dwindling congregations c of e

mumofmadboys

What do you mean Caleo please ?

I don't understand either.

Speaking in tongues - win, if you don't understand what you're saying, how does it build your faith? And how will it encourage others to believe? I'm a Christian, I just don't get it.

Our Benefice has 9 churches and one minister. We have a service once a month and a congregation of about 10. The village is about 250 people. Some of the churches have smaller congregations than ours. People want the church to be there, to provide a graveyard for their relatives and to be there for funerals, christenings and weddings but contribute nothing to the upkeep. Who do they think pays for the heating, the roof repairs or cutting the grass? I am PCC secretary but also doing a lot of the church warden’s job as she resigned. At 67 I am the youngest on the PCC by over 10 years. Is it worth raising the money to repair the roof?

I wento to church this morning - Welsh Methodist, huge church in large town 33 attended, nobody under 70 I reckon.

When we first started learning it I found a YouTube video of Elvis singing it and sent it into the choir WhatsApp group. I am not a fan of Elvis but his version is very moving
I shall look for that, JackyB

Callistemon21

^When we first started learning it I found a YouTube video of Elvis singing it and sent it into the choir WhatsApp group. I am not a fan of Elvis but his version is very moving^
I shall look for that, JackyB

How Great Thou Art

We sang it this week at a funeral, it is a very moving hymn.

So, as implied by my previous posts. I attend a local Catholic church and sing in the choir. C of E myself, of course. I refuse to speak in tongues. The priest asks us to say the Lord's prayer the way He taught us. So I say it in English, as I do all the responses, the way I was taught. For the sung responses I join in in German.

Nannytopsy

Our Benefice has 9 churches and one minister. We have a service once a month and a congregation of about 10. The village is about 250 people. Some of the churches have smaller congregations than ours. People want the church to be there, to provide a graveyard for their relatives and to be there for funerals, christenings and weddings but contribute nothing to the upkeep. Who do they think pays for the heating, the roof repairs or cutting the grass? I am PCC secretary but also doing a lot of the church warden’s job as she resigned. At 67 I am the youngest on the PCC by over 10 years. Is it worth raising the money to repair the roof?

This is so true.

Non churchgoers expect the building to be there when they want it for their wedding or whatever, hoovered, dusted, brasses shining, churchyard neat and tidy, grass mown, path weeded…..

Where are they the rest of the time?

What do you mean when you say the priest asks you to say the Lord's prayer the way He taught us JackyB and you refuse to speak in tongues.

The minister often tells the congregation to pray the way He taught us when introducing the Lord's prayer, but that has nothing to do with speaking in tongues.

Apologies if I've misunderstood.

Mof M Bs wrote what do u mean Caleo please ?

(sorry new mouse cant handle it).
By "myths " I mean the foundation stories that back up any religious or other belief system.

For instance I myself can make sense of the Christian foundation story only when I interpret it symbolically.

What do you mean when you say the priest asks you to say the Lord's prayer the way He taught us JackyB and you refuse to speak in tongues.

I mean that when everyone around me says the Lord's Prayer in German, I say it in English because that's how I was taught it.

I have long wondered why this should be given the fact that we profess to be a Christian country, especially when sounding aghast at the number of Muslims in the country now. I constantly read posts on social media platforms from people who are worried that we’ll have Shariah law here soon, yet those same people wouldn’t dream of attending church regularly. It’s a puzzle to me.

In the Bible, it says, those who are against us are not for us. And those who are for us are not against us.

The answer is in the last sentence. There are many in that second category. Many are not against us, even if they rarely step inside a church.
And they seem to understand and realise, what could happen if our numbers drop further.

Thank you for answering my question Jacky.