hideous hymns, vocal vicars and theatrical thuribles. Religious Chat Thread Number 6!

[nickelbabe]

Welcome to the Religion Chat thread.
We're mostly Christians, but all are welcome.
a lovely soace to talk about church life, spiritual journeys and stuff in general.
It's not about debate, it's about chat.
Come oldies and newbies!

this is the previous thread

curryeater, you sound low and worn out, and in need of rest. If you generally enjoy choir and being part of that, then I suspect quitting it for good would just make you feel worse in the end. Is there any way you can take some time out, perhaps a retreat or short break, to relax, to not try to force a decision but to rebuild yourself?

Am impressed you have made it to services, I've not been to any this week at all (although I did lead a Good Friday service on FB yesterday). I went to the Drs because I was feeling so low. My vicar has been very understanding, and I guess it helps that these feelings are now out in the open, although I still feel very low.

Ignatian spirituality teaches us not to make any important decisions when we are "in desolation", and it sounds to me thats where you are. It may well be that the joy of Easter will inspire you, but if it doesn't then don't feel a failure and don't beat yourself up. Take it as a sign that you need to rest in God's presence. Ask others to pray with you and for you. Let other people look after you for a change.

Prayers...

Mary and the others speak a lot of sense curryeater.

I just wanted to add that you're welcome to come here and chat things through anytime.

thanks everyone
so much going on here at the moment, we have to move house but can only get into temporary accommodation so there is a lot to do without the hope of being properly settled at the end of it - still, we are lucky, this is a nice problem to have, we are not homeless, we are just trying to buy a house but have been given notice on our current rented place - it all could be so much worse.
poor dcs have had viruses for months on end now and today dd2 is beyond tired, she is a wreck.

MaryBS sorry you have been feeling so low. I hope the dr was able to help. Wondering what a facebook service is...?

Went a bit mental online shopping the other day and it arrived last night... now have 4 bags of shopping for the foodbank, this is because I was feeling super emotional about people being foodless, it is bulky because I put things like nappies and pasta in, now I am feeling a big stupid dork, it is cluttering up space we don't have while we try to pack and I don't think dp is exactly in sympathy with this, also I don't want to draw attention to myself lugging it into church on easter sunday so I have to see how I can somehow drop it off before then, I always get things wrong, why couldn't I just put in a tin of beans like everyone else

The Dr helped, sort of. What is really causing me grief is the pain I've been experiencing from trying to get DS to fit in at Scouts.

A Facebook service is whatever you want it to be, but its an act of worship with "stuff" posted, including bible readings, pictures, prayers, music. I essentially took a Taize service which I'd used in my local church and adapted it for FB, cutting and pasting texts in and finding the music on Youtube. Other people added stuff in as they felt inspired, but there was no obligation to post at all. We started at 2:30 and finished at about 3:30pm

Curryeater that shopping doesn't sound like you got it wrong at all! What a lovely idea.
Mary, who was the fb service for? Was it a church group or something? Never heard of those before.

It was a most wonderful experience, although I sobbed my way through it.

Curryeater as the others have said , you are exhausted and it looks as if there is not going to be a lot of opportunity to rest.
Could I suggest that you take a: 'do-what-comes-to-hand' approach. Concentrate on one thing, do that, finish it and then do the next thing. If you feel embarrassed about your big contribution to the food bank (and I can see why you would, but do not think there is any need for it) then just see if you can get it into the church without any one noticing. Pretend that it is perfectly ordinary, an act of kindness, no embarrassment, no soul searching. Potter about at home, do what you can, it will all be allright in the end. And rest. Do something nice for yourself. Sit in the sunshine of God's love and feel it.

I sobbed through the FB service too, it was so exactly what I needed, I didn't know it was happening but stumbled on it 10 mins in and it was like this amazing answer to prayer - felt so desolated and lonely yesterday and not part of things and the service brought me right in. Lovely you, Mary :)

Jaynebxl, it came about through the fact that neither a friend nor I felt up to attending a Good Friday service, but still wanted to worship. So friend asked me if I'd be interested, then she posted it on FB that it was happening, together with a time. At the said time, people just turned up, and we worshipped :). A real gift from God, and a blessing to me.

Thank you for your kind words, MHD and DO.

oma no, his tone was

and on good Friday we had the most hideous gk "song" I've ever heard.
it was awful

curry
you sound ryn down with what's going on in your life.
sonetimes you need a rest. decide what wouldn't upset you too much to have a break and do it.
I've missed choir once and Sunday morning once this year just because I felt too exhausted and sad.
I'm not saying pack in altogether because all you'll end up doing is kicking yourself for letting others down and also stopping something that'ds your thing

you didn't just do a tin of beans because you wanted to do it properly and make a difference to people.
bit like when I mentioned that I knew somewhere to give harvest festival donations and ended up receiving about 10 boxes of stuff! (and had to go through them all for dates before passing them on)

Happy Easter everyone! The greatest day in history - Christ is Risen! :) [busmile]

Enjoy your chocolate!

which awful gk song was it nickel? We did some lovely ones this morning - See, what a morning, Thine Be The Glory (of course - we belted it out at the end, there were around 300 people at church), How marvellous, How wonderful, Happy Day. [busmile]

it was "come and see"
which as far as I can remember sounded like something a teenager wrote in winter when mum was being annoying

tgis morning we sang
this joyful eastertide as an introit
jesus christ is risen today
the Gloria!
ye choirs of new jerusalem
thine be the glory (in D which felt very deep but dh says is normal. and with "bring us safe through Jordan" because triymph is just wrong
and our anthem wad stainer's they have taken away my lord. beautiful and triumphal

300 eh?
we got about 60 (which is a lot for us)

Happy Easter!

