* St. John - St. Matthew - Emmanuel (Lutheran Church in Brooklyn)

Address: 283 Prospect Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Phone: 718-768-0528
Sunday Worship Service: 11am
Post-Church Brunch:
Post-Church Activity:
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I'm going to to a Lutheran Church today in Brooklyn because my friend is getting baptised.

Now, I realize I'm such a typical cradle Catholic who does not know a lot of the specifics rules and regulations of the church, or has chosen to ignore the ones I do, or has devised my own set of rules to live as a Catholic by - which I am beginning to understand as wrong - one cannot claim to be a part of something and receive the benefits and gifts it offers only to ignore some of the guidelines, commands and commandments when they become inconvenient.

So today, for instance, I'm selecting to attend a Lutheran service instead of attending Catholic Mass. I'm fairly certain that as a practicing Roman Catholic I am expected to go to Catholic Mass every weekend. There is no law stating that I cannot attend a Protestant service, as long as I fulfill my Catholic obligation by going to Catholic service as well to receive Holy Eucharist. I had planned on going to Catholic church yesterday evening but I decided to volunteer with NYCares out in Brooklyn for Hands on New York Day. I was on the fence about volunteering, but I decided it would be a good thing so I opted out of Catholic Church and decided it would be fine enough for me to just attend the Lutheran service this morning. Needless to say I am already beginning to feel guilty about this.

Anyway, enough about that - I will go to St. JME and worship and get a lot out of the service and my friend's baptism and it will be a good day. By the way, did you know that in cases of emergency, any Christian can perform baptism on someone? This is straight from my catechism book:

In times of necessity such as danger of death, all persons can baptize. The person baptizing must intend to do what the Church does by pouring water three times on the candidate's head while saying, "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

If you are reading this and the NYCares program interested you at all, I highly suggest you look into volunteering. Yesterday, I spent a great morning and afternoon working outside in Brooklyn's Marine Park - a place I didn't even know existed! I was able to discover a part of this city, help clean it up a bit, meet some fellow folk and generally spend a Saturday doing something worthwhile. Best part? Aside from doing a good deed, they threw us a great after party sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery! It was two hours of free food and beer. Because I was by myself I decided my best plan of action for the two hours would be to find a stool at the bar and drink as much as I could. And that I did, creating conversation with strangers as they struggled for the bartender's attention so they themselves could lay claim to the prize - free beer.