Maybe you’re Catholic and miss it…

Maybe you’re not Catholic and are curious…

Maybe you’re spiritual, seeking a community of other wanderers…

It’s hard to even step into a church after what they said and did to you. Or maybe it’s what didn’t happen after all of your trying. Why go back?

Then there’s that vengeful God who’d kill his own Son, the one who sends sinners to hell, who could never be your friend. It never made sense to you. Where’s the love?

And yet, there’s something about the Mass and those other Sacraments you can’t find anywhere else. If you could just drop the nonsense and keep the good parts…what if?

We have some fresh ideas about that.

Maybe Church annoys you.

The loud music, the smells, the touching, the eye contact…these aren’t for everyone. If you’re a person who identifies with neurodivergent culture or has special sensory needs, we might be for you.

We don’t use incense in worship, and if there’s music, it’s played softly. We keep the lights mellow, too. We try to let you know what’s going on during the service. If you have questions, please ask - in person, in writing, however you prefer.

We offer color-coded wristbands for you to communicate, “No Talk, Touch OK,” “No Touch, Talk OK,” “No Talk, No Touch,” “Talk and Touch OK,” and “Private Spiritual Care After” (in case you want some). You may come and go, sit, stand, walk, or move as you please. We won’t stare. We also provide fidgets, earplugs, and coloring books. We won’t mind if you look at your phone, multitask, or appear to not be listening or speaking.

We won’t love-bomb or smother you, but we show up. Worship your way with us.

Maybe you don’t fit in.

They don’t slam doors in your face, but maybe they deny you Sacraments because of what you’ve gone through, like a reproductive choice. Did you find yourself outside the marriage they said should have lasted forever? And then, did you want to get married again?

Maybe you feel you don’t belong because of who you are. They told you what it means to be human, male or female. Anything else is called “disordered,” “sinful,” or “perverse.” Did you love, even want to marry, somebody they said was out of bounds?

Maybe you fight poverty, mental illness, alcoholism, or addiction. Maybe you’re anxious or depressed. Maybe sometimes you think about ending it all, and you figure nobody would miss messed-up you. And the last thing you need is glib, stock religious answers.

Sounds like you need a spiritual family like ours.

You wonder if being with others would make the hard questions easier.

Maybe they shut down your disagreements. Because, according to them, it’s a sin to doubt what the Church or an infallible Pope stated to be true.

You’re tired of dumbing yourself down. You have a lot of questions, and it would be nice to process them with people who won’t judge you. You want to find new meanings, new outlets, a new way to be in the world. All you know is the old answers are wrong. And it could be great to have some smart, spiritual friends.

If you’re sick of being served Catholicism in a can, check us out.

The Catholic Church in Exile lives where you are.

Most of our clergy and members have been just where you are…human, confused, frustrated, busted up, and shut out. We had to find a new home to be ourselves, to find our full being-ness as the people God created and called us to be. To stretch in the intellectual challenge that spiritual life should be.

Here, we choose to be a family. With all of our obnoxious questions, messy pasts, and rejections, we stand together. We live to remind each other of our belovedness. We remind each other we’re made in the image of God. Oh, and we laugh a LOT.

But when you worship with us, you’ll say, “Yeah, this is Catholic. This feels like home. Only, I can question things, and I belong here. Who knew?”

Seeker, wanderer, excluded one…come home.

This community is for you.