The church looked wonderful today as our flower ladies had really gone to town with the arrangements. There were lillies everywhere! We had around 150 ish at the main service which is up a bit on last year. The early morning service was a good number as well. We had 'Thine be the Glory' 'Jesus Christ is Risen Today' and 'In Christ Alone' as well as some stuff the choir did that was composed by our music director. Luvverly. Now I need to sleep for a couple of days to get rid of the cold I picked up last week.

Oh lovely.

dh sand 'Jordan' v loud instead of 'triumph' too, made me lol

I quite like come and see

Sounds beautiful Green. My IL's church had loads of lilies the other year, they always do at Easter too but I had to leave fairly quickly due to chest closing up, another thing like incense I can't cope with :( Hummppphh

sang

We haven't been to church today cos we are at my MiLs but we are making up for it by watching Songs of Praise while I eat the chocolates from my Baileys chocolate egg

Happy Easter everyone!

Happy Easter everyone. Alleluia!

Lovely service here today. DD2 was serving. Crucifer had a rather ornate (and rather - how can I put this nicely? - synthetic looking) dalmatic on, which DD2 kept getting rather close to with her candle, which was a bit nerve-wracking to watch. Setting fire to a crucifer not a recommended way of getting Easter to go with a bang!

We had: Thine be the glory, See what a morning, Jesus Christ is risen today, and something else that no-one knew. Plus a rather magnificent Te Deum to end with.

Not sure how many were there... over 300 at a guess. They had to bring in extra chairs, which is always a good sign! Lots of people are still coming in out of curiosity about the building, so let's hope that some of them stay.

Have been packing all afternoon, as we're off on holiday tomorrow (yay!) and DD1 and I have a band concert tonight. See you all in a couple of weeks, in case I don't manage to get on here while I'm away.

Hello, I'm just dipping back into this thread again - ages since I last posted. (Oops beginning to sound like a confession there!). Easter vigil last night was lovely, but strange for it to be so dark as clocks not gone forward, and so cold! Went this morning as well - must have been 300 or so at 9, apparently packed at 11 too (though possibly busier at both as no 6.30 this evening)

Happy Easter! Alleluia!!

We went to a different church today, which felt a bit odd, and slightly naughty, but was mostly lovely. (Actually I went to the Easter Vigil there last night which was beautiful and got to sing a hymn I really love, 'Sing of the Lord's goodness', which we'd never do at my usual church because it's in 5/4. And there was a baptism which was very moving.) There were loads of people there and lots for the children to do, and the joy that Christ is risen was so palpable and authentic.

Anyway, after a really dark Holy Week, it was good to be able to be joyful, and to hear and sing some music I like, and to be in a church where beauty is valued.

Happy Easter everyone.
Thank you for your support over the past couple of days.
A very joyful easter service for us this morning and lots of very welcome sunshine.

So glad you've all had good days and experienced the joy of the resurrection.

[busmile] niminy, sounds a nice church.

Tuo, what on the wide earth is a dalmatic??? Had visions of a Cruella DeVil stylee dalmation cloak round the Crucifer's neck [bugrin]

Have a good Easter week everyone.

Happy Easter to you all!

Curryeater - hope you are starting to feel better? Don't be hard on yourself and please do join our chat and share.

Mary - the FB service sounded very special.

I had a lovely and very blessed Easter. The liturgies of the Triduum were beautiful and enhanced by 6 adults from our RCIA group who were received into the Church. 2 of them had the full works - baptism, confirmation and first holy communion. I had the privilege of being Godmother to one. Their faces exuded the joy of Easter and it was beautiful. The Church was packed and the service didn't finish until 11pm (having started at 8.30pm) but it didn't feel like it had been too long. We then moved into our newly built parish centre for a party!

Lots of my church friends have gone to Celebrate this week in Ilfracombe. I really want to go one year but think I'll have to wait a few years until the DC are older.

Hope you all have a calm, strengthening BH Mon. We're on the road - off to visit the ILs in Ireland until Friday.

Thanks SESThebrave.
Uniqueandamazing, Dutchoma and the others thank you for your thoughts

Rowing with dp. I think I have to give up choir. couldn't take my kids to church on Christmas day or Easter day because of choir. dp thinks I go out every week (rehearsal) and he never goes out. I just don't think it is the right thing for us. I am feeling furious with him for having two lie-ins this weekend and me none but as far as he is concerned he is a hero because, among other things, I have a hobby but he doesn't. I have long work hours and commute and he thinks this is all great fun for me too, relative to getting the kids up and out (I am gone by the time they wake up). It is not, and I am exhausted. Giving up choir isn't going to solve all my problems but it might make dp resent me less because the rehearsal night happens to coincide with my work at home day so he is more likely to be able to get out on those nights (doesn't have to wait for me to finally get home before he can go out for the evening)

Sorry to go on and on about this, have trouble puzzling it all out because the thing is, without wanting to boast, it would cause a real problem for the very small choir to lose me because I sight read well and can sing sop or alto and swap parts with no notice. there are never enough people and I am a very multifunctional person. I will feel guilty about leaving but I feel guilty about doing it and I feel guilty about not being with my kids enough in general and not taking them to church on Christmas day or Easter Sunday. I am drinking too much again and I have a horrible feeling that I can only look after myself properly when I am being selfish and quite horrible to live with and the peace and quiet that I need to be myself and not have to drink is never going to happen without depriving my family of something. I want to be a stronger person and a nicer person