I think the ain difference here is that Christians 'volunteer ' to attend services and muzzies are ''forced' to attend.
On Thu, May 30, 2013 at 7:24 AM, Keith In Tampa <[email protected]>wrote: > And yet, we still have folks like Plain Ol who insist that "ALL Myth > Believers" are on the decline. Plain Ol' and folks like him fail to see > the threat posed here. > > > > > > On Thu, May 30, 2013 at 6:39 AM, Bear Bear <[email protected]> wrote: > >> From The Mail >> >> >> One country, two religions and three very telling pictures: The empty >> pews at churches just yards from an overcrowded mosque >> >> - Two photos show Sunday morning services in churches in East London >> - The third shows worshippers gathered for Friday midday prayers >> outside a nearby mosque >> - The difference in numbers could hardly be more dramatic >> >> By Guy >> Walters<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Guy+Walters> >> >> *PUBLISHED:* 22:32 GMT, 29 May 2013 | *UPDATED:* 00:05 GMT, 30 May 2013 >> >> - >> - >> - >> - >> <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2332998/One-country-religions-telling-pictures-The-pews-churches-just-yards-overcrowded-mosque.html#socialLinks> >> >> * 4.9k * shares >> >> 1307 >> >> View >> comments >> <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2332998/One-country-religions-telling-pictures-The-pews-churches-just-yards-overcrowded-mosque.html#comments> >> >> Set aside the fact that our Queen is the Defender of the Christian Faith. >> Ignore the 26 Church of England bishops who sit in the House of Lords. >> >> Pay no attention to the 2011 Census that told us 33.2 million people in >> England and Wales describe themselves as Christians. >> >> For if you want a more telling insight into religion in the United >> Kingdom today, just look at these photographs. The story they tell is more >> revealing than any survey. >> [image: St Mary's, Cable Street] >> [image: HUNDREDS OF WORSHIPPERS GATHER FOR FRIDAY PRAYERS AT THE BRUNE >> STREET MOSQUE] >> >> The photo on the left shows St Mary's Church in Cable Street while the >> photo on the right shows worshippers gathered for Friday midday prayers >> outside a nearby mosque in Spitalfields, both in East London >> >> What they show are three acts of worship performed in the East End of >> London within a few hundred yards of each other at the end of last month. >> >> Two of the photos show Sunday morning services in the churches of St >> George-in-the-East on Cannon Street Road, and St Mary’s on Cable Street. >> >> >> More... >> >> - 'I haven't been in touch since before 2007': Squirming hate >> preacher Choudary backtracks on links to soldier 'killer' after originally >> claiming he saw him two years >> ago<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2332551/Woolwich-murder-MI5-investigate-links-hate-preacher-Anjem-Choudary-Lee-Rigbys-alleged-killers.html> >> - Four men charged after 1,000 English Defence League supporters >> marched on Downing Street over Drummer Rigby's >> murder<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2332604/Drummer-Lee-Rigby-murder-4-men-charged-English-Defence-League-supporters-march-Downing-Street.html> >> >> The third shows worshippers gathered for Friday midday prayers outside >> the nearby mosque on the Brune Street Estate in Spitalfields. >> >> The difference in numbers could hardly be more dramatic. At St George’s, >> some 12 people have congregated to celebrate Holy Communion. >> [image: Empty pews: 18th-century parishioners crowded into St >> George-in-the-East hear John Wesley. Only 12 people attended the service] >> >> Empty pews: 18th-century parishioners crowded into St George-in-the-East >> hear John Wesley. Only 12 people attended the service >> >> When the church was built in the early 18th century, it was designed to >> seat 1,230. >> >> Numbers are similar at St Mary’s, opened in October 1849. Then, it could >> boast a congregation of 1,000. Today, as shown in the picture, the >> worshippers total just 20. >> >> While the two churches are nearly empty, the Brune Street Estate mosque >> has a different problem — overcrowding. >> >> The mosque itself is little more than a small room rented in a community >> centre, and it can hold only 100. >> >> However, on Fridays, those numbers swell to three to four times the >> room’s capacity, so the worshippers spill out onto the street, where they >> take up around the same amount of space as the size of the near-empty St >> Mary’s down the road. >> [image: Dwindling flock: St Mary's Cable Street in East London was >> built to hold 1,000 people. Today, the congregation numbers around 20] >> >> Dwindling flock: St Mary's Cable Street in East London was built to hold >> 1,000 people. Today, the congregation numbers around 20 >> >> What these pictures suggest is that, on current trends, Christianity in >> this country is becoming a religion of the past, and Islam is one of the >> future. >> >> In the past ten years, there has been a decrease in people in England and >> Wales identifying as Christian, from 71.7 per cent to 59.3 per cent of the >> population. >> >> In the same period the number of Muslims in England and Wales has risen >> from 3 per cent of the population to 4.8 per cent — 2.7 million people. >> >> And Islam has age on its side. Whereas a half of British Muslims are >> under 25, almost a quarter of Christians are approaching their eighth >> decade. >> >> It is estimated that in just 20 years, there will be more active Muslims >> in this country than churchgoers — an idea which even half a century ago >> would have been utterly unthinkable. >> >> Many will conclude with a heavy heart that Christianity faces a permanent >> decline in Britain, its increasingly empty churches a monument to those >> centuries when the teachings of Christ governed the thoughts and deeds of >> the masses. >> [image: A study in devotion: The tiny mosque on the Brune Street >> Estate, Spitalfields, holds only 100 people, so the local Bangladeshi >> community throng the street for Friday midday prayers] >> >> A study in devotion: The tiny mosque on the Brune Street Estate, >> Spitalfields, holds only 100 people, so the local Bangladeshi community >> throng the street for Friday midday prayers >> >> On Sunday October 1, 1738, St George’s was packed twice during the day to >> hear the great evangelist John Wesley, who then preached at the church for >> the following week explaining, as he put it, ‘the way of salvation to many >> who misunderstood what had been preached concerning it’. >> >> Today, there are no John Wesleys to fill up the pews. The church does its >> best, offering, for example, a monthly ‘Hot Potato Sunday’, during which >> the few congregants can discuss the readings of the day over a baked >> potato. >> >> Canon Michael Ainsworth of St George’s puts on a brave face when he says: >> ‘What we are saying now is it is not just a matter of numbers. It is about >> keeping faith with the city and hanging in there — being part of the >> community.’ >> >> At St Mary’s, meanwhile, Rev Peter McGeary cannot explain why the numbers >> are so low: ‘It’s impossible to say, there are so many variables.’ >> >> When he is asked if he tries to boost his congregations, he simply >> replies: ‘We are not a company, we are a church.’ >> >> In contrast, there seems a remarkable energy attached to the mosque on >> Brune Street, which has been described as the ‘Mecca of the City’. >> >> Here, come rain or shine, members of the Bangladeshi community perform >> the Friday prayer of Jumma under the open sky. It is a communal act which >> will surely only grow in popularity. >> >> Sadly, that’s not something that can be said of the two nearby churches, >> and unless they can reinvigorate their congregations they may finally end >> up being deconsecrated. >> >> When that happens, such large buildings will be attractive spaces for >> those who can fill them. >> >> One day, in a few decades, St George’s may well again be packed with >> worshippers — but they will not be Christians. >> >> >> -- >> *Bear >> http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/GNUZ/ >> * >> >> -- >> -- >> Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. >> For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum >> >> * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ >> * It's active and moderated. 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