Communion

[maggiebee]

Just home from our Communion Service. Found it very uplifting and it was great to have visitors from Zimbabwe with us. They sang unaccompanied and their voices were just wonderful. I'm always amazed that when some churches in the UK struggle, the churches in many African countries have congregations in the high hundreds.

[ummmm]

I've been to Down, beautiful.

The last mass I went to in Ireland lasted about 15 minutes and that included reading out the names of all the dead people (Irish love hearing who has died)

I'm used to going to mass here so when the mass ended and people started leaving I was "is that it? Has he finished? Are we allowed to leave?"

In the pub 30 seconds later :-)

[Brinjal]

Zimbabweans just love church. The traditional church's are very well supported but so called prophets like Walter Magaya and Emmanuel Makandiwa have huge congregations. And rake in huge funds. Makandiwa even has his own bank so you can make your contributions direct to his account. He is a crook of note. He bought several loads of ordinary common bricks costing about .10cents each. He called them golden bricks and sold them for $10.00









each. Stating that they would multiply into enough to build a house. He also decanted ordinary. Cooking oil into small bottles and sold it as holy oil also promising great financial return when using it. And still they queue for his services.

[ummmm]

They just 'bless it' to make it holy.

[Old_Geezer]

Probably related to culture. Reserved English folk tend to feel uncomfortable in a forced gaity happy clapping let's make an exhibition of ourselves situation. The more churches turn to this hug everyone type of worship the fewer traditionally English types will turn up. That said we are getting more secular in outlook anyway so the popularly attended churches are more likely to be filled by those with less traditional preferences.

[Ric.ror]

I've NEVER been to a 15 minute mass and we had a priest that could really steam through it after the homily.
As for ' in the pub 30 seconds later' it was ever thus ;-))

[ummmm]

Ric...best mass ever!! Pub is next door :-)

[mikey4444]

I think it was easier to gabble away quickly when the Mass was in latin, as nobody could understand it anyway ! Now that the Priests have to use English, it seems to last so much longer !

[Ric.ror]

There's always a pub nearby and I remember when I was younger standing room only at the back
Strange that all the men stood there ....,,, or is it

[naomi24]

Mikey, //So why does America buck the trend then Naomi ?//

America does buck the trend – but unlike most Europeans a lot of Americans have never travelled abroad for example, so they buck the trend in more ways than one - and you always say they’re potty anyway so why choose only America? Try looking at the other western countries on the list.

[maggiebee]

Our church services normally last about 75 minutes - not a long time out of a 24 hour day. Today's service was longer because we had visitors and it was communion.

[mikey4444]

Naomi...so the USA does buck the trend ! I knew we would get there in the end !

[naomi24]

What on earth are you talking about?

[mikey4444]

Naomi...you said earlier today that you equated ignorance and adhesion to religion together.

I am merely pointing out that, by your own evidence, in the form of the link that you posted, that your theory didn't include a very educated country, ie the USA. In that country, adhesion to the most ludicrous pillars of religion are as strong now it has ever been. To repeat, 100,000's of yanks believe the Earth was made about 6000 years ago, a stance that cannot now be defended rationally. But they still believe it, and thus hold themselves up to ridicule.

If a religion can get something so basic, so wrong, it exits itself from any further sensible debate.

[naomi24]

Mikey, get off your high horse - your reading glasses don’t seem to be working from that distance. I said people from less educated areas of the world are OFTEN more religious. Look at the list. I think you've just exited yourself from any further sensible debate on this subject.

[mikey4444]

But not the Yanks then Naomi ! So I was correct after all !

[Ann]

Maggie - what denomination is your church? African Christians always seem so happy, they seem to radiate Christ in their singing and in their faces, sometimes puts us to shame.

[naomi24]

Mikey, anything that keeps you happy. ;o)

[mikey4444]

Then I can go to bed happy then Naomi !

[Khandro]

Looking at the OP and reading through the thread, most people are being upbeat and friendly about the religious dimension to their lives, but it seems clear that as usual, you appear desperate to introduce your own unsolicited, jaundiced views. Why can you not just pipe-down and leave people to discuss in a friendly manner the importance of the sacred dimension to their lives? No one is proselytising or seeking an argument but you.

[naomi24]

Jolly good. Night, night.