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Is your place of worship open affirmative excepting etc? If not ask why ?

What is the make up of your place of worship?

How do you get the community involved or back in a place of worship?

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My thinking is this: expecting any group to get together, pray for a common good to the same interpretation/vision of that God, instead of their own is like herding cats. Add in that religion inherently fosters a tribal "quality"; folks get so wrapped up in the team mentality that the fact they all are looking to the same creator for answers/comfort becomes lost behind which "team" has the best access.

finally consider the business that religion has become... tax abatements for anyone who fills out the right paperwork, a literal pulpit from  which to solicit monetary and other forms of support; this is evident by the increasing blurred lines between religion and politics. Mega churches, with pastors living very well above a good number of their parishioners.

from a Christianity POV : "You shall seek me, and shall find me: when you shall seek me with all your heart." nowhere in that verse does it specify to look in a church, mosque or synagogue. 

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them"  when instructing disciples how to reconcile or resolve conflict....it doesn't specify WHERE it had to occur, or which groups or peoples were excluded.

i would imagine one could find such sentiments amongst the other religions of the World, the gist being; none of the passages mention having to gather in one designated space nor do they dispense power to one or a select few to exert influence over others....

"Each Man's God is his own to keep"  a more spiritual approach; no one to say yours is the wrong one, wrong way to pray, pay homage etc nor that you should go out and get others to pray the same way you do. if it happens organically, great...

guess thats the long way of saying compelling folks to worship is the wrong goal, and "houses of worship" are the only place where the make up, how affirming or accepting they might be is important

perhaps less religion and more spirituality would address such concerns.

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29 minutes ago, Adam said:

My thinking is this: expecting any group to get together, pray for a common good to the same interpretation/vision of that God, instead of their own is like herding cats. Add in that religion inherently fosters a tribal "quality"; folks get so wrapped up in the team mentality that the fact they all are looking to the same creator for answers/comfort becomes lost behind which "team" has the best access.

finally consider the business that religion has become... tax abatements for anyone who fills out the right paperwork, a literal pulpit from  which to solicit monetary and other forms of support; this is evident by the increasing blurred lines between religion and politics. Mega churches, with pastors living very well above a good number of their parishioners.

from a Christianity POV : "You shall seek me, and shall find me: when you shall seek me with all your heart." nowhere in that verse does it specify to look in a church, mosque or synagogue. 

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them"  when instructing disciples how to reconcile or resolve conflict....it doesn't specify WHERE it had to occur, or which groups or peoples were excluded.

i would imagine one could find such sentiments amongst the other religions of the World, the gist being; none of the passages mention having to gather in one designated space nor do they dispense power to one or a select few to exert influence over others....

"Each Man's God is his own to keep"  a more spiritual approach; no one to say yours is the wrong one, wrong way to pray, pay homage etc nor that you should go out and get others to pray the same way you do. if it happens organically, great...

guess thats the long way of saying compelling folks to worship is the wrong goal, and "houses of worship" are the only place where the make up, how affirming or accepting they might be is important

perhaps less religion and more spirituality would address such concerns.

Interesting 

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I have no place of worship. 

Grew up Catholic and still trying to recover from that. 

I don't believe I need to sit in a building with others to follow my beliefs.

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38 minutes ago, KarenK said:

 

Grew up Catholic and still trying to recover from that. 

 

Ah yes, there is such thing as a "recovering Catholic," that club has many members. 

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I was raised Catholic and attended a Catholic school.  I’ve never heard the phrase “recovering Catholic”.  I’ve thought of myself as a “lapsed Catholic” since I haven’t attended Mass in years though  I always found the Latin Mass comforting. I have mixed feelings about organized religion and how the doctrines can be twisted to suit the purposes of some followers.  I read somewhere that more people have been killed in the name of religion than in wars.  Whenever there is something good and beautiful humans will find a way to mess it up.  We never seem to learn and truly understand the message behind whatever faith you follow.

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10 hours ago, Pvt Snowball said:

Is your place of worship open affirmative excepting etc? If not ask why ?

My place of worship is closed, with pieces of it within sold off across the country. I have a lot of issues with Catholicism, and have attended very sparingly in the past few decades ( although I’m drawn to it more than before ). But I’ve never seen it as a faith that excludes anyone who wants to participate and live by the tenets of the faith.

That last part is important, by the way.

10 hours ago, Pvt Snowball said:

What is the make up of your place of worship?

I have no idea, as when I go it generally isn’t the normally scheduled Mass. But also I don’t put a racial, sexual orientation, etc. filter on every aspect of life.

I’d expect it to be largely white, and likely of Irish or Italian descent. The same as I would expect an A.M.E. church service to be largely filled with black people.

Though I’m sure all would be welcomed at either, regardless of race, so it doesn’t, and shouldn’t, matter.

 

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2 hours ago, KarenK said:

 

I don't believe I need to sit in a building with others to follow my beliefs.

