During my "exile" I read Fr. Donald Calloway's book "No Turning Back: A Witness to Mercy." The first half of the book chronicles his extensive drug use, etc. and it got a bit tiresome. By the time you get to his conversion you are as excited as he is that the drug use is a thing of the past! All in all - a good, quick read. If God can bring back someone like Fr. Calloway - He can pretty much bring anybody back from the brink!
I also attended a funeral at our local "Church of God." That name always make me laugh - aren't all churches churches of God?!? I thought there might be some anti-Catholic remarks during the sermon but the funeral consisted mainly of singing (gospel/blue grass/country) and a eulogy. A little bit of scripture was read during the service but the pastor didn't really explain why he chose those passages except to say they reminded him of the deceased. Of course there was the requisite "Jesus died for your sins to save you" mantra but there was really nothing said that would have offended a Catholic who knew their faith. In fact the sermon was kind of bland. I had hoped for some fire and brimstone (maybe even some snake handling!)
I did a thorough visual inspection of the place as I sat waiting for the service to begin. The pews were previously owned. I highly suspect they had been removed from a Catholic church - the rear legs had holes drilled through them as if kneelers had once been attached there. I wondered if they came out of our old Catholic church back in 1972 when the prevailing "wisdom" of the time ditched the "clutter" of the kneelers. (That phrase actually appears in our 1972 parish council minutes!)
The funniest moment of the funeral came when the pastor kept teasing the lady running the overhead projector. She goes to my parish! He kept saying she was his newest convert. Everyone laughed. I went up to her afterwards and said, "Maybe you can start praying the Rosary here on Tuesday nights!" She laughed and laughed - because she leads the Rosary after Mass at our parish every Tuesday LOL!
There was a reception after the funeral and the food was typical "church fare" - macaroni salad, potato salad, white bread sandwiches. About 125 people attended the funeral - at least 20 of them Catholic. It wasn't the worst funeral I've been to but it sure made me appreciate my own parish and the beauty of our Catholic liturgy.
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