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GiancarloZ said:
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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Thank you for clarifying. Hmm... I don't really have a good answer for you then. At my Baptist church we have neither responsive liturgy nor passing the peace.
 
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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Lack of connection and touché can leave some people bitter either way ... some are just looking for conquest ... some avoidance of the same!
 
The church that I have transitioned to has a very lengthy pass the peace each Sunday.
People have made a point of learning my name, and I have tried to learn theres.
They are authentic in both the passing, and the welcome, and well...you can feel it.
In my other congregation, it was something you did...and no, it did not feel authentic.
Not sure how you move it along...but I think it starts with intending to like each other and know each other.
 
Our gated pews with a dividing wall between the two ends means that we are limited in our mobility in passing the peace. One hass to be seriously motivated (such as seeing a belovedd friend who movedd away a year ago) to open the gate and cross the aisle. So we greet our pew-mates, those in front, those one or twwo pews behind, and those who would be sitting beside us if it wasn't for the wall. Since we usually sit in the same place each weeek, we get to know and care about each other, notice if they are missing, make inquiries. When one of this little grooup ddied suddenly we all missed her and when her husband returned to his place we reached out in sympathy.
Our pew will hold four comfortably, five ok, six if one or two are children.
If a stranger arrives early and sits in our pew, we usually join them, talk to them and make them welcome. If a group of three or more take our pew we move to another one, no doubt displacing somebody else from their regular place. Then we have different people within arm's reach to pass the peace with. In our corner - front, left of centre, it seems pleasant and friendly. I presume it is elsewheere. The balccony crowd don't havee the gated pews. Looking up, I see them hopping around greeting everybody.
 
The UU fellowship here has always had "Greeting Time" as part of the service. We use chairs rather than pews so getting around to greet people is easier. Gets a bit chaotic but the service leader just has to take the lead and signal the end appropriately and people usually get back to their seats.
 
I always go out and back in same way and we meet in the aisles

Seeler, your pass the peace sounds more like my old church...

I much prefer the rowdy all out welcome of my new
 
Pinga said:
I always go out and back in same way and we meet in the aisles

Seeler, your pass the peace sounds more like my old church...

I much prefer the rowdy all out welcome of my new
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pinga, in my churrch you would probably feel right at home with the balcony crowd. They are the rowddy bunch.
 
Tomorrow I'm visiting an Anglican congregation (low-church, i.e. more Reformed than Catholic). Sometimes I feel guilty at my higyenized, middle-class congregation, and the Anglicans are very socially engaged here in my city. I wanna see it closely. Reports tomorrow.
 
Today is Camping Sunday. I'm not convinced we're all going to fit in Memorial Hall, but it will be interesting...
 
No, we have a service with a camping theme - sing camp songs, do a craft, etc. And instead of having the service in the sanctuary, we set up our Memorial Hall with chairs and a big tent, a fake campfire, etc. It's fun. It's an actual "United Church" thing, although it's supposed to be the last Sunday in April, but there's other things on next Sunday (the Masons are visiting AND we're having a potluck), so today it is.
 
BetteTheRed said:
No, we have a service with a camping theme - sing camp songs, do a craft, etc. And instead of having the service in the sanctuary, we set up our Memorial Hall with chairs and a big tent, a fake campfire, etc. It's fun. It's an actual "United Church" thing, although it's supposed to be the last Sunday in April, but there's other things on next Sunday (the Masons are visiting AND we're having a potluck), so today it is.
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The Mason's have a sacred conspiracy ... tis about dying to oneself ... and chipping right out of the avarice syndrome ... many modern Christians see it as Pagan ... they just don't get survival of bodies ... social constructs? May they live in peace ... broken peoples? I get this vision of The Fisher King --- and Robin Williams! He did the great escape ... a deux ova 'n exit!

Thus wringing of the belles .. Moiré's ... in Celt realms this is inclusive of de Moor's .. where Jayne come from ... to Eire ...
 
We're pretty Mason-friendly. Our minister emeritus, who still worships with us, is a Mason. And you're right - the big "conspiracy" is that they're super-conscientious...
 
BetteTheRed said:
We're pretty Mason-friendly. Our minister emeritus, who still worships with us, is a Mason. And you're right - the big "conspiracy" is that they're super-conscientious...
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Our church warns against Masonry. We have flyers right as people come in advising them to devote their time to church activities rather than Masonry.
 
GiancarloZ said:
Tomorrow I'm visiting an Anglican congregation (low-church, i.e. more Reformed than Catholic). Sometimes I feel guilty at my higyenized, middle-class congregation, and the Anglicans are very socially engaged here in my city. I wanna see it closely. Reports tomorrow.
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(Quoting myself just for the sake of continuity.)
So as planned I went today to the Anglican congregation. Their temple is way simpler than my congregation's, but their Service is much more solemn and introspective, with much fewer attendants. My congregation doesn't have an organ and they do. The sermon could be better, I really enjoy a good, Reformed-style sermon, which I have at my congregation. The Anglicans are way more inclusive and apparently have a deeper communion among themselves. People are poorer than in my congregation. They have a good work with homeless people. They pass the peace way more enthusiastically, making a queue in the aisle - I confess I found that too much.
The liturgy reminded me of my mom's Catholic church when I was a kid, so I knew a lot of it by heart. The songs and hymns are shared among Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans in Brazil, so nothing new.
I'll go back with my wife. If she likes it (because she doesn't like our current congregation), I'd consider transferring.
 
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