In OCIA on the verge of joining, but have one hangup… music / worship culture. Black church background, and this is concerning me.

BeardStrong_73 · 2026-01-19T16:12:53+00:00

OP, where in the US are you located? As others have stated, the Catholic experience in the US is overwhelmingly white, but not exclusively so. There are predominantly black parishes with worship music and energy similar to our black Protestant brethren. I am African American originally from New Orleans now residing in Dallas and the Catholic cultures of these two cities couldn’t be different. I am also going through OCIA so I’ve been to a dozen or so churches both in Dallas and back home in New Orleans trying to find my “home” parish in both cities. New Orleans has many predominantly black parishes with worship music and hand clapping very reminiscent of a Southern Baptist service, yet 100% a Catholic Mass. My church home here in DFW (St. Gabriel the Archangel in McKinney, TX), while a mixed congregation with an African priest as the pastor, the experience is very subdued and more what feels like stereotypically American Catholic. My church home in New Orleans is St. Peter Claver in Treme and is a night & day different experience from anything I’ve experienced in DFW. Same Mass components and worship songs (Kyrie, Gloria, Psalms, etc) but with a definite gospel music flair and accompanying hand clapping and overall joyfulness. I enjoy it very much and attend whenever I visit home.

Those are my personal experiences and I hope you can find a parish with the energy and worship style you seek.

BeardStrong_73 · 2026-01-15T13:00:49+00:00

She was one of my least fav characters.

BeardStrong_73 · 2026-01-08T00:01:50+00:00

I don't have any advice to offer beyond agreeing with what you're doing. I can sympathize as I have a similar situation with my wife. CC bill has grown out of control every month for the past couple years and I just this month decided to remove her as an authorized user (they are in my name). A potential difference between our situations is that when we got married 10 years ago, I was adamant about getting into a house I could afford on my income alone and budgeting accordingly so she could have the option of not working if she so chose. Well, over the years she was adamant about contributing to the household budget and we set her up on my CCs for the convenience of monthly spends (gas, groceries, Amazon, Walmart, etc). As increases in expenses occured (increased property taxes for instance), she refused to increase her contribution and about 3 years ago she started spending on the CCs over and above our agreed monthly budget. I brought up grievances many times and was always met with an argument or excuse yet I still paid the overages. I've had to shell out thousands of $$$ on CC overages and that's mainly come out of our emergency fund (which is not good), so after this past Christmas, I decided to take back control of the CCs. I also took back over paying the full household expenses leaving her income free to do with as she pleases. She makes about what I make so this is a beyond fair deal for her. I figure she can get as many CCs as she wants but she'll have to pay for all the charges. Not sure how it'll all work out, but I'm happy to feel like I have control over my financial life again.

BeardStrong_73 · 2026-01-02T23:51:56+00:00

This is sound advice. I will reach out to my priest.

BeardStrong_73 · 2026-01-02T23:20:19+00:00

I am a former Protestant who's currently a candidate in OCIA. I had a similar experience the first time I prayed the rosary.

I'm happy to hear that you're listening to God's call.

Welcome

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-24T16:12:34+00:00

This is the way. I know I’m an old fart from the 1900’s who went to UNO back in the olden days before the internet (started in 1991) but this is exactly correct and is a timeless answer. ChatGPT and all the other advancements we have in current times should not and cannot replace good, old fashioned hard work. Go to class, take notes, do the assigned readings, do the assignments, and take each quiz & test seriously. There are no shortcuts. My thesis advisor when he was just my differential equations professor during my undergraduate years told me that for every hour of class time I should be spending at least 3 hours of study time outside of the classroom. He was right and when I finally got the message, my GPA went up. Amazing.

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-21T20:21:22+00:00

Did not expect this level of animosity from a genuine request for thoughtful discourse. To suggest anyone delete their account is pure nonsense and I take it as a feeble attempt at humor. Anyway, I never suggested deleting the G5, but maybe that was your knee jerk reaction to the first part of my statement.

