First Time Enfemme at Church

[mbmeen12]

I am happy for you, and for the courage to go to meet our maker. That is why our God loves all of us, it is in our soul not what we wear. But I am sure you looked devine...

[Crystal Rose]

Ms. Arlene, That is great that you were able to go and attend church. Esp. being dressed up, keep conquering those dreams and only positive things are going to happen!

[FurPus63]

Me too! Almost exactly the same experience. I thought about you as I went to 4:30 Mass today and realizing you're in the Central time zone your an hour behind me, so I figured it was 3:30 your time. I thought to myself, "well we're experiencing this about an hour apart from each other, hope it goes well for both of us," and offered up a prayer to God asking for a good experience for us both. My experience was almost identical. I got to Church a little later than I wanted and it was pretty full, but found a pew in the back. I sat with a friend who accompanied me (sorry couldn't do it alone) and just sat there nervous. However; at the "sign of peace" time (what shaking hands time) more people shook my hand and came to offer me a sign of peace than any other time at Mass in my whole life! It was real cool! The priest is a very progressive man who doesn't believe in the conservative things that are happening in our Church right now and he gave an excellent homily. He explained the 10 commandments better than anyone else ever has, and the whole thing was awesome! I even went for communion! After Mass a lady came around and welcomed me and my friend to the Parish and said some really cool things to us. Overall, it was a great experience. I'll never forget it!

Paulette

[Terri Andrews]

I am glad you had a nice experence and it sounds like your outfit was just right for your visit .

[STACY B]

GOD !!!!!!! Dont care what cha wear as long as your there !!! AINT THAT FAIR ,, See no body did care ,, Or ya had no bad stare , Must have been something in the air ,, Sorry was on a ROLL . THERE !

[ArleneRaquel]

Thank you Stacy, Terri, & Paulette.

[ArleneRaquel]

Thank you Crystal Rose, Stacey, Paulette, and Terri.

[PretzelGirl]

Good for you Arlene! Now it shouldn't be about what you wear but about feeding your soul.

[Laura912]

Well, you went for it and it sounds like you dressed quite nicely. Congratulations!! And guess what else happened...the sun still came up the next day.

[ArleneRaquel]

Thanks to all for being so positive.

[Jenn M]

I'm glad all went well for you! There is a sister who attends the church that I go to every Sun. she is always very well dressed but seams very nervous. I have tried to speak to her a couple of times but I think I scared her off. If only she knew that we had so many things in common. Anyone have any suggestions on how to get to meet her or get to know her? Please let me know. Thanks!

[~Joanne~]

Congratulations MsArlene and FurPus63, I am glad that both of you had a positive experience and no one made a big deal out of it. After all, you are in church

[suchacutie]

Congratulations, Arlene!

Now that you've been there once, you know how it is. Do it a few more times and that unofficially becomes "your" spot in the pew! Soon you will be a fixture at mass and no one will remember a time that Arlene didn't come to mass!

so good!

Tina

[Kerstin]

Glad to read that it all went well, Arlene. I bet you're feeling pretty good right now

[Richelle423]

Good for you Arlene! I go to Mass every Sunday underdressed but en drab.Since it is Lent I wear a purple shirt and tie with purple panties underneath (I threw out my male underwear). My congregation is very conservativeI could never go en femme. At least you dressed modestly and that counts!
Hugs!

[Lorenqt]

I glad that you had a great experience.

[LeannL]

Arlene,

Congratulations. I too was at Mass on Saturday evening but not for the first time (probably the 100th time if I had to guess.) I had to go Saturday evening because of my schedule and I had just gotten off of an airplane. The skirt I was wearing was too short for church (at least for me anyway). So I did a quick change at the airport and headed to the nearest church.

I started going to church as I sought to understand myself and how better to seek help from the Lord than to pray in his presence. I hope that you received the peace that I have in church when I have gone dressed en femme.

