So who goes to church on a Sunday?

There are 18 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 516 times. The latest Post (January 15, 2025 at 10:14 PM) was by UK Man.

    I'll be getting ready shortly to accompany the missus and her two Godchildren to the 8pm mass. Has to be said I'm not in the slightest bit religous. I just tag along as it'll be dark when the service finishes and the missus has to drive through a dodgy unlit area after dropping the kids off.

    Although I don't take part in the service the priest was delighted a few weeks ago when after being asked I offered to carry the communion wine down the aisle and hand it over to him. He thanked me and kissed my cheek. I suspect not many if any of you are churchgoers?

    Former churchgoer here.

    And I was an interpreter for the Bishop of Malaga for a time - surely must be worth a few points when St Peter interviews me upstairs at the pearly gates

    Quote from GlasgowJohn

    Former churchgoer here.

    And I was an interpreter for the Bishop of Malaga for a time - surely must be worth a few points when St Peter interviews me upstairs at the pearly gates

    That, or the loyal service to HRM The Queen as Mr. Bond!

    I was raised a Catholic and was forced to go to church every Sunday to make friends. My last mass was the one of my confirmation.
    Then, the occasional wedding or funeral. In case of funerals, I sneak out and hang out at the nearest bar and come back when they are done.

    You'll never believe what happened. We came out the church after the service around 8.45pm. We found our usual route to take the kids home was blocked off as the Three Wise Men fun run had began. Didn't matter which way we went we always ended back at the church. My God fearing missus stopped at a check point and started cursing and swearing at the Guardia Urbana chap. He agreed and said it was a total f'ing disaster. He advised her where we could cross the route of the run and when we got there it was chock a block.

    A ten minute journey ended up taking us 45 minutes!! :cursing:

    Quote from Splinter

    I too was forced to go to church every Sunday when I went to boarding school and it bored me to tears. I now avoid churches, except to admire the architecture.

    They could do with jazzing the service up to attract a younger audience. The congregation is full of miserable looking old fogies.

    Living at home with a very religious mother , Sunday mass was never open for debate.

    So I attended regularly until I left to study for a year in Spain where I loved the freedom of doing whatever I wanted on Sundays.

    One Sunday when I was having a stroll around in the centre of Malaga , it started to pour - I was one block from the cathedral. So I decided to shelter in the cathedral and as it happened it coincided with midday mass.

    As life is full of coincidences , the Bishop Of Malaga started by saying that today's mass would be a joint celebration between him and a Scottish bishop. Obviously, that caught my attention and I looked up at the altar and surely enough it was Bishop Thompson , also known by my friends as Lanky Franky. This was the same Bishop who gave me the sacrament of confirmation about 10 or 11 years earlier.

    When mass finished , I went to the sacristy to say hello. After passing the security gauntlet, I was able to have five minutes with Frank who took careful note of my details to pass on to my Parish priest in Scotland.

    My mother was a very proud mum when the priest passed on the message to her in front of all her friends.

    I was brought up Church of Scotland although we rarely went to church services. I used to be in the churches Boys Brigade which involved some bible stuff but not a lot. My main reason for going was to go away on the odd camping trip and playing for their footbal team in the BB league every week.

    Growing up in a small town of 10,000, the only place to hang out with kids of my same age was at the oratory, that had a large playing field, a soccer field, a volleyball field, a sand pit, and other stuff for kids. There was no control on access, but it is was a given that to socialize at the oratory you needed to be part of the community. After school was over, in summer, there was a month of daycare summer camp, plus a week trip to the mountain.

    So, at 7 years old, my mother tried to enroll me to catechism classes, that were held once a week. The nun rejected me because my parents were separated, and as such I wouldn't be given a proper catholic example in my family. After much insistence, I got in. The catechism was a total waste of time, and the reward was 1-2 hours of play in the annexed playground.

    On Sunday, our catechist was waiting for us outside the church to make sure we were following the rules. I had my first communion and then my confirmation, and then I was so fed up with it that I felt so liberated when I was no longer forced to go to church! Also, I went to church because of the catechism, but my mother did not as she is not religious. Yet another injustice!