to always be veiled in public. Only those women of compromised sexual morals appeared bear headed in public.

Pagan priestesses, who served at pagan temples, followed practice of removing their veils to speak supposedly inspired prophecy. They dramatically removed their veils and to let their hair hang disheveled and wild. This drama was for the benefit of the worshiper at the pagan temple. It was proof the priestess had been in a divine trance. Certainly, such practices the women of Christian communities did not want to become associated with this kind of religious fraud. Paul sought to restore correct theological practice to this individual Christian community.

Among the doctrinal truths expressed in the mass is the hierarchical nature of the church. The church, the mystical body, is composed of Christ the chief and those which were baptized in Christ, his members. The corporal body of Christ is set in order for the proper functioning of the whole church. The ministerial priesthood is, on the one hand "head" of lay members of the body of Christ and the Servant to the lowest member of the Body of Christ.

This truth is not sacramental discrimination against women; rather the Lord's wish that the sacraments remind us is very real ways of the obligations of all those in the body of Christ to serve and minister to one another. We may as members of the body of Christ have a hard time showing outward signs of the work of grace and sacrifice by the influence of the Lord and His saints in our everyday lives.

Using the Sacraments to understand this concept will help make us more inclined to charity to all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. There is no Sacramental inequality between men and women in God's church. In that liturgical, the sacramental order, normal distinction between the sexes and in the marriage are not liturgically significant. In the baptism, there is no more male or female (Galatians 3:28). Thus ,men and the women take part today also in the life of the Church do so as spiritually equal baptized members of the Body of Christ

Creating Sacred Space for Personal Piety by Covering Your Head

While it is absolutely evident there are no canonical or moral reason for women in the body of Christ today to cover their heads, it is a wonderful expression of a Christian women's personal piety .It is a reminder to herself and others of God's sacramental truths. It can be a preparation psychologically for a busy distracted mother to put her thoughts towards God and away from her daily obligations Still sister who chose to cover their heads when they approach God's alter should not be in judgment of women who do not. Women , for whom covering their head for worship has no significant spiritual meaning; should also not judge the worship practices of women who chose to cover their heads.

Jewish Women's Head Covering Public Domain

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The Church in Mid-18th Century Vincennes, Indiana

English: Front of the former library (now a parish hall) for St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, located along Church Street in Vincennes, , . Built in 1840, it is part of the . The complex is listed on the , and it is part of a Register-listed historic district, the . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pierre Gibault (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In 18th century Indiana, to talk of European presence was to have a conversation about the French military trading post known as the village of Vincennes.

Many visitors to the village were pretty negative about it inhabitants, saying they were self-indulgent, ill kept , and had questionable morals.

Father Pierre Gibault visited Vincennes in 1770. He was the only priest to have been present in the town for more than ten years. Gibault reported to his bishop a place desperately in need of the guidance and level of civility that a permanent presence of the Church brought. He reported that the local residents had given over to "libertinage and irreligion. " In no doubt an attempt to make himself look good Gibault claimed his presence in the town lead to a level of Christian revival among the inhabitants. He said the locals greeted him on his arrival on the river bank sobbing and saying God had sent Gibault to allow them, " do penance for their sins." Others exclaimed , " Father ,save us we are nearly in hell.''

Father Gibault stayed in the village of Catholic back sliders long enough to see that a small wooden chapel was rebuilt and to perform sacraments for those who had died during the absence of a priest. The good father barely made it out of town for people wished him to stay and perform marriages , baptisms, and to say extreme unction. It is a wonder that the bishop of Canada did not send a priest on a permanent basis to minister to the French settler of Vincennes.

English: Oldest Cathedral in the U.S. (Vincennes, Indiana) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There were a few slaves present in Vincennes and the record of the church rather inconsistent presence provides one of the few glimpses into their lives that we have. We know the names of the first slaves in the area were Alexandre and Dortharee.

According to St. Francis Xavier Parish records they were legally married slaves belonging to the Jesuit Fathers. Their daughter was baptized by a Jesuit father on May 30, 1753. Her name was Agatha. Seven years passed and a visiting Priest then baptized a slave child named Suzanne who was owned by a M. Crepau. Later that day she married another slave named Joseph. Fourteen months later a visiting priest baptized their daughter who was named after her mother. There were no other church sacraments given to slave from 1763 to 1785 because there were no priest in residence and only times of short visits. Father Gibault was finally given permission to minister in Vincennes and took up residence there in 1785.

In regards to the Catholic Church in Vincennes , slaves were seen as spiritual equals to the other French settlers. Many times marriage and baptisms were supported by various slave owners shown by their willingness to act as witnesses to these events. American slavery in the South did not recognize the slave as human enough to be entitled to the sacraments of the Church.

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