How was church today?

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Conflict, competition and destruction are more interesting to some arch types ... some strange spirits some time are assigned to observe them ... sometimes known as paranormal images ... or hallucinations to the alternate side!

It is often difficult to separate neurosis from psychotic fixation ... like getting into an alien wardrobe ... Shadowlands?
 
KayTheCurler said:
Some people aren't impressed with the passing of the peace. Here we have Mrs. Beamish of the Church of England ...............

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This is great! Worth watching for a laugh.

You are right, some people don't like the passing of the peace. It feels exclusionary to some when it gets too social & turns into friends hugging friends.
 
In the UK much of the dislike stems from their stiff manners system. Polite handshakes maybe - but unless you are family the rule is often "Don't touch me".
 
Loved Mrs. Beamish!!! At our church, our minister invites people to shake hands and greet each other....or not....and the not is just as okay and accepted as the doing. I have to admit that our church erupts into a visit-fest, and our beloved organist picks a timely moment to cue people back to their seats with music.
 
paradox3 said:
You are right, some people don't like the passing of the peace. It feels exclusionary to some when it gets too social & turns into friends hugging friends.
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My wife wasn't raised as a Christian except nominally (she was baptized and her family went to St Mungo's United Church, Cushing QC, on Christmas and Easter). She gets very mad with people shaking hands at the church's entrance and passing the peace. She even gave up going to church because she feels people are being fake and we are at a point where I love my congregation and she hates it - BTW, I don't know how to proceed and accept experience-based suggestions.

I hated passing the peace as a child, but now it's one of my favorite moments during the Service because 1) I feel people are genuinely wishing it to me and I'm wishing them as well and 2) it precedes the Communion, which is very meaningful to me.
 
I don't go to church anymore. Your thoughts around sharing the peace are the opposite of mine. People would act all friendly and accepting - but they were simultaneously ignoring the grief I was dealing with at that time. It was the only time that people from church said "How are you?" and they weren't interested in me telling them! I recall that it wasn't popular when I attended an C of E congregation but that was because of the touching phobia..
 
When I go to my husband's Catholic mass, I don't know the people the same way I know the people at my United church. I used to feel uncomfortable passing the peace with people I didn't know and perhaps felt they didn't care about me. So, GiancarloZ...I kind of understand how your wife feels. But as I have aged (some good things about getting older!) I have let my guard down a little, and I enjoy smiling, exchanging a kind word, and doing something that is meant to be kind and caring. I can't control whether or not someone else is being fake with me...but I can work on my own feelings and reactions towards them. (I used to hate giving and receiving hugs; that has also changed over the years, thank goodness!)
 
(In Brazil, we don't have problems with touching, which sometimes can be terrible because people get too close and too touchy. )

But I understand that people many times aren't really interested in the others at church. It happens especially at Catholic congregations here, as the Catholic Church is the "established" one in Brazil. Protestant congregations tend to be smaller and tight-knitted, for cultural reasons (most of them are immigrant churches).
 
Nancy said:
When I go to my husband's Catholic mass, I don't know the people the same way I know the people at my United church. I used to feel uncomfortable passing the peace with people I didn't know and perhaps felt they didn't care about me. So, GiancarloZ...I kind of understand how your wife feels. But as I have aged (some good things about getting older!) I have let my guard down a little, and I enjoy smiling, exchanging a kind word, and doing something that is meant to be kind and caring. I can't control whether or not someone else is being fake with me...but I can work on my own feelings and reactions towards them. (I used to hate giving and receiving hugs; that has also changed over the years, thank goodness!)
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I see! The thing is that here we are both new to the congregation, as we moved to our current city 9 months ago. I adapted and liked it, and she didn't. Should we seek for a new congregation together?
That would be bad because I don't want to hurt our current Pastor, as he's been very supportive, but also I really want my wife to go to church with me. Apparently, the people at our current congregation is the worst thing for her, as she used to enjoy going to church previously. The style of the congregation also changed a little bit, the old one is very liturgical and this one is more pietistic.
 