I have never had a major issue while in church. I made a commitment to myself that if I felt I was a distraction to others, I would leave. I have done this twice many years ago when I wasn't as good as I now with "passing". I had a period last year when I was going to daily Mass in a small chapel. Even in that small space, I didn't have a problem. I even had regular conversations with the other daily attendees.

I have also spoken to a priest about crossdressing although not about attending Mass. There is no teaching against being TG or crossdressing. He was more concerned about my mental state that my state of grace (at least WRT CDing).

Again, congratulations on being yourself and may the Holy Spirit guide you in your life in the Christ and his Church.

Leann

[insearchofme]

Arlene

Congratulations on going to Mass dressed. There is no way i could do that in our small town, I have gone underdressed before and that was very nice! The sad thing is that you were probably dressed better than many of the others at Mass. I am constantly amazed at how people dress in church. I am casual but what some of the people wear both men, women, girls and boys is down right disrespectful. I know that God really wants you in church regardless but to the 70ish woman who wore a tank top and spandex to Mass, please don't do that again!

[Kristyn Hill]

congrats on getting out and about and making it happen.

[ArleneRaquel]

Dana,
Sometimes the way people are dressed at church is appalling, and in no way am I a prude or could be considered narrow minded. About 10-20 years ago I lived in far South suburban Cook County Illinois and regularly attended Mass in the same village, and on many occasions I witnessed a male member of the procession, at the start of Mass, wearing shorts and a white tee shirt with the words " Eat at " such & such, a fast food place I guessed. Last Saturday I really was paying much attention to how other attendee;s male or female were dressed. Thank for for your lovely post.

[kimdl93]

First, Arlene, I think the outfit sounds perfectly appropriate for chuch. I'm sure you looked great! So glad that your first en femme Mass proved to be a pleasant experience.

[ArleneRaquel]

Kim,
Thank you so much.1,000 Hugs.

[Kim_Bitzflick]

Arlene,

I'm glad youhad a good experience at church. I am a catholic as well and I have attended mass several times while dressed. I was always treated kindly. I even talked with my priest about it because I was also concerned that it was a sin. You have it right. He told me crossdressing is not a sin.

And it sounds like you wore an appropriate outfit. When do we get to see a picture?

[JaytoJillian]

How cool is this ad for a local church (I highlighted the TG part)???:

All are welcome to worship here.
Whether you arrive on foot, on wheels, with some assistance, or in the company of a service animal, there will
be someone to greet you and all who accompany you with a helping hand.

Whether you are living year to year, day to day, or paycheck to paycheck, the coffee will be hot.

Whether you are single, married, divorced, committed, gay, lesbian, straight,
transgendered, or bisexual, the sanctuary doors will be open.

Whether you come dressed in a kaftan, sari, sweater, kilt, chādor, jeans,
kimono, or suit and tie, there will be a seat waiting for you.

Whether English is your first or eighth language, you have spoken it from your first word
or are still learning, the music and liturgy will speak to you.

Whether you are just traveling through, have recently joined us, or helped establish our
church decades ago, there will be friends waiting here for you.

Whether your burdens are heavy or light, you are imprisoned or free, have sinned once or many times,
the grace of God will be with you at the communion table through bread and wine or a blessing.

Whether you find joy in crayons, music, fellowship, pancake suppers,
or the gospel, you will find a celebration here.

Whether you are not sure about church, have just been baptized, or grew up reciting the Lord’s Prayer
and the creeds, there will be a lesson to challenge your thinking.

Whether your talents include cooking, cleaning, reading, woodworking, driving, shopping, teaching, counseling,
organizing, translating, or singing, there will be an opportunity to serve others.

Whether you find yourself on this list or not,
you are welcome here to celebrate, think, and serve.

[Nikki A.]

The church that I was raised in to this day does not accept women wearing pants to church. Therefore even though I do attend a MCC church now. I still don't wear pants to church.
That said I'm glad that both of you had a positive experience on your first visit to church.