Despite the differences between the religious rules, each church tries to be open and create an active Community. I have a chance to be a part of communities in both poland and the UK. It’s interesting being in both these communities and seeing how much they vary. Let me tell you more about my observations.
My church in Poland
In Poland, I took part in 'Oaza' group. I was an altar boy and tried to be active in many people's initiatives. And I can say that these groups are focused on praying and listening to sermons. The discussion sometimes is interesting, sometimes it is not.
We would meet usually once or twice a week. These meetings take place in the church and took around about 20-45 minutes. We usually don’t have snacks like you would for a church dinner. The atmosphere is good, but what is curious is there are more boys than girls. To be honest, much depends on the priest if you have an active person who wants to do something, it may attract more people to the group. I was a lucky man to have a good organiser as my priest and we would have extra meetings to plan to do something useful for the community and also go on a few trips to famous places connected with Catholic belief. I spent unforgettable moments there with my friends during my childhood.
My church in the UK
I’ve been in the UK for almost the year and I’ve been active in the church community for over two months. There are more events, people stay after worships in the church drinking tea and talking to each other. The community is rather smaller than in Poland, but it’s quite easy to talk with everyone including pastors.
The Church also organise the groups to talk about the view on different issues from the belief’s point of view. Meetings take place in private flats and are less formal than in Poland. Youth/students meetings are organised once a week on Sunday. The number of girls and boys at meetings is almost equal. Our appointments don’t have the strict time to finish, however, it’s worth saying the attendees are from a wide range of nationalities and everyone is welcome.
Usually, pastors don’t discuss such things as politics and money. I’ve heard that people from the church organise trips somewhere from time to time but I haven’t been on any thus far. People can make true their ideas and it’s a good place to develop yourselves.
Despite these differences, I have positive feelings about both communities, I think people at both churches find their peace and support and this is most important.
