Church

[crystaltips]

How many of you are avid church-goers?
How many of you want to go to church but never seem to have enough hours in the day?
I feel a great draw to our church - but with a young family it's a toss-up between making an appearance and a couple of extra hours in bed

Whenever I DO go I always get a kind welcome - and a few "welcome back" comments.

Is it enough to think kind, spiritual and "christian" thoughts ?

Oh madonna, stop. I'm going to have to find something really insulting to say to you just to get aloha back....A reverse exorcism of sorts??

'Madonna', I don't want to get all girly but it's FAB to have you back. Even though you are a very bad person. Now go away and examine your conscience.

It's admission time is it, Ionesmum. So had I! But I just cant commit myself right now. Dh has put his name forward and already gets lots of chances to preach - at least when I go with him I know there will be a decent sermon.
Havent posted on this thread as church is a bit of a sensitive topic at the moment. Not finding it very easy, and there's precious little for children. However, I have now talked to the minister about starting a Sunday School so things are looking up a bit. Will post mre about this when I am not totally knackered and on my way to bed!

Hi, Susan. Have asked for your e-mail adress after you kindly offered on the PND thread. Hope that's okay!

Well, Madonna, I don't know whether to believe you. I have been reading about you being a troll and making comments just to wind people up so I searched for everything you have posted and there seem to be some contradictions and it is all in the last 2 days. If you are a genuine new mumsnetter then I'm sorry but you seem to be a bit of a loose cannon. If you are usually someone else, can we have them back please?

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Ionesmum, I hope what I've been reading on other threads is a mistake - please don't leave!

Hilary, I'll admit to being one as well.

Just read through some of this thread and I to am really pleased there are Christians about here. I'm not a clergy wife but I am the church organist. Bad idea when dd wont sleep, tired because 17 weeks pg with bump no.2, and you have to get up, organised and out to church with family in tow. We always make it though.

PS feeling emotional as dh is away at a residential course for nine weeks (back at weekends though). This is only week one!!!

Hi JoPat. I'm 18 weeks pregnant with No. 2 and can empathise with the tiredness - hoped it would have worn off by now. Hope the 9 weeks passes quickly. Take advantage and get to bed really early!

JoPat, I admire your organisational skills, can you let me in on your secret! I used to play the guitar in the church services before my bump was too large (this is ds aged 2.5 I'm referring to, I'm not pg now) and unfortunately haven't picked up the guitar since.

Hoping the weeks fly by quickly for you.

Just back from holiday & discovered this thread - I am a Methodist and usually get to church 3 out 4 Sundays, also involved in our village church which is C of E, & where my DH prefers to go (but only about once a month!!). I LOVE going to church, it is a very important part of the week for me - peace, quiet & time for serious contemplation - yes, of course you can do this at home but I suppose I need the 'props' of the church! Our Methodist church is very welcoming to children (although only five attend - total congregation only about 30!!) & we have a creche & sunday school which I help out with. There are no facilities (apart from books & toys) at the CofE Church - our DS is usually the only person under 40 there!! However he is made incredibly welcome and no one appears to mind the racket he makes - continually saying 'how nice to see a young child in church' - he's 18 months.

I love the social and caring side of church as much as the worship, although we are so small there is a lot going on - I moved here from over 200 miles away, knowing no one, so it was great to really 'get involved', meeting a bunch of people that I automatically knew I would get on with.

When I joined I was heavily pregnant, my DS then needed quite serious medical treatment (now resolved) and the support and care I received was fantastic - even holding a prayer vigil in church the day of my DS's operation, not telling me until I found out some weeks later.

Not quite sure what my main point was here - but just wanted to join in!!

It's always so good to know that you can rely on the church family when you need them. They can always give much needed support. I think that's the secrect to my organisational skills Jodee, I would be lonely without the other members of my church. (Even if we do have the occasional fall out!!!)

