I’ve been going to Church every Sunday now for two months or so. One of the great, non-religious aspects about going to Church each Sunday is the opportunity to observe the different types of people who attend the weekly service…

If there’s one thing that bothers me about the Church-Goers it’s those people who think that they have somewhere better to be. I don’t mean this in a relgious way, but I mean it in a practical way. If you get up on Sunday morning and go to Church, then chances are that you don’t have anywhere better to be or else you’d be in that better place. Our society is beyond the “go to Church or go to hell” fearful mindset, so there is no excuse for someone to go to Church and be pissed that they are there (unless we’re talking about little kids who may not have a choice, but I am talking about adults).

You know these people. These are the people who are constantly looking at their watches and breathing those “pity me” sighs of anticipation for the mass to end. Folks, I’m not a Bible-beater by any means, but I do have respect for the people around me while I’m in Church. If I’ve got an attitude problem, am in a bad physical state, or have something else wrong with me then I keep my mouth shut and go sit in the corner (incidentally, this has only happened once since I started going back to Church…and I was hungover).

There are some other interesting observances from the Church that I go to. For instance, I notice that middle-aged folks (between 40 and 60 years old) are really the ones who believe they have somewhere else to be. This goes for men and women, but moreso for the men. Also, I’ve noticed that older parishioners are extremely respectful of the mass and the priests and the other people in the Church.

Another interesting observance that I’m not totally able to explain yet is the presence and behavior of guys and girls in my age group (roughly 21 - 27 years old; I’m 24). It’s not an unusual sight to see an good amount of Church-Goers who are like me - they get up, go to Church on Sunday by themselves, and are glad to be there. From my observations I would say that there is an equal number of guys and girls in this “young adult” age group that fit this category. The people in this category mirror the elderly parishoners in their deep respect for the mass and the rituals within it. This is interesting to me since it seems that the people who would be the parents of these young adults are the complete opposite during the masses.

Now, with respect to male versus female attitudes in Church there is an obvious difference. I observe that the men (and especially males from about my age group down to little kids) are extremely reverent during the Church ceremonies. And when I say extremely, I mean that when they have to kneel, they get right down and kneel, asses off the pews, hands put together correctly (fingertips touching and pointing straight up), and eyes closed in prayer. From the youngest guys in the Church up through the people in my age group, this is an interesting phenomenon that I which I could speculate more on.

Anyway, that’s been my observations from the Church that I attend. I have other observations that I’ll save for another day (like who is more likely to put money into the collection baskets). That’s all I’ve got.

Watch Family Guy tonight.

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