Parish and Baptism Update

After checking out two different churches, we've 100% settled on Christ the King Catholic Community, which is about 15 minutes away from our apartment. We became registered parishioners on Tuesday night, and got to talk at length with the Pastor. We're all set to go to this month's baptism class, which is on September 19th. Once we've completed the class, we'll be able to schedule the baptism. We're aiming for November 13th or November 20th. We'll let everyone know as soon as we know for sure, too.

This Parish is unlike any I've ever seen. Everything about it is completely progressive, something that suits Brian and I very well. Both of us have had issues with Catholicism's rigidity in the past (not to get into too much detail, but in my opinion, the Vatican's stance on many things needs to adapt to the modern world), and this Parish gives such a welcoming and community feel that all is forgiven, at least on my end. 

The Church itself is set up completely differently than your traditional Church. There is not traditional "altar", but the mass is conducted with the priest in the center of the room. His seat is not separated from those of the parishoners. There are no pews, but instead, there are chairs that can be moved according to the seasons. The priest explained to us that the chairs are rearranged into a straight line during Lent, and are in a circle during Advent, etc. The songs are modern and catchy, I swear the Cantor must be from one of the Strip's shows, she had an amazing voice.

This past Sunday's mass had a Baptism, and it was truly moving. The Pastor says that he makes a point of only doing Baptisms during regular Sunday masses, because he wants the babies to be truly welcomed into the Community. Everyone was so excited to see those babies. I don't want to give too much away, but it's a pretty spectacular event. You'll have to make the trip to Las Vegas in November to see what it's all about!