And church was very lightly attended yesterday. Which was most unfortunate, because it was Stewardship Sunday (and we had a baptism), which meant that instead of the sermon, we had four very different members of the congregation come up and talk for a couple of minutes on "legacy"; they did a great job and had some interesting stories. We also had a free session on wills (not just how to give to the UCCan, lol) after church, which might have been quite well attended. Except for the ice, and the sleet, etc. It was the intrepid and the local who made it to church yesterday. Maybe 60 people all totalled (and that was partly due to the baptism...). Baptism baby was just an angel, which he is every Sunday I've seen him in church thus far. Looks like his dad, who is kind of a laid back guy. And his big sister, who is 3 (it was, in fact, her birthday), and was a wearing a very pretty dress, of which she was clearly enamoured, poured the water into the font for the Rev. Very cute. Happy pictures all around!
 
How was church? Cancelled! As many services in this area were due to the freezing rain storm. Nevertheless I woke up early with hearing the fury of the wind clattering things against my window. I was reminded of the power of nature. So it was a day to stay in my pajamas, knit, read, ponder, nap. Recharge the spirit and the body.

P.S. - enjoyed the Mrs. Beamish song! And I'm kinda with her on the passing of the peace - I don't like it.
 
This weekend I suggested to those gathered for Children's Time that they could consider changing up their routine to make Passing the Peace more comfortable or engaging. We typically say "Peace be with you." but could also say:
Love be with you.
Joy be with you.
Hope be with you.
Caring be with you.
Kindness be with you.

Christ wished peace to his followers in the focus scripture (Luke 24:36) and wished that they share it in turn. I think Christ also shared love, joy, hope, caring, and kindness with those around him in hopes that it would be paid forward too.
 
We call it simply "greet your neighbour". Seems to be enjoyed by many; tolerated by the rest. There's usually an interesting combo of high-fives, hand-shakes, fist bumps, hugs, and the odd "nod"...
 
BetteTheRed said:
We call it simply "greet your neighbour". Seems to be enjoyed by many; tolerated by the rest. There's usually an interesting combo of high-fives, hand-shakes, fist bumps, hugs, and the odd "nod"...
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This sounds much like our, "Greeting Time," although our people speak to each other as well. I am not a fan of "passing the peace." Feels too phoney-baloney to me.
 
My mother is a practicing Catholic and she also doesn't enjoy passing the peace. Actually, the Archdiocese of Curitiba abolished the practice (which I find shocking and too radical), as the people here can be considered the British of Brazil (they avoid touch and are infamous for not talking to strangers).

For me, though, a Communion service without the peace looks like missing an important part. Would the responsive liturgy of "The peace be with you", "And also with you", "Lift up your hearts", etc., be an appropriate and complete substitute?
 
GiancarloZ said:
My mother is a practicing Catholic and she also doesn't enjoy passing the peace. Actually, the Archdiocese of Curitiba abolished the practice (which I find shocking and too radical), as the people here can be considered the British of Brazil (they avoid touch and are infamous for not talking to strangers).

For me, though, a Communion service without the peace looks like missing an important part. Would the responsive liturgy of "The peace be with you", "And also with you", "Lift up your hearts", etc., be an appropriate and complete substitute?
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An appropriate and complete substitute for Communion?
 
Jae said:
:confused:

Sorry Giancarlo, my bad, I'm not getting it. Sounds like you're asking if passing the peace is an appropriate and complete substitute for passing the peace.
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Sorry! I'll try to make myself clear.
One thing is when people pass the peace one another; another thing is the responsive liturgy, i.e., the Pastor/Priest says something and the people answer. Responsive liturgies are not very common in some Protestant churches.
What happens in Brazil is that some Catholic Dioceses abolished the rite of people passing the peace one another, shaking hands, and instead kept just the responsive liturgy that states the same words, but the interaction being just Priest/people.
 
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