I grew up in our rural Church community, very , very welcoming loving congregation. Until i got older and found that My Creator was in All things All around me and didn’t need to sit in a “brick and mortar” place of worship to speak with Him . 
Now , as to “ affirmative and accepting “ , my place of worship is what one makes of it but All are welcome , my Creator doesn’t see color , He or She see’s deeds and or Good intentions. 
As stated in another post above , I too believe more wars have been fought and more people have been killed in the name of established religion than for most other reasons . 
But again my Creator cares not one iota for affirmative action nor diversity. Just in the way I Live the Life He has given me … twice ! 

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13 hours ago, Pvt Snowball said:

How do you get the community involved or back in a place of worship?

The quick answer is, I think you get the place of worsip involved in the community. 

The rest of is probably isn't such a simple solution. While tradition and all that does hold value, organized religion has to change in a way that keeps it relevant without comprimising the principles of the faith. For example, while I understand the reasoning behind Catholocism requiring a vow of celibacy, conversely, it doesn't make sense that a man who has never been married is supposedly able to counsel others on marriage and relationships. 

Organized religion needs to make people feel welcome, especially when they're just seeking their path. Speaking for myself, I've mentioned my own distancing from Catholicism. One reason was simply because the priest I grew up with and the priest running things when our young family started going to church were two entirely different personalities. One was a kind and wonderful man. The other, while I'm sure he wasn't a bad person, did not give off a welcoming vibe in the least. I found this to be rather jarring, and when we left that morning, I declared I was done with it. As i mentioned above, I've gone to church more in the past 2-3 years than the previous 30, and I've enjoyed it. But that's largely due to the priest being more charismatic but also the sense of community that's been there as well. 

A good priest, minister, rabbi, etc. can go a long way in bringing people back into the fold. The opposite can also drive them away quickly.

Charisma in a religious leader is a tricky thing. On one hand they need that personality that says, "You're welcome and I'm glad you're here," but also it can be misused or exploited. There are, and have been, some very charismatic religious leaders here in the region who have found that to be quite profitable. I have a lot of problem with that, but it's also an entirely different topic.  

 

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1 hour ago, Chris said:

The quick answer is, I think you get the place of worsip involved in the community. 

The rest of is probably isn't such a simple solution. While tradition and all that does hold value, organized religion has to change in a way that keeps it relevant without comprimising the principles of the faith. For example, while I understand the reasoning behind Catholocism requiring a vow of celibacy, conversely, it doesn't make sense that a man who has never been married is supposedly able to counsel others on marriage and relationships. 

Organized religion needs to make people feel welcome, especially when they're just seeking their path. Speaking for myself, I've mentioned my own distancing from Catholicism. One reason was simply because the priest I grew up with and the priest running things when our young family started going to church were two entirely different personalities. One was a kind and wonderful man. The other, while I'm sure he wasn't a bad person, did not give off a welcoming vibe in the least. I found this to be rather jarring, and when we left that morning, I declared I was done with it. As i mentioned above, I've gone to church more in the past 2-3 years than the previous 30, and I've enjoyed it. But that's largely due to the priest being more charismatic but also the sense of community that's been there as well. 

A good priest, minister, rabbi, etc. can go a long way in bringing people back into the fold. The opposite can also drive them away quickly.

Charisma in a religious leader is a tricky thing. On one hand they need that personality that says, "You're welcome and I'm glad you're here," but also it can be misused or exploited. There are, and have been, some very charismatic religious leaders here in the region who have found that to be quite profitable. I have a lot of problem with that, but it's also an entirely different topic.  

 

We are going to come back to that topic on misused.

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I read that we as country are more anit-MLK on Sundays.  He would be appalled that we still basically worship in silos of churches based on race every Sunday and the wonder why discrimination is alive and well the rest of the week.

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2 hours ago, Beekeeper said:

I read that we as country are more anit-MLK on Sundays.  He would be appalled that we still basically worship in silos of churches based on race every Sunday and the wonder why discrimination is alive and well the rest of the week.

Huh?

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I think one tends to affiliate with folks who think and believe like they do, whether in a church or for companionship. I grew up as a grandchild of Dutch immigrants, the same for my husband.  We both were members of the Christian Reformed Church (the Americanized version of the Dutch Reformed Church), and I attended its Christian schools thru 6th grade (husband did not because they were not equipped to handle a legally blind child like the aids a public school had access to) before attending a city public junior high in NJ to major culture shock.  In said churches in both NY and NJ, we were all typically of Dutch descent in each church and believed in and adhered to the Calvinist biblical foundational doctrines. We also had Black and Asian members, dear friends.  I did not see race.  We did not discriminate.  We were simply good friends.  Nor was the proportion of others who were not Dutch in the church indicative of the community at large surrounding the church.  If you want more folks of any background attending any given church, you need to be involved in the community like Chris said above. There are so many different churches to choose from... because there are so many different opinions/beliefs and interpretations of Holy Scripture.  Just because there might be a specific church denomination "next door/close" to me would not be the reason I would attend said church services.  I look for one that worships God in a way compatible with my Reformed biblical beliefs, not because of the color of one's skin or ethnic background.

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