Good Morning Brine! That's cause your Mama was a good Catholic, and wanted to instill the fear of God in ya! (How'd that work out by the way?)
<Grin>! On Fri, May 31, 2013 at 10:07 AM, Brian Bednarek <[email protected]> wrote: > 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. > > > -- -- 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.
