I decided to sever our relationship with the Catholic church that my family belonged to. I sent an e-mail explaining that I felt they should no longer waste resources on us when we weren't active. To be honest, we used them to have our three kids baptized. Our church was actually split into two parishes, with our family being moved to the newly built one. We never gave them money. We never read the mailings. We never even saw the inside of it.
I would have loved to have been honest and told them that two members of my family are now Atheist, one doesn't give a rat's ass about religion, and the other two have chosen the church they wish to be a part of which is non-denominational. Instead, I simply said "we" now attend a church closer to us.
Before I sent the email, I researched what one does if they are not affiliated with a church and there is a death that requires a religious service. I found out that the funeral director can recommend a clergyman to perform a service. Sounds pretty impersonal, doesn't it? But when I thought of it, the priest at our Catholic church didn't know us anyway. So what's the difference?
I received a letter from the church acknowledging receipt of my request, and informing me that our family has been removed from their database. I actually felt a little weird about it. All my life I "belonged" to a church. It was always sorta comforting to know it was there even if I wasn't an active member.
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