Canticles, charisma and chat (Religion thread number 2)

[BaroqueAroundTheClock]

the first one is nearly full.

Anyone welcome, it's basically a "what happened in church/spiritual life/anything else you want to chat about that's vaguely related (or not) to churchy stuff.

Hi all. Had a bit of a shock this morning as my sister is in Christchurch. Have just heard that she and her husband are both ok but it sounds awful.

I've got my toddler group at my house this morning so need to pull myself together now. Off to have a shower.

thanksamillion - awful news from NZ. Glad you know your sister and her DH are ok. Thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected.

Thank you so much essenceSES - that is a brilliant link - and am going to subscribe.
Terrible news about Christchurch - I have a friend there and thnkfully have just heard that she is okay.

Helllo everyone - sorry went AWOL yesterday - had an awful day with the DS's and was terribly low. Feeling a bit better today.

PA - the Vicar does mention some of the mistakes I make (like the other week when I had 3 totally random readings down as that Sunday's readings - not very helpful for those wanting to follow in their bibles ). But it's all in a good hearted fashion, there are only one or two people who would dare to properly complain about a mistake on there.

They are very passsive aggressive about it when they do - but I've got used to their characters over the last 8yrs (and as you can probably imagine being the Director of Music leads to it's own complaints about hymns and music ) and confess I usually reply with a passive aggressive response. Think I've only had 2 complaints.

1st one - 1 weeks after I'd tkaken it over (not even officially at that point - it was "someone" was needed to do it because of the bereavement the other person had had). I'd missed a couple of things out (probably because I literally had an older copy emailed to me but no-one had had a chance to talk me through which bits regularly changed, where I got specific details from etc.

I had someone grumbling that I'd missed x,y,z off - and my response was somehting along the lines of "well you should be glad you've got a news letter at all this morning and if you'd like to take it over then please do".......

2nd one - I think I mentioned it on the old thread(?)). The other week I was asked to changed the date of a social event. I duly did it. I then ha a curt call saying that they'd asked me to change the date......turns out I had but I hadn't writen that it was a revised date (The event isn't until May - previously end of April). I didn't say anything during the call, but when he mentioned it again on the Sunday "thanking" me for putting in that it was revised (I did it in bold capital letters to make a point ). I pointed out that until I took it over the "Dates for your Diary" section (which I took from the monthly Parish Magazine) didn't even used to be ON the news sheet

Glad you are feeling better Baroque, hope it continues.

People can be so petty about little things. I often wonder what their lives must be like because they actually have time to fret over the smallest thing. I do believe one of my "complainers" took the biscuit a few weeks ago when he emailed me on Sunday afternoon to let me know that I had missed an "s" off a word in the newsheet !!!! I never responded to him, but what I said to DH about it was certainly not Christian!!

For every 1 positive comment I receive, I can guarantee at least 10 complaints - or rather people "pointing things out", which is just a Christian Complaint!

In the holidays I go into the church at 7am and get the church job done so that I can be home for 10 each day. My YFC job doesnt work through holidays and my urban saints one fits around me, so a good week, but early mornings!!

DS is going to come and meet me from work today and we are going to have a coffee and a bun somewhere, yum!

have a good day everyone.

Aaaagh Baroque and PA, yes people can be so petty, PA can't believe someone emailed you about a stray 's'

Which reminds me, I need to do our newssheet today, and have so little motivation. DD has gone to a two day youth retreat, she is incredibly excited and will be the youngest there, so things will be quiet round here so should get it done.

Have ordered PD 9 - yay! Got fed up of the little pop up boxes saying 'your version will not do this do you want to upgrade yada yada' and then when tried to upload my vid to youtube the file was far too big and you can't change it in 7, so persuaded dh that 9 was honestly an investment (honestly) and have ordered. Only the 'deluxe' one tho as my puter won't supprt the ultra one, which one do you have Baroque and nickel?

Right - must get on.

Very sad also about the earthquake. Praying for all involved today.

I have the deluxe too mhd - as my computer won't support the super duper one. When I looked at the differences I don't think there were any huge differences tbh - most of it just seemed to be extra stuff

Hi girls

heading off to visit my father in law with dc, which should be fun. they live on an ex farm in Staffordshire, so lovely grounds, lake etc. hope the rain holds off, and hope my mother in law doesn't make too many puddings to tempt me away from my diet!!

thinking about prayer today, and often. i find it so hard sometimes that we rarely seem to get an obvious answer to prayer, I am such a Thomas type, I really do need to see the proof at times, but I don't think I ever have. it doesn't stop me praying though!

any thoughts on prayer from the rest of you?

lyra, I believe that God answers prayer, but it may not be in the way we want or when we want it. A thousand years is like a blink of an eye to God, and we have to show patience and trust, not just faith that he will answer. Easier said than done, and I'm really struggling with the patience and trust at the moment (quite frankly, it would be easier to just give up)! But there HAVE been times in my life where I've seen prayers answered, and I try to use those times to remember to trust God.

mhd mine's the deluxe one.
I didn't even look at the ultra, because i was going on price.
and i looked at your website - that's really good! :) we're going to have a Team Ministry, so it's really positive seeing yours all on one website, but all with their own section.

