I was adopted into a Christian-
Protestant family. My adoptive mother was born into a Christian- Protestant/Southern Baptist family and my adoptive father was born in a Protestant-Christian/Southern Methodist family. Both my adoptive
parents were born down south.
My adoptive parents had five natural children and all of us were raised primarily in the Southern Baptist Church but three of us were born in Maryland and the other three born down south.
I was born and adopted in the state of Maryland. I have no recollection of any other woman being my "mom" accept my adoptive mom and I found out I was adopted
after she passed away and going through some paper work she left behind. I was shocked and my adoption was a "closed one" accept that perhaps one of my birth "parents" were distantly related
to one of my "adoptive" parents.
For the longest time, I remember my mom and dad, packing us all up
in the station wagon and driving
us to the First Baptist Church in
Bethesda Maryland where Pastor Gates taught every Sunday.
However, sometime in 1964, we stopped attended The First Baptist
church and my dad decided that he would no longer attend because Pastor Gates tried to talk to my
dad about Spousal Abuse and not to mention his alcoholism.
My dad got mad and he took all of his children out of the Baptist Church and put us into the Methodist Church in Bethesda, Maryland.
That is where I received my First
Holy Bible as a graduation present by completing Third Grade Sunday
School to Fourth Grade Sunday school. It was a Revised Standard Version. I was very proud of it.
Well Bethesda, Maryland was predominately either one of two
religions: Catholic or Jewish.
My family was the only Protestant
family on our block and during
Vatican I -the church discouraged
the children of Catholic parents
from allowing their children to play with any other but Catholic Children.
However, my parents taught me that
we are all "Christians" and that
there is only One Lord, One Faith
and One Baptism. However, they
had none of us baptized. They left that up to us. It was a personal decision.
My parents had faith that once we all came of age to understand what Christian Faith was all about we
would make the right decision and
all to follow Christ. Most of us
did, some of us did not.
I was baptized overseas in the Apostlic Church of Pentecost in
Bulawayo, Rhodesia in April of 75.
In 1975, my first ex husband sent me from him. I returned home to my adoptive parents and later on took a job as a "governess". I attended
The Arlington Assembly of God church in Arlington, Va from 1976-1985 and from there became a
Seventh Day Adventist in 1985-1993
and in 1993 I found the Seventh
Day Church of God up where I live in Chicago, Illinois.
Well, the Lord started moving me
towards the journey home when I
started to attend Mass at St. Ita
Catholic church, that was in 95.
In September of 1995 I enrolled in
RCIA and went through instruction
and on Easter Vigil of 1996 was
received into the Holy Mother church along with 18 other Christians coming into the church.
I came into the Archdiocese of Chicago under the late Joseph Cardinal Bernadin and never have regretted it since.
The Catholic church is so divesified and so great. I love it
and there is no clicques like there is in many mainline Protestant churches. They help people regardless of what Faith they are of.
Our Cardinal, Cardinal Francis George, is himself, disabled by polio and has made sure that most
of the parishes are handicap accessible and that RCIA and other
classes for instruction are also geared for those with mental and
learning disabilities. So none of
the Faithful are without instruction in righteouness.
My RCIA pictures can be viewed over at http://community.webtv.net/KarissaAnneLowell/infact.
Yes, the Catholic church has her
problems, but we are a community.
We do not have to move our membership from one church to another and no votes have to take place to accept membership from on e church to another.
The same Bible scriptures all used
throughout the Archdioceses and Diocese of the United States.
No matter where Christian-Catholics go we are not
visitors. We are members of The
One and Holy Catholic church.
We are "family".
I serve a Risen Savior. His name
is Jesus Christ. My patron saint
is: Elizabeth Ann Seton. She, herself was a Christian-Protestant
Convert into the church in 1805.
She was canonized on September 14,
1976 by the Late Pope Paul the VI.
I have always gone where the Lord has sent me. He sent me into the
Catholic Church. I praise him for
that move.
In His Service,
Karissa Anne-
