When I was raised Catholic, we were told we were obligated to go to church and to miss was a sin!!!
On Thu, May 30, 2013 at 9:28 AM, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > 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. Register and vote in our polls. >>> * Read the latest breaking news, and more. >>> >>> --- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "PoliticalForum" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>> >>> >>> >> >> -- >> -- >> 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. Register and vote in our polls. >> * Read the latest breaking news, and more. >> >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "PoliticalForum" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> >> > > -- > -- > 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. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "PoliticalForum" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- brine http://brineb.blogspot.com/ -- -- 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. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
