Religion Chat thread number 1

[nickelbabyjesus]

I wanted to put some random thoughts and stuff regarding church, without it having to be a debate or a specific topic (and not prayers, either)

It's basically, a "what happened at church (or in my musical/spiritual life) this week" thread.
Please join me!

I'll start:

We had Midnight Mass (on Christmas Eve, would you believe!), and it was half past 11, everyone was sitting and ready for the service to start - I waved the organist to give me my notes: he was just about to plat them when:
" TAXI FOR suchandsuch " came blaring out of our speaker system.
There's a Wetherspoon's over the road and looks like the DJ's mike was on the same frequency as our radio mikes.
So, all the congregation started giggling and we had to wait 5 minutes until everyone was calm and collected enough to carry on.

oh - yesterday we had one of my favourite hymns - In Christ Alone, I love it, but then last verse still gets me and I have to concentrate really hard not to lose concentration.

thankfully I don't have the organ to worry about! and my friend usedto BF in church, choir robes are very good at hiding it!
(not that it has to be hidden, but i'm rather shy, so I probably would want to)

I like In Christ Alone too.

We had Blest are the Pure in Heart, which was one of the hymns at my grandad's funeral - I remembered this beforehand, but started singign and thought "oh, that's okay, it's not making me upset to sing it" then sudddenly, my eyes just watered - i think it was "their soul is Christ's abode" that did it. it's been 24 years...

while we're here - we've been talking about the Hideous book and its very strange changes to perfectly good hymns.

Here's a hymn I can't sing:
I, the Lord of sea and sky

the reason I've typed out the whole hymn below is because i wanted to "correct" all his other bloody grammatical errors! (in italics)
It's here i am, lord, is it ME, lord
not "is it I lord"

I like the tune, i love the premise of the wrods and I would love the hymn if it weren't for that gaping mistake! how did the publishers not notice and correct? why??
wouldn't be so bad if it were just a mistake in one verse, but it's the chorus so it's repeated over and over again "i don't know how to write proper english
i don't kow correct english grammar rules"
oh, and it's who shall i send - it's not possessive, so it's not whom

me , the Lord of sea and sky,
me have heard My people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin,
My hand will save.

me who made the stars of night,
me will make their darkness bright.
Whom will bear My light to they ?
Whom shall me send?

Here me am Lord, Is it I Lord?
me have heard You calling in the night.
I will go Lord, if You lead i .
me will hold Your people in my heart.

me , the Lord of snow and rain,
me have born my peoples pain.
me have wept for love of they , Them turn away.
me will break their hearts of stone,
Give they hearts for love alone.
me will speak My word to they ,
Whom shall me send?

Here me am Lord, Is it I Lord?
me have heard You calling in the night.
me will go Lord, if You lead i .
me will hold Your people in my heart.

me , the Lord of wind and flame,
me will tend the poor and lame.
me will set a feast for they ,
My hand will save
Finest bread me will provide,
Till their hearts be satisfied.
me will give My life to they ,
Whom shall me send?

Here me am Lord, Is it I Lord?
me have heard You calling in the night.
me will go Lord, if You lead i .
me will hold Your people in my heart.

and breathe

That last verse of Christ Alone just gets right to my core,

"No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand."

What with marriage break-ups, exH's psychotic episode, depression et all it makes me shudder every time

hha oh yes - I the Lord of Sea and Sky - you can see the prickles rising on some of our congregation when we have it

oh, i can't believe you've posted the whole of the last verse - i shuddered and now i can't see the screen...

"No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;"

ti's that bit - i'm fine till that bit

I've told DH that if we have I the Lord of see and sky, I will produce a sheet that has correct grammar on it.
I've already told the lady who stands next to me that it's worng - she thought I meant it's a printing error, so she's corrected it in her book
one singer at a time!

yeah - it's that bit that really gets me - well - if I've not fallen to pieces ad "to final breath" before hand......

fucking hell!!!!

jsut had an email from the church admin lady - she knows i've not taken DH's surname (because i had to tell her for the benefice directory), but she's got me in her email address book as Andrea Payne.
how many fucking times do i have to tell people that i haven't changed my name???

i went all ragey when I saw it - if she's got it in her address book as payne, then she'll probably put it on other stuff, too - and that's not right.

