We can move away from the Church for many reasons.  Here you can take a look at some of the most common reasons.  You're very much in our prayers.  Know that we will do all that we can to provide some ways to help heal the difficulties of the past and help you move on in wonderful ways.  God has continued to love you despite anything that has been part of the past.  Sometimes we simply yearn to hear the words, “Come back."  That's the message we have for you! 

     We can become distant from people and places in many ways.  Sometimes it is a conscious decision on our part.  Other times it just happens.  Some of us have memories of being rejected.  Perhaps the boy or girl we liked didn't return our affection.  Perhaps we didn't receive the part we wanted in a school play, or weren't chosen for the starting team. 

     Some of us too, made choices that excluded us from certain activities.  Friends and parties may have gotten in the way of school work and family.  Excessive use of drugs, alcohol or something else may have become too important to us.  A little extra sleep time or working a few more hours may have seemed more important than going to Church.  After a period of time it can seem normal to omit something that at one time was very valuable to us.

     There are many times in our lives when we become offended.  When that happens we have some options.  We may remember little children saying, "I'm going to take my ball and go home."  Children often don't have the skills to work out their difficulties with others. 

     As adults too, our feelings can become hurt.  We may find that in certain times of our lives we find it hard to forgive.  Other issues may make it hard for us to find the energy to deal with difficult situations.  Sometimes then, we just move away until we feel more able to deal with those situations.

     We may remember times when we were afraid or didn't want to see something.  We just put our hands over our eyes and hoped it would go away!  As adults we can sometimes do the same thing. 

     Some of us have made decisions that have not led to the fulfillment we sought.  We may have married, divorced and remarried outside the Church, even knowing that decision would result in our not being able to receive the Eucharist. 

     We may feel guilt because of past actions.  We may have been hurt by a priest or sister, or by the Church itself.  We may have failed morally.  We may have had an abortion or have been involved in helping or encouraging another person to have one. 

     We might have questions about certain Church teachings.  It may have seemed too complicated to figure it all out.  Moving away from the Church could be a little like putting our hands over our eyes.  If we didn't have to hear about God's plan for our lives it could be a little easier to do things our own way.

     Every so often it is good for us to focus on those things that are the most important ... those things that will last.  We can have the feeling that something isn't quite right in our lives.  We can try to fill the void with many things and find that the fix is temporary at best.

     Many of us were raised in a Faith Tradition.  For me and many others, that was Roman Catholic.  Many of us can remember the smell of incense and a Mass that was so mysterious to us.  Others of us may have memories of a Church that seemed to stress getting along with others to the exclusion of some of the mystery and reverence we found so appealing. 

     Some of us remember our First Communion Day, that day of great innocence and importance, when we received Jesus in the Eucharist for the very first time.  We can look back with fondness to those days.  It's not impossible for us to recapture the best of those days!

     Sometimes our lives can feel empty.  We can feel unconnected.  Why not take a few moments to explore these pages.  We hope it will be gentle way to address these issues and more.  It takes time for us to drift away from the practice of our Faith.  When that happens, it sometimes takes awhile to remove the barriers.  Here are some of the most common ones.