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amyable
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| Posted: Sept 02 2010 at 8:25am | IP Logged
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We need bigger subject lines. 
We are temporarily on hold with house hunting plans due to husbands bad back but it hasn't stopped me from looking.
There is now a house for sale practically in the back yard of a semi-local church. Cut through the yard of the neighbors house and there you are in the parking lot. 
It is closer to my dh's work (a plus) but definitely in a more crime infested area. Not *horrible*, but a step down from where we are. Still suburban, not city. We would probably not use the local rec center for our kids - the games would be all over the not so nice areas at night, etc. - but we could drive the 15-25 minutes back to our currently local activities. Besides, I'm kind of hoping we'd get so involved in church life that we wouldn't *need* soccer and stuff. 
The church itself is not *perfect* but OK - about the level of our current parish as far as being beautiful/traditional - they are both 70's churches with all that goes with that. I don't think anything is going on that is totally unorthodox though. There are even some plusses - a lending library, a healing/prayer ministry (long story but I felt God calling me to this for many years). Oh, and did I mention that we could walk there in under a minute? 
Something calls me to this life so strongly - we could go to Mass every day, kids could stay home if needed because I'd be *right there*, we could get involved in activities without dragging everyone out in the car, etc. Thinking of *all* the local churches, there is not another one we could live so close to as to safely walk, while still being an OK distance from dh's work. Well, there is one, but it is in an even less savory neighborhood than this one. 
Anyway, all that background to ask - would you give up some safety - or anything else - to live next door to a Catholic church?
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of 
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Sept 02 2010 at 10:49am | IP Logged
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a neighborhood's safety can be determined by the people there.. so if you moved there that would increase it's safety.. I mean.. if you choose to you could help reclaim the area making it a safer choice.. since it's not really bad.. just not as nice as you were hoping for.
But I doubt church activities would substitute for soccer.. kids still need higher levels of focused activity.. some more than others.
I did greatly enjoy the time that we lived walking distance to the Church.. something about that walk to Church on Sunday morning was soooo nice.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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knowloveserve
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| Posted: Sept 02 2010 at 10:58am | IP Logged
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We just bought a house two weeks ago that is a few doors down from our church.
It is distinctly urban. Not the life I envisioned for myself by any means. There is a postage stamp yard and we are closer to our neighbors than I'd like. I'm sure the crime is a concern there too. I've always longed for acreage and a bit of solitude... but God called us elsewhere.
But the intangible benefits of having the Master of the Universe as your neighbor can't be underestimated.
We are at our church at least 3 times a week with Scouts, a moms group I facilitate, and Mass... not to mention daily Mass being a viable option now. Our parish does a Corpus Christi procession each year, setting up Benediction in the yards of parishoners near the church. It's close to dh's work and close to the library, downtown shopping, fountains, and a big park right across the street (makes up for the lack of yard).
The house isn't our dream house by any means. It's over 100 years old and needs work. But we are choosing this lifestyle and this location for our kids' sake... to be able to SEE His house from our front door... to be able to pop in for confessions or Holy Hour or the myriad other activities... what a tremendous benefit!
However, I would not consider making the sacrifices we are making now if the parish was less than great. While there is probably no "perfect" church, ours is very, very dynamic and orthodox and we want to immerse our kids in the community there. If it were your average Catholic parish in America... living next to church wouldn't be nearly as important to us as it is now...
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Ellie
The Bleeding Pelican
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LucyP
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Definitely! We are now in pre-moving mode, and while we want to live in the country, if we could afford a house near our church (or near any good church) we would do that in preference. The idea of daily Mass being a workable possibility and to be with Jesus every day, is so amazing....to be able to go to confession without a logistical nightmare, to just pop in and spend time with Jesus on a whim or whenever a prayer need comes up...I would give up quite a lot for that.
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Servant2theKing
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Amy, this is certainly a matter that calls for wisdom and prudence on the parts of you and your dh. Have you checked out crime rates in that area or the sex offender registry for that location? In the city we used to live in there are much higher crime rates and numerous sex offenders living very close to several of the parishes. You might even visit the local police, who ought to be able to fill you in on whether there are crack or meth houses anywhere in the vicinity, as well. You'd be very surprised to learn what goes on in many church "backyards". Sadly, many parish neighborhoods are no longer the safe havens for families they once were. You might even ask the pastor of the parish you're considering what the neighborhood is really like. In our former parish the priests had multiple daily encounters with very tragic souls...certainly those souls are worthy of caring concern and deserve to be ministered to...but such company may not be the best influences for young, impressionable children be surrounded by. A lot of prayer and some extra research about the area might be prudent.
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All for Christ, our Saviour and King, servant
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Kathryn
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| Posted: Sept 03 2010 at 5:43am | IP Logged
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amyable wrote:
We need bigger subject lines.
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I always seem to run out of room there too!! ha ha
Re being close to church...I've always envisioned how wonderful that would be as well. In fact, we looked at a house 2 doors down from our local parish 10 years ago when we moved and it was on acreage (ahhhh) but the house and price wasn't a fit for us then. However, we now live less than a 10 min drive and am not sure I would change considering your concerns about the safety as well as the distance to other activites and the fact that it's not your current parish. If it were your current parish, I think it would be easier to see that being a reality but as we consider looking at houses again ourselves now, I keep telling myself that the grass isn't always greener. Just my 2 cents.
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Kathryn in TX
(dd 16, ds 15, dd 8, dd 5)
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Martha in VA
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knowloveserve wrote:
But the intangible benefits of having the Master of the Universe as your neighbor can't be underestimated.
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Wow, Amy, I think you're asking a really great question. I'm not sure what I would do, however, Knowloveserve's quote above is absolutely beautiful. Regardless of the safety issue, I can't imagine how wonderful it would be to have the Master of the Universe as my neighbor.....and my children's neighbor.
Nearly makes me want to move!
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4dds,miracle son 4/09, 2 in heaven
My Conversion Blog
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juliana147
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Amy, I have to echo Servant here. So much depends upon where you live and the types of crime common there. I will pray for your family, I know very well the longing to be closer to Him.
-juliana
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cheesehead mom
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We are so blessed to rent the empty rectory right next to church--priest lives at the other church. We have an incredible pastor and are almost never late for mass
Laura
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mavmama
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| Posted: Sept 08 2010 at 10:40pm | IP Logged
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We lived 5 blocks from our very small town's Catholic church until the twins were 4.5 and I have to say that I know our walks "to say hi to Jesus" made a huge impression on them. They still talk about walking to church and dropping in. Mind you, this was a vey small community (8000) and the church was open 7am-8pm daily, and in a very safe neighborhood. If we could go back to that environment, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but in the city, I'm not so sure.
All that said, I loved living in the shadow of the church. We could see the steeple from our front steps and I found that very comforting.
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Liz
Blessed by 4 wonders
dd11, dd911, ds9, ds8
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: give up things to live nxtdoor to church?