I don't mind so much when someone does it because they don't know (okay, that's a lie, i hate that too!) but it's soooo much worse when someone does it when they've been told (and i have a record of the email i sent to her when i told her!) - it's downright rude!
and i'm still shaking with the anger.

sorry for the rather inappropriate cross-post :(

(back to subject) I'm a proper for emotional lyrics - I can't gt through Good Friday services without being a gibbering wreck.
I only have to read "hands that flung stars into space"

That in Christ Alone verse gets me every time too

lol at I The Lord grammar - I like that song, but yes if you think about it you're right, it gets dh who is pedantic about most things too :D

BA, I remember the frustration of small children in church and feeling like you never get time to be you in worship or to have any time off at all. I found a very helpful book to be 'Barefoot in the Kitchen' by Alie Stibbe which was written for mums in that stage of life. No easy answers but it does get easier. dc now 10 and 7 and sometimes still do a clingon thing but much easier in general. Hang in there....finding a good creche is good as well, but that doesn't mean they will stay, ds went through a clingy phase which lasted about 2 yrs, which meant I never got to go in the service, so just accepted it and ran the creche instead so others could, which was fulfilling in itself...but frustrating too. Hope you find some answers. :)

ooooooo - that's very very rude and annoying of her!!!!

Don't worry about the cross post

I'm terrible with lyrics too.

The Sunday after I found out I was pg with DS3 (on the Friday) (unplanned, , and a failed MAP, and he'd already suggested I terminate...) we had "one more step along the world"

with it's "you are younger than the life in me"

nickel that's shocking of her, I would be angry too.

Ah yes lyrics, there are so many that get me. There's an old song that goes 'love as strong as death has won me, all the rivers, all the oceans cannot quench this love - alleluia - oh amazing love.' Gets me right there

aww, Baroque! that's uncanny.
I never thought that song could make me cry, but now, look, you've made me!

you're not quoting Graham Kendrick, mhd are you? [naughty]

just realised that And Can It Be makes me cry too :(

(played it on cyberhymnal, read the lyrics)

yes was very odd that one. I'd tested early (wasn't even 4 weeks gone at the time) as I had that awful gut feeling that the MAP hadn't worked. And then that line in the hymn- talking about telling you that things "were meant to be".

Oh there are so many lyrics that get me going I'm not even sure where to start

oh, i remembered the funniest thing I read in SF2 yesterday!

"Great great brill brill wicked wicked skill skill to have a friend like jesus"

nearly died of laughter at that one!

(and how quickly it will become out-of-date)

you'll know this, Baroque - Townend's version of The Lord's My shepherd - is that a chorus?
"and i will trust in you alone, x2 for your endless mercy follows me your goodness will lead me home"
it's printed under the verse in the music, but there's no mention of it anywhere else...

(churchwarden's request)

There are some hilarious kids ones

There's one on a Christian Kids CD set I bought a while ago that goes

"Once there was a little chicken
sitting in the chicken tree,
Chicka, chicka, chicka, chicka, chicka,
chicka chicken
sitting in the chicken tree
Chicka, chicka, chicka, chicka, chicka,
chicka chicken
sitting in the chicken tree
Chicka, chicka, chicka, chicka, chicka,
chicka chicken
Praising God in the chicken tree?"

The following verses are the same except you have Duck, Goose etc etc.

Then there's one the Sunday school sings - I think it's in Junior Praise?) "I am a sheep, baa, baa"........which has the line "a little stupid in the head"! !

Mind the Hideous Orange book has some crakers too.

Yes yes - That version of Lords my Shepherd is lovely. Discovered it a few years back (at a very tranditional church!!).

That's the chorus - to the same tune as the verse

that's interesting - just found one on youtube that had it as a last verse, rather than a chorus, then i saw your reply, adn there are some more on youtube that has it as you say with a it as the chorus.
but i've already texted DH to tell him that it's the last verse!
oops!