571–580 of 585 posts
Church. My wife and I sit in the cry room with out little kids, and have gotten to know the people that are there with us. It's gotten to the point where we have started recognizing these people all over town. Very cozy and nice. I'll say: having kids is obviously itself incredibly meaningful; as an additional benefit: kids are a fantastic ice-breaker/opener for other families with kids.
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> I don't believe the Catholic church (or other denominations of Christianity, or Mormon church) would allow a LGBT couple to officially join. That's not entirely true. No legitimate catholic church would prohibit lgbtq couples from joining. The more conservative ones definitely would not condone their lifestyle, however, and probably none would agree to marry them. So if you are lgbtq you should probably just give s…
I was pointing out an obvious example of a facade of "welcoming all" from the community (would not prohibit people from joining, anyone can show up and volunteer) vs. really welcoming all where anyone could be full members through all of their ceremonies like baptism, confirmation, marriage, etc. or even allowing anyone to pursue theological leadership positions like pastor, deacon, priest, etc.
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Yes, I'm a practicing Catholic and attend Church often with my fiancee. Everyone is welcome to even attend Mass (they just don't receive communion) and participate in activities that we organize. We also have many support groups for elderly, grieving families, young adults and so on. Additionally, if you want to do volunteer work, contact the closest Catholic Church. You can join pretty much all of the events regardl…
The issue I have with churches, specifically Catholic and other large ones, is belonging to and participating in an organization that has collectively done so many bad things to humans just doesn't sit well with me. Then there's the element of collecting money and hoarding it and its a huge turn off. You may say "the doors are open" and in fact they may be in your local church but official membership has requirements…
The Episcopal Church is very welcoming of LGBTQ people, however. We perform same-sex marriages and ordain LGBTQ people to clergy. My particular parish is marching in a local Pride parade this year.
The church is like a second family for me. I made so many great friends there! Of course it will not be for everyone, but if you are open to it you can try.
If they scrapped the sky fairy parts and just made it a weekly social event with interesting speakers and stories then church would actually be quite an attractive option
I've longed for a secular "church". A place to gather with the community on Sunday to listen to a non-religious sermon (the importance of self-control and techniques to help; the role emotions play in our lives, what they are, where they come from, and how to manage them), form smaller interest groups, and connect with people in the area. I believe The School of Life [0] tried this in London but I don't see any menti…
Yeah we need a new church that’s non-religious. I’m okay with having roman style statues and shrines though
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It's weird, I have done quite a bit of top-roping and bouldering, but never really found it conducive to making friendships. Or maybe I'm just not the right demographic (early 40s, male). Definitely I chat to people about specific problems, but it never really seems to go beyond that.
I feel like indoor bouldering lends itself a lot better to make random friendships. Attempts at any given problem tend to be a lot quicker, there's often multiple people looking at that same problem, and there's the resting between attempts. Because bouldering problems are usually just a few moves, it's a lot easier to strike up a conversation to compare beta.
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When my first child was born, he didn't cry and had to spend the beginning of his life in the NICU. When he first cried, after having his life saved by doctors, so did I. I love the sound of crying babies. It means they're okay enough to cry.
I don’t have any children and don’t want any. I wish people didn’t trap me in metal tubes for 12+ hours with their crying children. My brain hasn’t been reprogrammed to enjoy it- actually the opposite; it’s a non-stop car alarm.
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Definitely! I like gardening. I started volunteering in a community garden, growing stuff for people who need more food. I like the people I work with, and I enjoy growing vegetables on a bigger scale than I can do in my own garden. And they make tea and cake, and often we get to take home some spare seedlings or whatever. It's really great, it doesn't feel anything like "free labour", it mostly feels like hanging ou…
This is such a great idea! I'm passionate about gardening but my passion is greater than the available space I have for it :') How did you get started? Did you just offer your help directly to the community garden?
I happened to be at a kind of mini festival where there was a stand actively recruiting for volunteers. They seemed pretty surprised and happy when I immediately said yes.
The actual "community gardens" that I know of generally are on the model of members each have their own plot, which they tend. I don't know how one volunteers in a space like that, but maybe there are opportunities.
My neighborhood. When we moved in we sat out front every evening, and made small talk with every single person who walked by. Some were caught off guard, some kinda just waved and moved on, but most stopped to talk. What's interesting is that people who had lived in that neighborhood nearly 20 years together had never talked, and met for the first time as both stopped to chat at nearly the same time. Then we started…
It's sad that modern American yards are so unfriendly to sitting in your front yard, but that can be easily fixed, even within the boundaries of over-zealous HOAs or towns. Just make a cute little "gate" (it doesn't even need the gate) with flowers at the end of the walkway near the sidewalk, and add in a table and some chairs (or move them out when you go to sit). Being at the sidewalk vs being 20-40 feet away on a…
Being a parent in a child-friendly neighborhood helps a ton with finding a community. Before we had a kid, we'd do things like welcome new neighbors with treats from our favorite bakery and our phone number if they needed anything, being generous with our time and things, etc.