AIBU to not go to church because it's raining?

[SchrodingersUnicorn]

Just that really. It's pouring. The church is a 10 minute walk from parking (we leave the few spaces at the church for the elderly).
DD and me would rather snuggle on the sofa.
To avoid a drip feed, I'm chaplain/pastor/insert any denominational variation here and it's harvest lunch...

You would be an encouragement to everyone there who went despite the rain.
That’s what I remind myself when I don’t really want to go

There are these amazing things called umbrellas, OP....!

You've gotta go Rev!

I'm tickled by the 'solve world poverty instead of wasting time at church' brigade. 'Cos of course, not going to church would immediately solve all the world's problems at one fell swoop.

It's sunny here, so I've done my morning service and collected conkers!

It's days like this when you need a standby hologram. I'm sure they can work wonders these days.

To avoid a drip feed, I'm a chaplain/pastor/insert any denominational variation here and it's harvest lunch...

Really?
Are you?

You don't sound like any chaplain/pastor... etc that I know.

You must know how important it is to go to Sunday service.

And Harvest lunch starts when?

Go and snuggle.
And stop making up things on the internet.

Well obviously I have gone to church, driving through the properly flooded rural roads en route. Then we did our harvest festival, sorted donations for the food bank and we're about to have harvest lunch (which is open to the homeless too). So I think it was a good call on all fronts, including being more constructive than staying home for relieving poverty.
Also, #2by2 and #buildanark is definitely going to be a sermon, thanks all! You've definitely cheered me up today.

@SchrodingersUnicorn

obviously I have gone to church, driving through the properly flooded rural roads en route. Then we did our harvest festival, sorted donations for the food bank and we're about to have harvest lunch

I'm sorry I doubted you.
I was not polite. Or very Christian.

I was grumpy because I went to our Harvest supper last night and to the Matins* service this morning because I was making the coffees and teas despite having a migraine.

Bon appetit

*I hate Matins; all the random singing!

I think you did the right thing. If even the pastor doesn't bother to turn up because of some rain (and you're being paid to do this) then you can't really expect anyone else to.

@LaMarschallin goodness! Aren't you a bundle of fun?

My best friend is a Padre (military chaplain) and she would DEFINITELY have written something like this!!

#peacebewithyou 😉

I was going to say stay until I read that last sentence! LOL

(I admit we are skipping Church today, but my role is to sit in a pew not represent Jesus! LOL)

@SchrodingersUnicorn
*@LaMarschallin
goodness! Aren't you a bundle of fun?

Well, I don't think I was in my first post on this thread; however I did apologise in my next post (if you read on).

#andalsowithyou

I know you've been now but out of interest, what would happen if you did call in one Sunday morning? Does a standby person come to the service is cancelled?

Cos of course, not going to church would immediately solve all the world's problems at one fell swoop

Can you imagine the goodness that would come if the petrol, time, academic exertion that's spent talking about God each week was actually spent helping charities like soup kitchens, domestic abuse support, etc? Per head of the population that's a lot of wasted human effort, so yes, I think you meant it sarcastically but if more time was spent on tangible human problems and less chat about what some mythical person in the sky might have said or be displeased with... Humanity would be much enriched.

And yes. I read the op. It doesn't matter a jot if there's no God to listen to you. Apart from the shocking waste of resources.

Brough to you from the school of ....

"I don't want to go to school today"

"Come along Nigel, you are the headmaster, you know you have to go to school"

@northernknickers
goodness! Aren't you a bundle of fun?

Well, I don't think I was in my first post on this thread; however I did apologise in my next post (if you read on).

#andalsowithyou

Underhand,

Every now and then I worry that we spend too much time and money facilitating church, instead of serving our community. Then I remember that when we gather on a Sunday we achieve an awful lot.
Our Sunday service is when we get topped up- on God's love, fellowship with each other, and news about what needs doing next. This morning's notices told us what the food bank is running low on at the moment, what shifts need help at the food bank collections, when our harvest collection would be etc. We also got reminded in the sermon about why we do it even when people are rude, and sang happy birthday and shared cake with a four year old. It's important socially to some isolated folk, as well.
And I've spent the next hour planning our village bonfire night (run by the church). I'd call that a productive morning, to be honest.

This morning I went for a walk in the woods instead of church. It was lovely. But I’m not the Rev so it was fine. My Rev was very jealous. I would do almost anything to get out of the harvest lunch

We have harvest lunch next week.

Which would be ok apart from multiple allergies and an autistic child who does not want to go, is still too young to stay home, and hates most food. ( He is allowed to opt out and sit elsewhere in the building )

picklemepopcorn, fine to disagree..but 1 second of nonsense chat about the mythical fairies in the sky is a shocking waste of a second, in a very limited human lifetime imho. Alleviation of loneliness or supplying emotional support aren't necessarily needing to be done within the confines of religion.. you can (and people do) do it just because you're a good person.

Also, no matter how light hearted we think the local rev might be (& no particular offense meant to the op) the fact is they're spending their lives encouraging others to waste their own finite energy, time, resources etc. That's not funny. It's tragic.

This is why I don't do rural ministry! I've always lived next door, or opposite to the church so if the weather is foul I barely get wet as I stagger to church. The only way I will do 3-10 rural churches is if I can have four legged transport and that means a paddock to keep it in. Not many vicarages come with paddocks.

Good harvest service today in my urban set up. There was a huge amount of food to be donated to the food bank.

@LaMarschallin oh I just saw your update, apologies...we've all been there with The Grumps 😳.

Glad you're having a better day now though 👍

#rainydaysandsundays 🤦‍♀️

(I'm going to quit with the # now whilst I'm still, relatively, ahead 😂. At my age it's really not cool 😂)