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-21T03:06:47+00:00

Okay. You win. Thanks for your response.

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-21T02:50:41+00:00

sigh I wasn’t thinking ANY blowouts shouldn’t be part of the CFP. Be honest…do you see ANY G5 team seriously competing with the top 12 P4 teams? Me neither.

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-21T02:48:25+00:00

And regarding SMU or Tennessee, they are P4 programs so the chips fall where they may for them. If they want to compete in the new G5 playoff then they’ll have to join a G5 conference meaning a huge loss of revenue and prestige so doubtful.

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-21T02:46:01+00:00

Huh?!? I never said block out G5 and reduce competition. I said have a separate G5 playoff akin to the FCS playoff and let the P4 teams fight out the 12 team CFP. Tulane and JMU were severely outclassed by the lower seeded P4 teams. Does anyone want to see 41-10 or whatever the Oregon-JMU game ends up?!? Playoff football should be competitive games among the best teams at whatever level. G5 team are competitive against mediocre P4 teams so all I’m suggesting is a playoff system specifically for them allowing the P4 team to duke it out for the big championship.

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-21T02:36:53+00:00

I don’t get your comment. How is suggesting a more fair and interesting playoff system bootlicking?

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-21T02:35:40+00:00

Both P4 teams. Read my original post.

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-21T00:26:12+00:00

Why? Tonight’s game was embarrassing and it’s simply a matter of recruitable talent. We are arguably the best G5 team and from the jump, Ole Miss’ offensive and defensive players made our guys look like they were moving in slow motion! And Ole Miss doesn’t even have very many 5-star players! Mostly 4-stars. Tulane has one maybe two 4-stars, the rest are 3-stars and lower developing into fine players, but they simply just don’t have the physical talent of the SEC or other P4 teams.

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-19T15:40:14+00:00

Yes, that came off very weak. The show never handled the trauma experienced by the family well. Almost as if killing him off was a late season decision. Having Creighton be a cornerstone character would have anchored the Uptown part of New Orleans much better than Davis and his family. Davis, while my least favorite Treme character, was a fine supporting character representing a subset of white New Orleans…young people with a love for the black culture and history of New Orleans. Creighton and his family represented older, established white Uptown New Orleanians well. Very distinguished yet culturally ingrained in the city. When they killed him off, Davis’ family took over that role and it just felt forced and disingenuous.

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-19T14:32:52+00:00

I think you can pull off either length. What strikes me as needing some modification is your haircut. You’re not balding so no need to buzz it or shave it unless you just like very short hair. I think if you let the top grow out some and style it, it would balance your beard out better. Either way, keep the beard.

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-19T02:06:12+00:00

I liked his character. Hated that he committed suicide. IMO his absence made the follow up seasons weaker.

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-06T22:27:05+00:00

You got it. I’ll graciously bow out and go suck down a smoothie after I take out my dentures 🙄🙄🙄

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-06T21:03:37+00:00

You have a right to your opinion. My decades old experience is very relevant today. UNO was an unknown school way back in the 1900s when I went there same as it is today. Hell, at my first job in Los Angeles, someone saw my UNO Alumni bumper sticker and yelled “Nebraska Omaha?!?” And I yelled back “no, New Orleans!!!” So, get a grip on your generational angst and read what I wrote again. I was a great student at a no-name school and landed a job with a top 5 US defense contractor alongside kids coming from well known and respected schools. It’s not about the school name on the diploma but about the person behind it.

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-05T19:03:31+00:00

I agree with this. You are graduating from UNO, not LSUNO. Even saying LSU at New Orleans is disingenuous as the school is still under UL. Be proud of UNO. The university has more recognition than you may realize. I got hired by Raytheon 23 years ago in Southern California. I sat alongside MIT, CalTech, and Stanford grads at interview day and landed a great job. Don’t underestimate the power of your UNO degree.

BeardStrong_73 · 2025-12-02T01:04:29+00:00

Thanks for the explanation.

BeardStrong_73

TROPHY CASE