At church today....

[Jon Miller]

Did you listen to a sermon this weekend that had any of the things on the poll? I am not affected as much as my wife (who is looking for a new church to visit in Chicago), but it still seems on the extreme side of what I remember pre09. Additionally, what goes on the other weekends like Memorial Weekend/etc?

JM

[Lorizael]

Well, Wednesday is Veteran's Day, but I can't say I have much experience with the whole church thing. The last time I was in one was... I think my cousin's wedding... where the focus seemed to be about how marriage really needs to be a union between a man and a woman.

[giblets]

I haven't been to church in a long time but I don't remember them ever celebrating military veterans like that.

[Jon Miller]

We attended a church of a traditionally pacifist denomination (SDA) on Saturday and a charismatic church (Assembly of God) on Sunday. Both were more than I ever remember hearing before and disturbing (severely for my wife).

JM

[DaShi]

What? People still do this?

I always thought that religion was just something you talked about over wine. Or on a Sunday, mimosas.

[loinburger]

My parents said that they didn't even mention Veterans Day or veterans etc at their church this weekend

[Elok]

Well, I was out in the hall with a grumpy baby during the sermon, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say "hell no." We just don't do that kind of thing.

[Proteus_MST]

Well, we in germany don´t have a veterans day ...
while it has been suggested some time ago, considering the fact that the Bundeswehr nowadays takes part in peacekeeping missions ... and around 100 germans have lost their lives during those missions ... the main counterargument is, that not only soldiers lose their lives during those missions, but also civil employees of the Bundeswehr, developmental aid workers, doctors, policemen and many more ... and that a veterans day would leve them out of those honors/celebrations.
Also it has been argued that, if the german government wants to help any army veterans, it shouldn´t do so by introducing a veterans day, but rather by increasing their spending in soldiers pensions and other things that help soldiers after they have quit their service

[Aeson]

I went to YouTube and watched some videos with fighter planes, bombs, and eagles.

[Uncle Sparky]

We ate at a buffet. They serve coffee, but you need to get everything else. Veterans may have been present...

[regexcellent]

I have never seen this at any catholic service ever. Much as I broadly agree with that kind of politics I think I would find that very very irritating.

[The Mad Monk]

Despite appearances, we really do like our church and state separate...

[self biased]

I'm curious as to why you are apparently surprised ad the zealotry displayed by Pentecostal churches, JM. While i don't begrudge anything that gets a person through the day, church twice a week seems excessive to me. I get that being a part of a community is important to just about everyone, but damn dude. Pentecostals are usually pretty Looney toons. Granted, I find any one who genuinely thinks that supernatural stuff is real is either intellectually disabled or mentally ill, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

[Jon Miller]

The pentecostal church behavior was more unexpected to my wife than I (my wife's church is charismatic in South Africa and she was most at home there), although the SDA behavior was very surprising to me.

Two services a week is a bit much and we don't do that every week (and we don't go to church at all in Chile, so we average probably 30 attendances a year), but we like the pastor (who didn't preach Saturday) at the SDA church and the music at the pentecostal church. The people at both churches were obviously conservative but friendly. Neither of us were expecting that from both services.

My nature might be just to complain about it, but my wife doesn't intend to attend again. I am glad to hear it isn't epidemic. I like Lutheran churches, we might try one of those (or look further away).

JM

[kentonio]

We don't get that kind of thing in Church of England churches (from what I hear, it's not like I ever attend), but Remembrance Day seems to have become co-opted by people practically celebrating war instead of being the extremely solemn occasion it used to be. Pictures of kids holding giant poppies wearing t-shirts saying 'Future soldier' made me want to throw up in my own mouth. You want to remind people of sacrifice, take them around a veterans hospital and let them see what really happens when you pack your kids off to fight in a war.