Going to the Chapel.

I'm in!

Father Ed has agreed to marry us in the beautiful 200 + year old church that sits right outside our living room window, St. Charles Borromeo. This outcome was very exciting considering a.) I'm not Catholic and b.) I thought I would be looked upon as a heathen, and possibly given a lie detector test. I definitely got brownie points for being both baptized AND confirmed.

I have to admit the catholic church has always scared me a bit. My mother would always talk about her CCD classes from childhood, and how the Nuns would tell her to "listen for the calling" I also think my aunt got beat up by Nuns a lot, and the intense incense smell from my grandparents funerals still haunts me. 

My Mom eventually (sorta) converted to my Dad's religion, Congregationalist which is what I am. Although everytime we get in the car for a road trip or on a plane she still crosses herself. Spectacles, testicals, wallet, watch. Old habits die hard.

Apparently not many boomers "heard the calling" because Father Ed is the only priest at our church right now. There's a serious priest shortage in Brooklyn and all over the 5 boroughs. This forces Father Ed to do all masses himself everyday. But that doesn't get him down! He is a super nice man who came to the priesthood later in life and was actually a working psychologist for many years.

Another perk is they've condensed down Pre-Cana (Catholic marriage classes) to 2 hours on a Friday and about 5 hours on a Saturday one weekend in the spring.

I have to admit I may have been giving the Catholics a bad wrap. It seems they're really making an effort to try and modernize their look and process while still keeping it real with age old traditions. St. Charles is even re-designing their website in hopes of recruiting younger members, which Mark has volunteered to help with. I'm very impressed with how open and understanding Father Ed has been and I really look forward to him marrying us in his beautiful church.

Amen.

Check out St. Charles Borromeo in The Details