Wanted to ask fellow christian mumsnetters about an invite my 15 month old has had from nursery. One of the other little girls in her class is having a Halloween party. As a Christian I don't really want her to be involved in this but how do I tell the mum (who I haven't met) without causing offence. Anyone else faced the same dilemma?

hi Mog - I have come across this problem many times with my children. I always just try and be truthful and tell them my family do not celebrate halloween because of religious reasons. I never really have any problem. Sometimes I'm ask why and I just tell them I'm a christian and we just dont acknowledg the day. Not much you can really say. I know sometimes these situations can be awkward though. My dd is in a private school but when she was attending public We were faced with many issues on things my dd was not aloud to do but some of her other classmates were able to do.

mog - explain it simply & clearly - that as a christian you believe, that although Halloween might appear harmless fun, it is rooted in a deeply pagan / spiritualist history, and as a christian you wouldn't feel comfortable exposing your child to that. Also, on a very pragmatic level, it's scary, and trick or treating is like begging with violent intent (if adults did it, of course!)

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I was talking to dh about this, and he said there was something in St Paul about this - obviously not halloween specifically - that said that things like that only have power if you believe they do. So that if you look at halloween as being harmless fun, dressing up a few pumpkins then it is harmless, but if you think it is the evil spirits coming down, then, even if there aren't such things, the event has some bad power over you.

Could I please just add a Pagan perspective on Halloween which may make it a little easier for you.

Halloween is actually the Christianised version of our Samhain - when the church in the middle ages effectively outlawed pagans they left a few holidays as a sop to the people. They renamed Samhain by calling it the eve of All Saints (or All Hallows) Day. Samhain is generally recognised as the 'New Year' and many of our celebrations are very similar to those held at the end of December - New Years Resolutions for example are based on an old Samhain ritual.

We do not worship the devil (cos we dont believe in 'him' ).

We do not 'call back'the dead, (although we do believe that the veil is thinnest at this time of year).

It is basically a time for feasting and enjoying ourselves, to celebrate the passing of another year and to look forward with joy to the start of the new.

Maybe, as robinw says, it would be unreasonable to stop your dd from attending what is after all only a party. But you can relax, because there is nothing about Halloween that has anything to do with Satan, or evil - its an excuse to have fun

If you felt as though not letting your child go to the party would make her miss out then could you think about having a little party that week yourself instead? Some churches we have been part of have a party for All Saints day which is the next day. (Is it all saints or all souls, I can't remember!) but anyway, you could distract from not being able to go to the hallowe'en one by celebrating something you are comfortable with.

I'm thinking of doing it now my eldest is nearly 4 and at nursery as I am anticipating that he will understand much more of it all this year.

I think maybe Mog has a problem with it as Christians are not supposed to celebrate Pagan festivals. I think that some part of it is fun, I have sweets ready for trick or treaters and I do a pumpkin, but I am careful not to make a big deal of it as it is not my festival to celebrate, just as I wouldn't celebrate a Hindu festival.

As Halloween introduces a child to the notion of witches, gouls, ghosts, vampires and devils, I would be reluctant to let mine go to such a party too. For a young one it could be quite intimidating. I would simply explain that we didn't 'celebrate' Halloween and leave it at that. Most mums would understand.

We often had Halowe'en parties when I was a child but I think 17 mo is a bit young. This is similar to the argument about Harry Potter, which I love and will encourage dd to read. If we Christians removed anything remotely pagan from our lives we wouldn't have a Christmas tree, no Easter eggs etc.

I am not happy with my children celebrating haloween but I am very lucky as our church always orgainses a big 'light' party for the children. I do have a big problem with trick or treaters as we get loads and up til a few years a go I refused to give them anything. Then I got my front door smeared with jam in the night. Lovely. My church suggests giving out Christian gifts such as rubbers or pecils or bookmarks with a Christian message on them, but with the number we get buying something like that for everyone could double my overdraft. I now stick with sweets given with very bad grace!

It's interesting to see how cultures differ across the world. Here in Muslim Indonesia ghosts are an everyday part of life. Just this past week there have been huge crowds visiting a derelict house that is reputed to be haunted since a rice seller supposedly disappeared nearby a couple of weeks ago. The crowds brought the city to a virtual standstill and police had to be brought in to restore order.

My DH works in a tower block where the carpark was bombed three or four years ago and now none of the drivers will use it because of the ghosts. It's an absolute that ghosts exist even according to what we would regard in the West as sober upright newspapers.