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Because I get incredibly bored with our oodles of conferences… ward, stake, general, random, etc, I decided to check out the competition’s Palm Sunday services. * First, I went to my local Presbyterian church. This is my family background, and I was raised in that church but I have not been in a Presbyterian church since 2008, and that was the first time in at least ten years too (excluding weddings and funerals). What to say? Everyone was incredibly old there, apart from the Minister, and some child who was swinging around her arm. That church will be dead in twenty years, unless there is a massive revival. The last minister got done for downloading images (do I have to specify what of? It’s such a tragic cliche)… Anyway, I haven’t been in that building ever during the entire seventeen years. Pretty dull to be honest.
* Then I went to the Catholic cathedral with a friend of mine. What to say? I don’t have much truck with RC theology, but in terms of art and music, they have it over the LDS hands down. Very atmospheric in that sense, even though I am not ritualistic. The cardinal came by at the beginning, and flicked water over the congregation with some kind of whisk. There was a reading, which was really long – we had to stand right through it! A much wider age range than the Presbies.
Cool, Sam. Did you happen to listen to any conference talks to compare?
I have really enjoyed evensong at the Anglican church – the music and atmosphere are amazing – but I don’t feel quite comfortable with the recitation part. I just stand in respectful silence for that part. The reading was long because it was palm Sunday and the gospel was the entirety of Christ’s passion from Mark. GBSmith wrote:The reading was long because it was palm Sunday and the gospel was the entirety of Christ’s passion from Mark.
Which is apparently the shortest of the gospel accounts they read each year. I had to stand right through it.
Quote:Did you happen to listen to any conference talks to compare?
Conference talks seemed same old, same old, this year. I always like Pres Uchtdorff’s talks, but I find all this white shirt, tie and suit business a bit bland.
The talks/sermons at the two other churches were frankly forgettable. It’s everything else I remember.
Quote:I have really enjoyed evensong at the Anglican church – the music and atmosphere are amazing – but I don’t feel quite comfortable with the recitation part. I just stand in respectful silence for that part.
Anglican stuff’s okay, I have a lot of experience of it, but I have two problems with the Anglican church, wishy-washyness and the fact that they seem to be most of the way to Roman Catholicism without admitting it. Anglicans seem to be hung up on the English royal family a bit too.
I don’t like the “repeat after me” bit either. Seems a bit robotic. I stood through most of that in the Catholic church on Sunday. I did recite the Lord’s prayer though.
That said, Anglican hymns are great. Especially the ones from Wales and Germany.
You’re lucky it wasn’t an orthodox service. You’d have been standing for the whole thing. When I was going through the worse part of my life a friend and her little episcopal parish sort of took me in. It was during lent and Easter season and they included me in their lenten suppers and scripture study. I still try and support them financially to try and repay in part what they did for me out of the goodness of their hearts. They showed me what it was like to be Christian first and whatever denomination after that. Thanks be to God. SamBee wrote:That said, Anglican hymns are great. Especially the ones from Wales and Germany.
Take the best & leave the rest.If I didn’t have children, I’d go to a new service almost every Sunday, like I did for a while, when I was single.
It can be like a mini-vacation – to experience other cultural & religious symbolism & rituals.
Curious, Sam… what hymns do you like?
Quote:Curious, Sam… what hymns do you like?
I’d have to think about that one if I was going to come out with a list.
I like “Guide me Oh thou Great Jehovah”, but the LDS seem to have a weird version of it in the hymnbook. I always knew it as “bread of heaven feed me now and ever more”, but for some reason they don’t have that in the lyrics!
I quite like “How Firm a Foundation” (in moderation, it can get tedious with overexposure) and “Joseph’s First Prayer”, which I’ve only come across in our lot.
Quote:If I didn’t have children, I’d go to a new service almost every Sunday, like I did for a while, when I was single.
It can be like a mini-vacation – to experience other cultural & religious symbolism & rituals.
I definitely think not all churches are equal… BUT… the interesting thing is that I find the biggest variations are between churches in different areas, not between denominations. You can have bigger differences within denominations than between them, if that makes any sense. With the LDS, for example, my home ward, the ward to the east of here, and the ward to the west of here, and the ward a bit further south… are all completely different in terms of demographics, and atmosphere. We’re very transient and studenty, the ward to the east is far more “indigenous”, but smaller, the ward to the west has sacrament in a practically windowless room surrounded by a bad area, and the ward to the south is full of old people!!!
I do feel like Joe Smith a bit though. None of the churches seem to be completely correct…
I saw a travesty of baptism in the Catholic church the other day… I don’t consider emptying a spoon over someone’s (adult in this case) head to be the same as what John did for Jesus…
The Presbyterian church was crumbling around my ears, and stuff from the ceiling was flaking onto me like dandruff. It desperately seemed to be missing something, and the congregation will nearly all be dead in twenty years.
And our church… where to begin? Boring Elder’s Quorum, endless conferences, gay-bashing, sexism, obsession with suits and ties… Ay-yaye-yaye!
On the other hand…
The RCs had excellent music and art, the Presbies have some family resonance to me, and I think the LDS has some endearing features which I’ve mentioned on here many a time. Modern scriptures are one of them…
Hi Sam, I like “How firm a foundation” too.
And I also like Joseph Smith’s First Prayer… “Oh how lovely was the morning…”
I remember going to the sacred grove & my friend was playing that song on her car stereo.
It reminds me how great nature is – in helping many of us connect to God.
That other hymn you mentioned, “Guide me Oh thou Great Jehovah” reminds me of another one…
I’ve noticed there are different version of the same hymns… & I think we tend to resonate with the one we 1st become familiar with.
What do you think about “Lead Kindly Light”?…
Featherina wrote:
What do you think about “Lead Kindly Light”?…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC8-gUmKMJ4 I’m just about to go off and listen to it again!
Actually one of the things that stunned me after returning from years of inactivity is just how many hymns we SHARE with other churches.
Quote:And I also like Joseph Smith’s First Prayer… “Oh how lovely was the morning…”
I remember going to the sacred grove & my friend was playing that song on her car stereo.
It reminds me how great nature is – in helping many of us connect to God.
Totally agree. I sometimes think some of our homegrown Mormon hymns are a bit weak, but this is definitely a nice one.
My favorite hymn is from my Methodist days. “Jesus Loves me”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBALcN701NU From my Mormon days:
“Oh if I were an angel”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0aX3evbh5M IMO, we need more music & less talks at church.
Mike from Milton.
Went to a Presbyterian church last Sunday during GC. Generally couldn’t fault it although one hymn was awful. Presbyterianism is highly dependent on the minister, but this man was evidently a good one. His sermon was true Christian doctrine and we read and looked at James 1, which was about behaving in a Christlike manner, i.e. people judge Christianity by how Christians behave.
The minister talked to the children before they went to Sunday School (Primary) and involved them in the service. There was no sacrament, but children did not sit through entire service.
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