...to think that bringing your morning coffee to church is a bit inappropriate?

[NannyPlumsSnarkyWand]

I'm pretty sure I'm just being a judgy old gimmer - thought a Sunday morning AIBU thrashing would be in order.

Just passed a group of school mums as they were coming back from church. They were all carrying portable coffee flasks and sipping from them.

I mean, yes I understand the need for coffee in the morning, but part of me thought - is there really such a pressing need to bring your coffee to a formal church service? Can you really not go a whole hour (less actually) without coffee? And then there's something just a bit odd about it. You're going to church, not the theatre, I don't know - my experience of church services is formal. It would have been seen as inappropriate to bring coffee - you have your tea and coffee after the service - but then as I say, maybe I'm just an old gimmer. Is this normal at church now?

So just to caveat this - no, it doesn't occupy a great deal of my thoughts; yes, I do have other more important things to worry about; yes I do have friends; no, I'm not judging their worth as people based on whether they drink coffee during the service or not, I just had a passing thought and wondered what others thought.

It seems a bit strange to me too. Although maybe I'm a miserable old cow as well!!

The but younare being unreasonable aboutnisnsiggesting they need them in the theatre.

The constant eating and drinking in the theatre is a pain. Just have a snack in the interval. There is no need to eat constantly. And last year i went to a show where they sold pop corn....constant munching and crunching ruined the show for me. If I wanted that I would go to the cinema......

YABU. Maybe if more churches were less formal more people would go! There are lots of identified benefits like a better support network and less loneliness.

As they were drinking on the way home, that suggests they weren't actually slurping all the way through the service, which would be odd. Quite a lot of churches do - or did - tea and coffee afterwards which I'm guessing they can't now. Maybe bringing a flask for afterwards is just an alternative to that?

I think if you're taking communion you're not supposed to eat or drink in the hour beforehand.

I suppose it's a bit of a casual attitude which permeates every part of life now. I suppose Jesus would just be glad that they'd turned up.

You say they were coming back from church so is there a chance they took their reusable cups to grab a coffee on the way home rather than them sipping their drinks in the pews?

It does my fucking head it. It appears that adults now are incapable of doing anything without a Cup of coffee glued to their mouth like some weird dummy/comforter. Now you've noticed it is will give you the minor rage everywhere you go. And don't get me fucking started on A&E where we all need to wear masks apart from when 'sipping ' (god awful word) coffee from the bloody overpriced Costa machine.

As Errol said, I know the church my parents go to aren't doing teas and coffee afterwards at the moment. I don't imagine my parents would take drinks with them but could see some of the younger attendees doing that

@tunnocksreturns2019 yes that's a good point, although on this occasion they were a group of women, so I don't think that was the case.

There is a less formal service later on in the morning that is family friendly, lovely and noisy and informal.

I guess I'm also querying this need for some people to take coffee in a cup everywhere, even if you're only out of the house for an hour.

You said it yourself, OP: you have your tea and coffee after the service

That's exactly what they were doing when you saw them. You've presented no evidence the flasks were used during the service.

I suppose Jesus would just be glad that they'd turned up

More likely Jesus knows the real reason they are there to work the school system

I don't really 'get' this desire for constant coffee. But, if churches movd with the times, and it encourages people into church, that's a good thing

My children are allowed water in class at school, which wouldn't have been permitted in the past

Yeah, I’d assume that they’d got coffees on the way home. If they were actually drinking coffee all the way through the service through then YANBU.

Usually there would be tea/coffee served after mass, but if that isn't happening because of Covid then they need to bring their own to drink on the way home.

Sipping coffee during mass really wouldn't be on!

Were you at the service too? You refer to it as a ‘formal’ service. Perhaps it wasn’t, and that people are encouraged to be less stuffy about things now.

Our church does coffee ( and cake) after the service so they could have got it there?

More likely Jesus knows the real reason they are there to work the school system

😆

If they were drinking asthey came away from church, that doesn't suggest they were drinking during the service - or they would have finished during the 60-90 minutes, surely?
Once our church reopened, drinks after the service were still banned and we had to leave immediately after the service and not linger to chat.
The last couple of weeks, we have provided drinks but to drink outside and regulars are asked to bring their own mugs to limit the numbers oc disposable ones used (not washing up yet). So you would see people walking away from our church drinking coffee from their own mugs.
I must say, it is lovely. I leave home at 10 for the 10.30 service. Iit finishes around 12 -ish and it takes a good 15-30 minutes to clear up after.
I am ready for a coffee by then.

I never quite understand the need for people to have a drink with them constantly whether it be coffee or a water bottle.
I have adult DC’s who have to have a water bottle with them when they are going on a car journey. Fair enough if it’s a four hour journey but this is for 20 minutes to their grandparents.
It always looks infantile to me like a toddler with a sippy cup.

Were they actually drinking their coffee in church or had they taken flasks to drink after the service on the way home? Or had they taken their reusable cups to stop in at a cafe on the way home to get a take out? Lots of possible explanations.

If they were drinking coffee in church I’d think it was not on, but if it was only afterwards, that’s ok.

@tunnocksreturns2019

YABU. Maybe if more churches were less formal more people would go! There are lots of identified benefits like a better support network and less loneliness.

I completely agree. I grew up going to church twice a week and I despised it. My bum went numb. I was always hungry or thirsty. My clothes were often hot.

I refuse to go now, purely for comfort reasons. It has nothing to do with my faith, I was just tired of being uncomfortable for several hours of my week. We already have work or school for that.

You saw people drinking coffee on their way home. So why is your question about taking coffee to church or drinking during a church service?

You weren't at the service, you didn't witness anybody do those things. You note the custom of coffee after a service - which is what you did see them doing.

Your thread title bears no relation to what you saw happen.

The coffee/tea mingle with biscuits was the highlight of the service growing up. I guess this is the more eco / COVID friendly version.

I agree it would be a bit inappropriate to drink coffee during the service, but you only saw them drinking coffee on the way home which is totally fine.