Ad_Forums-Top

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Churches

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Churches

    My family were never really God bothers - they weren't Atheists but they just didn't really show their beliefs in public. Thinking about Arran's thread about Morning Worship made me think of the pillar of the local community which is just as much an important place as a school, a medical centre or the local council offices - the local place of worship. In my household, the TV set was off on Sunday mornings, and registrar offices were chosen against religious buildings for weddings. And they didn't even answer the door when the Jehovah's Witnesses kept knocking either.

    I only saw the inside of the church on Songs of Praise-alike programmes on the TV - it was only when my nephew had been blessed at a Baptist church in 1994 which made me think about church and religion very seriously, and I went on Sunday mornings to the same church for the following six weeks. I have always thought that the main difference between a baptism or christening is just like taking a shower or a bath as to how the water is used.

    When I was at the Baptist church, I was 16 years old at the time, and one of the teenage girls from the church band went up to me and introduced herself to me, and I thought that it was a great way of feeling welcome and being allowed inside the "circle". (I even smile when I think about it now). Hearing the Man of the Cloth waffle on for 55 minutes or so about God and Jesus was indeed insightful - to him, religion is a lot more prominent such as the TV set in the front room, whereas to Mr or Mrs Outsider, the same thing could be a suitcase stored in the attic.

    The local parish church which serves my area was founded in the 11th century, give or take the odd 100 years or so - I attended the Christmas morning 2006 service there although it was before I moved to the area. In between the main service and the Holy Communion I had a brief word with the vicar, mentioning that I had plans to move into the parish area, and basically wanted someone to talk to with a few problems I had back then - I knew that religion had came into it somewhere on the line as it usually does.

    I would have been a regular churchgoer if I could have bothered to get up first thing on Sunday morning and get my breakfast down in record time. Saying that, I do get their monthly parish magazine delivered to my address which again has lots of insightful stuff inside - a few months back, the church had even prayed for those who live on my street! I don't really know a bible back to front apart from when the main religions days are, and the fact that The Lord is My Shepherd is Psalm 23.

    The local vicar is just as much an important person in the community as the local General Practitioner; Police Constable; teacher; bus driver or shopkeeper. A lot of places such as hospitals and theatres have a chaplain in residence, in fact, they were responsible for Cannon and Ball finding God when appearing one year in pantomime at the Bradford Alhambra Theatre. Many people thought that it was a change in direction for the double act but by then, they were seen on TV a lot less and their own shows had long been cancelled.

    As I am a traditionalist, I would have chosen a church wedding if I had the chance to ever get married - if the future "Mrs 1978" had ever existed in the first place. I know that you can get married anywhere from a swimming pool to a fish and chip shop but I want things to be as they should be. Bear in mind, modernisation is a good thing when it comes to same sex marriages and civil partnerships, and I just hope that the Church of England will allow same sex marriages in their churches one day. Although I like tradition, I still sometimes feel that the Anglican church thinks of marriage in the same way that they would have done so when Edward White Benson was still Archbishop of Canterbury. It is nice there are now female bishops that in the church, and that we are probably less than 50 years or so from having the first female Archbishop of Canterbury.

    Was a 1983 church service been any different to a church service would be now? Has time stood still in church? At the moment, I am still thinking that churches are the "suitcase in the attic" rather than the "TV in the front room" in order of attending a service - perhaps I am not much of an optimist as I used to, although most people are different.

    Did any of you ever get married in church, and more to the point, do you go to church on a regular basis such as on Sunday mornings? Is it really insightful to attend?
    I've everything I need to keep me satisfied
    There's nothing you can do to make me change my mind
    I'm having so much fun
    My lucky number's one
    Ah! Oh! Ah! Oh!

  • #2
    Re: Churches

    My parents (well my mum, she was the churchie, my dad was a geezer from the East End) made us go to church on Sundays as a kid. At first we went to "Sunday School" where we'd have to learn bible verse etc, then when older we went to the main church bit, I think Sunday School was to stop the small kids piping up in the main service, although i think they led us in to sing a few songs, fuzzy memories.

    A bit later me and my brother went to Anchor Boys then Boy's Brigade (like Scouts but church) and my sister went to Girl's Brigade. All I remember of it was we wore itchy clothes and played some games. I wasn't into it much, i'm not a fan of group activities, and I didn't enjoy church, listening to an old fella banging on about an old story in a dusty church with songs that everyone sang like a chore, and having to actually sit still and quiet (which was difficult for me) didn't float my boat.

    the only good thing about it that i remember was that after the service we would all go to the sweet shop round the corner and I was allowed to choose some sweets, the only ones i recall was when I got some Kojak stickers.

    I'm not sure how old I was when we stopped going, or what the reason was, or how it happened, but we stopped going eventually. My mum still listened to hymns on her walkman though when she did the ironing. She'd sing along badly too sometimes. Not too long ago she found her hymns tape at the back of the top of my brother's wardrobe, not sure who hid it there, probably Dad. XD

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Churches

      I am protestant and my wife is catholic, she wanted to marry in a catholic church which meant i had to attend church every sunday for three months leading up to the wedding day, i really resented having catholic beliefs rammed down my throat as i am also aethist. The priest was on a constant mission to convince me to "see the light" and convert to catholicism. He seemed permanently cheesed off at me because i showed NO interest or inclination to become a god botherer, later my three kids went to catholic schools and were force fed the bible on a daily basis and again i was regularly required to drag them into church every sunday, as adults they also show NO interest in religion and none of them have married in a church. I fully understand how people take comfort from the idea that they will meet loved ones again someday in the great beyond, but for me personally it's all nonsense. Controversial perhaps but the belief in creationism is quickly dying, particularly here in the uk.
      Ejector seat?...your jokin!

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Churches

        I believe in the Norse Gods, as I have seen Asgard many many times.

        Proudly wear my Mjölnir pendant.
        Jeep Swenson January 5th 1957 - August 18 1997.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Churches

          Originally posted by OptimusPrime1980 View Post
          I believe in the Norse Gods, as I have seen Asgard many many times.

          Proudly wear my Mjölnir pendant.
          Step away from the drink’s cabinet .... move along .. nothing to see here




          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Churches

            Nice buildings, there's one at the end of our road

            Attached Files
            Time flies like the wind, fruit flies like bananas - go figure!

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Churches

              took these last week during a break in the cotswolds
              Attached Files
              Ejector seat?...your jokin!

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Churches

                You can't beat a good old church with a clock on the front and the bells ringing on Sunday mornings. Lord knows (no pun intended) how they manage to put the clocks right at the end of March and October.
                I've everything I need to keep me satisfied
                There's nothing you can do to make me change my mind
                I'm having so much fun
                My lucky number's one
                Ah! Oh! Ah! Oh!

                Comment

                Working...
                X