I've noticed the complaining thing in our church, too. with absolutely bloody everything - I know they all know how hard it is to do stuff, because it's always from the people who have their own issues. like when we I chose a different tune for We Plough the fields and Scatter (sounded so much better to thaxted! ) - two complaints, one from an old lady organist from another church (but it was a spurious complaint because she doesn't even like the normal tune, she just likes to laugh at it cos her "boyfriend" hates it ) and the other was afrom a sidesperson who just thought it was bad to have a different tune! (it was chosen cos the churchwarden hated the hymn, but you can't have harvest without it, so different tune, then!!)

it doesn't matter what you do, someone will always complain.
but noone ever says thank you when something's great! (have to say, though, at our church, now we're in the interregnum, there are a lot more compliments and thanks going around - we're trying our best to keep up the moral)

lyra - i don't do prayer. that sound odd, but what I mean is, that I talk to God in the general course of the day, and really can't get the hang of praying in the form of making time to sit and be quiet and specifically say "this is what i want, God"

I do prayers at church, in the normal manner, but I just can't make up my own prayers - it's really hard for me to do it without feeling like a prat.
but that's probably because of the way i was brought up. I like to use the words of the time-tested prayers that i grew up with.
Thankfully, DH feels the same.
when we did our marriage prep, our priest tried to get us to pray together, but when we did, it just felt so awkward (for both of us) that we felt it detracted from what we were trying to do.
so we went back to reading the bible, learning our music (and singing/playing it) and praying to God in the way that we always have done.

St Augustine said "those who sing pray twice" and we pretty much live by that.

i missed out a big part of your question!
i did how I pray not what i expectfrom prayer

like Mary , i agree that God answers your prayers how he sees fit, not how you want.
but more than that, i think he makes you work on it, on what you've prayed for. I think he makes you find out for yourself what the right answer is. I believe that the power of prayer is choosing to ask the Holy Spirit to interact for you, and halp you work out how the prayer should be answered.

so, if you're praying for someone who's dying, it's not right to pray "please lt the get better and not die" . the prayer you should be asking is "if they are going to die, please let them die quietly and at peace with themselves and their families/friends, and let them not suffer"
I also believe that God interprets our prayers that way, too. He says "you've asked that such-and-such won't ide, but I can't stop that happening, but I will make them suffer as little as possible and to make peace with those they're leaving behind"

I agree that God doesn't always answer prayers the way we expect/want/hope him to.

Actually last year I started reading an excellent book called "Plan B:What to do when God doesn't show up the way you expected" was really really good and I was really relating to it...........and then I lost it when we lost our bag

lyra I know some people suggest keeping a prayer diary, writing down each day the things that you're praying for. Then some time later (eg 6 months) go back over it and see if you feel the prayers have been answered. Often they are, but not in the way that we expected which can make it hard to recognise that they have been (IYSWIM).

Because we aren't salaried and live off support from our home church/friends/family etc we do often see answers to prayer very obviously there. A number of times we've needed money for something (either for us or for a project) and someone has donated that exact amount the next day. Which obviously is pretty awesome

where have you all gone?? Have I killed the thread

I went to bake cupcakes (and buy new shoes for All of them this morning >).

thanks thinking you've killed the thread!

don't worry, we'll come and go - you can still post more if you have something else to say, you don't need to wait.

(as i have proven in my talking to myself moments)

Right, all, videos from evensong are now up on Youtube:
here's my channel
just look for the ones in the choir robes!

chuck us a cupcake B

they're not iced yet - that's what DS1 and I are doing next - eeek

at your "help i can't make icing" thread.

oooh! you could make Jesus icing!
(mkae a cross on top with food colouring)

yes, I know - baking at all is a MASSIVE thing for me (I just don't bake) - to bake with my children is monumental

They are now iced (some more succesfully than others) and decorated .....interestingly ) and in a few minutes we are going to try them

it's exciting!

I'm not picking on you - i love cooking, but i'm crap at it!
I make Victoria Sandwich, because you don't need to ice it (icing is pretty much hit-and-miss with me - the "sticky water" description on your thread was speaking from bitter experience)

well I have to say by all accounts they are very very nice

thank you!

bloody yummy!
you're the best mum ever

have you looked at my vids yet?