According to a Gallup study performed by researchers Kirk Hadaway and Penny Marler, only 20.4 percent of the United States population attends church each weekend. This means, that out of the 318.9 million people that reside in the United States, only an estimated 65,055,600 individuals attend church each weekend. Personally, I do my absolute best to be at my church, New Beginnings Church in Livermore every weekend I am home in California. While some weekends that I'm home I can't make it due to special events like baby showers and birthdays, on any given weekend that I am in California, your best bet to find me on a Sunday morning from 10-11:15 is at church.
Now I haven't always been an avid church goer. Growing up Catholic, I dreaded going to mass on the weekends. Now don't get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against the Catholic Church, in fact, I go to Catholic mass every week at my university. However, I think my distaste of going to mass every Sunday as a kid was less about what was going on at mass and more about being woken up and dragged to church on a Sunday only to sit on a hard wooden bench for an hour. But things change; as a 19-year-old, going to church every week whether it be the Schoenfeldt Hall Mass every Wednesday night at the University of Portland or listening to Pastor Todd's sermon every Sunday in Livermore, becoming an avid church goer has changed my life.
Just to clarify, when I say going to church every week changed my life, I'm not meaning in a way that I am completely enlightened and without fears or doubts or pain. Going to church every week changed my life because it allowed me to experience an aspect of life that I didn't even realize I was missing. Going to church weekly gave me so much more than just a religion to be a part of, but a community, a support system, a family and an entire new outlook on life.
By attending New Beginnings Church in Livermore, CA I was given the opportunity to not only be a part of a their volunteer team but a part of a small group made up of my peers. While it only met once a week, my small group, which we called "Young Adults" provided me with friendships that will last a lifetime and an outlet to freely express what was going on in my life with no judgements or criticisms. In Portland, going to Schoenfeldt Hall Mass every week allowed me to not only have an hour to devote solely to my faith a week but also allowed me to connect with peers who, religiously, felt the same way I did. Finding a niche in a community that is right for you is important to be able to thrive and succeed as a human. Going to church every week in both Livermore, CA and Portland, OR allowed me to find my niche.
However, providing me with an amazing community, a strong support system, and a new group of people to call family were not the only things that going to church every week allowed me to experience. By attending church every week, I was able to gain a new outlook on life. Regardless of your religious preferences or beliefs, attending church every week whether it be at a mosque, a synagogue, a chapel, a community center etc., it can change how you view your surroundings. For me, personally, attending church every week instilled in me that I am not alone and that there are people everywhere that want to help me be the best I can be. In addition, going to church every week further showed me how important it is to accept every individual around me for who they are. While it was not coined during my lifetime, going to church solidified in me the statement of "be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about." Going to church every week showed me how to be more considerate, more patient, more accepting, more loving, more understanding and overall just a better person than I was before.
Going to church every week changed my life and who I am as a person. It made me stronger, smarter, and challenged me to do things differently than I was before. Becoming a part of New Beginnings Church is a decision I will never regret. Attending mass to further connect myself to a religion I feel strongly for, and to the people around me, changed how I will be as a college student for the remainder of my time at the University of Portland. So all things considered, I feel confident in saying that in all honesty, going to church every week changed my life.
