FORT Koffee Klatch

[Newfherder]

Originally Posted by myrosiedog

The USS Newfherder. Tugboat? Destroyer? Cargo ship? Just guessing here.

Garbage scow. Oldest, slowest, smelliest garbage scow in the fleet. I wanted submarine service, but I couldn't hold my breath long enough for an all-day dive.

[Google]

 

[prhoshay]

I don't have much use for organized religions, even though I was raised Catholic. It's just another way to separate people. I have my relationship with the deity of my choosing, and it works for me. There's enough separation; I just don't get the point.

I've never been one to join clubs either. I'm just not a big fan of that clanish mentality. I like to involve myself a little bit of multiple groups.

[chrelsey]

Originally Posted by srs_in_Oregon

I agree with this to, I wont go to that church..but Im still going to go to church..I also believe fully that you need to not base your faith on the people you meet in church, because they are human to.

That is SO true - you can't base your faith on the people you meet in church.

I have worked in the ministry for the past 16 years . . . if you think it's discouraging to see hypocrisy in church members, imagine how hard it is to see it in the leadership! Just the other day I made the comment that if my faith was based on other Christians - instead of on my personal relationship with Christ - then I would have walked away from my faith years ago. Sad - but true.

[prhoshay]

All people are not in church for the right reasons. Some are there just to keep hell going.

[ScoutMom]

And some people go to church just so they make sure they are seen going to church! It's absolutely meaningless to them, but they know that other people saw them there.

[Newfherder]

Originally Posted by chrelsey

I have worked in the ministry for the past 16 years . . . if you think it's discouraging to see hypocrisy in church members, imagine how hard it is to see it in the leadership!

When the Lutheran Bishop gave my brother's eulogy, he touched on that. He said that it was pretty common for ministers (of all denominations) to say, "call Pastor Al" when they didn't want to be bothered with weddings and funerals for those outside their congregations. At the other end of the spectrum from my brother was the minister who was to preside at my mother's funeral. The morning of the funeral, he explicitly said that he was doing the funeral only as a favor to the funeral director since Mom wasn't in his church. After about a two second family meeting, Pastor Al said (much more nicely than any of the rest of us could have managed) that the minister's services weren't necessary, and that he would conduct the service himself. I can't imagine the strength that it took to conduct a funeral for his own mother.

[gabriel]

Originally Posted by Newfherder

When the Lutheran Bishop gave my brother's eulogy, he touched on that. He said that it was pretty common for ministers (of all denominations) to say, "call Pastor Al" when they didn't want to be bothered with weddings and funerals for those outside their congregations. At the other end of the spectrum from my brother was the minister who was to preside at my mother's funeral. The morning of the funeral, he explicitly said that he was doing the funeral only as a favor to the funeral director since Mom wasn't in his church. After about a two second family meeting, Pastor Al said (much more nicely than any of the rest of us could have managed) that the minister's services weren't necessary, and that he would conduct the service himself. I can't imagine the strength that it took to conduct a funeral for his own mother.

Newfherder - I have always gathered from your posts that "Pastor AL" was a very special brother, son and person in general. After reading this post I can't imagine as you posted, the strength and love it took for him to conduct your Mothers funeral, this only proves that he was something special and is even now a special spirit.

[Rattus]

Originally Posted by 11sstephanie

That's probably why I don't discuss religion with anybody unless I know them, because I don't want my opinion of them to be lessened by them jumping on me about eternal damnation and fun stuff like that. I figure that if this stuff exists, I'm giong where I'm going, and no change in faith will change that.

Just me though.

I don't generally discuss religion either, except in theoretical discussions with my friends (I'm also an atheist). In fact, during a discussion about religion I was having a few weeks ago with the guys over a couple of beers, it occurred to me that I have no idea whether or not my first husband believed in god. Nor did I know whether anyone else in the room believed in god, with the exception of Mr. Rattus (more atheist than I am). And that's the way I like it. I don't have a problem with people believing, but I am honestly irked by people randomly bringing up Jesus and his kinfolk to me for no good reason. I'm quite sure that some day, when someone tells me, apropos of nothing that I've ever been able to determine, that Jesus loves me, I will finally break my silence on the subject and let them know that that their invisible friend doesn't exist and consequently loves no one.

[Lucy]

I cannot imagine what I'd have felt if someone had used my father's funeral as a chance to preach hellfire and brimstone at me. You poor things, that went through that. My father grew up in that sort of church and as a direct result, rejected organized religion, and we never went to church when I was growing up except for Easter, when we visited his family. His family still believes that sort of thing, though, and it's very trying for me, to deal with the relatives who really bought into that. For us, we believe that the preaching that everyone is automatically a sinner led to serious self-esteem and depression issues in my dad's family. I could not in good conscience believe in a church that requires a literal belief in the Bible, despite all its anti-women stuff, nor who require that you look down on gay people, or unwed mothers, etc. I have an uncle who's a Baptist minister, and his relationship with his son is severely strained because the son -- who's 50 years old -- is living with a woman he isn't married to. For pete's sake, by that age, who cares?? Isn't it enough that she loves him and he loves her?

Funeral-wise, we were lucky, in that my parents had a friend who was a pastor and who had for years held "retreats" to talk about counseling and love and God in some sort of "God loves everyone" combination that I don't really understand, due to us always having babysitters when my parents went. But I know they were sort of deep theology discussions and that we had a crowd of Catholic nuns as friends who also went to those things, plus a gay prison chaplain.

Anyway, I am fine with whatever anyone wants to believe, and I consider myself spiritual but not religious, but I agree with those of you who don't like being preached at.

[Rattus]

I'm bringing this over from the How are your neighbours? thread.

Addendum #2 - the charming police officer I've been chatting with today came over while I was watering the planters on my front porch and told me to get inside - they found something active in the bomber's apartment and were going to be loading into the bomb disposal vehicle.

And further to addendum #1 - it turns out there was some footage of me shown on the CBC and I did look horrible. More horrible than I'm certain I do when I put any effort into my appearance. I hope.