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Tulsa, OK has the only church I know of that has Latin mass every week. Church policy has been "of the realm" for a number of years. Therefore if you are in Spain the mass is Spanish, Italian in Italy, French in France, etc..
I had a real run on bad experiences with preachers. The last on was a few weeks. My spouse belongs to the Lutheran Missouri Synod. Were new in town, The preacher came and he wanted to know if I believed. I said nno particularly. A month or so later he decided to find out wny. And in his no-mic voice he thunders, "Do you believe in Jesus"?
"I never gave it a lot of thought"
"Are you a sinner?
"If you mean am I perfect, the answer is no."
"Are you going to heaven or the other place?"
"I never gave it any thougnt"
"Do you care which direction you go?
"I don't think about it. It makes no difference because regardless of where I go, I will have a lot of company."
I decide to change the subject to his training and he mentions Greek and Latin.
"Are you fluent in either languate>"
"No, but I can read the RIGHT WORDS!"
"What kind of bible do you use?"
"King James."
"There aer a lot of versions, do you have a particular favorite?
" My bible is the Greek King James."
"That's interesting. Have you ever read other bibles, like Catholic...."
"I'd NEVER touch that!!!!"
This little confrontation told me everything I wanted to know about him. Aoparentely he felt challaneged, because he's treated me like a street ho in my own house ever since.
Over the years, I read most Holy Books from many different faiths. They all have something good to offer. And they all try to teach humanity the same lesson.... "Treat others as you wish to be treated." It is the one lesson I never heard in a sermon in any church.
By the way, mid-America has some awesome architecture, as do the rally old classic buildings, I often thought if I had the time and money I would like to photograph the different buildings and publish it in a coffee table book. I venture to say not a one would sell.
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I went to a Catholic funeral once - not in a cathedral or even a pretty church. While all the ritual was pretty foreign to me, it did seem like a pretty effective send off and provided a transition ritual for the living. I fortunately have not had to attend very many funerals so far, but I could see why they need to be held - religious or otherwise.
near Oxford where pretty much each college Chapel holds an "evensong" service every night during term-time and it can truly be wonderful to sit on 700 year old carved pews, listening to an organ scholar playing Bach in semi darkness !
Now this ^ is something June would definately consider!
I recently went to a "churchy" thing not too long ago. My best friend's boyfriend is in some dance group for his church so we stuck around for about 3 hours to see him perform last . I liked the music (I'm an atheist who likes gospel music. I love to sing and that kind of music really has some 'vocalizin' and people tell me I have a "church" voice. Whatever that means...)
In any case, I love to volunteer and the like a lot of churches around here have outreach programs. I would just go to those kind of things just to help out people. I keep saying I'll do it but I don't want to be burned at the stake.
I got to thinking about this on another thread in the Christianity forums when they were talking about having gymnasiums in their churches. Is it just me or does anyone else just find that strangely... distasteful???
No, I don't find it distasteful. In fact, I sort of find the pomp of Catholic and Episcopal churches to be more of a turn-off. But, hey, I was steeped in American Protestantism from an early age - so maybe I'm biased.
What I mean is: I saw my parents' church be built from the ground up. By the time I was about 4 yrs old, our church was finally starting to take shape. The very first part of the flooring that was completely finished...was the gym floor. It was a full basketball court and the hoops folded into the ceiling because the gym doubled as the main auditorium for years! There was a stage with podium, choir stand, and even a baptismal pool in the same area. Construction continued for years after I stopped going and the church is now very prominent in the area. But at the time, as a kid, having the gym was fun, and it didn't appear to conflict with "true Christianity".
My dad likes the opulent architecture, etc. of Catholic churches and he used to take us to a beautiful (and historic) Episcopal church sometimes. I agree that the classic look beats the more utilitarian Protestant American church look but, for me, it also adds a whole new layer of BS.
edit: to answer the OP question: If I could get in, I wouldn't mind taking a peek at some of the more "crazy" religious ceremonies like snake handling or some kind of voodoo ritual.
I have to go to a church a week from Friday for a wedding. I hope the shock isn't so bad that it results in my own funeral.
I know the feeling. I think my stress level climbs along with my blood pressure when I have to go in a church. It seems to be the symbol of what I think is a dangerous path for humanity.
My last time in a church like structure was a Wedding also, but it was a chapel not really a church. The wedding was a mix of protestant and Jewish rituals which I found as interesting in what should have been just a protestant wedding. That might have helped distract me on the location.
Most of my friends are already married or are taking a path to just live together, and that cuts down the church visits. With luck they will live a long time so I won’t have to worry about that end of the process either.
Am I the only one who laughs at those punny church signs, and not for the reason intended?
I'd love to visit a cathedral. Around here, it's a bunch of Baptist churches with too much fluorescent light. Bleh.
Yeah, I have to admit, I see some wonderful puns on church signs around here. The last two I remember seeing are:
"Wal-Mart is not the only saving place."
and
"Stop, Drop, and Roll doesn't work in hell."
I have to admit, they do come up with some very creative ones from time to time. I always wondered if those were from parishioners or if they had some sort of database for them. When I lived in Little Rock, there used to be a church on the way to work that changed their signs every week and every single week it was always something very creative and quite funny.
My grandparents lived near this church in Bavaria. I took my hubby there several years ago when we were visiting Germany. Now I'd love for my kids to see it. Even though I'm an atheist, I would love to go back there someday.
Location: In the North Idaho woods, still surrounded by terriers
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Probably not of my own accord just for the service itself, but I would accompany a friend or loved one, and I havem, when asked. I also went to a couple of services when I was vacationing in Ireland because I wanted to see the workings inside those beautiful, ancient cathedrals. But it was for the beauty of the buildings and the history, not for the religion.
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. I liked the music (I'm an atheist who likes gospel music. I love to sing and that kind of music really has some 'vocalizin' and people tell me I have a "church" voice. Whatever that means...
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