Do You Go To Church on Sundays?

[Michael Alexander]

Do you attend church on Sundays?

[SandyB]

I believe  organised religion has  a place in society , the belonging to a group of like minded  in belief  is  like a social glue  that   holds communities together , and yes when  people are  genuinely true in their belief one witnesses it in well ordered  family  life and social structure ...  I  am too much of  a free thinker  or lone wolf to feel the need  to  belong , instead subscribing to a spiritual approach ,, respecting    and fascinated by   what each belief system has to offer in wisdom  and guidance .. and from that adopting  and trying to  follow basic tenets  love  and  respect  for self  ,  creator  and fellow man ... 
To each  his own ... go forward  in the peace and knowledge of that ..

[Delia]

Ditto from my side Sandy, well put, i couldn't have put it better myself. I feel the same having an open mind and being a free thinker. I wouldn't do well in a church setting, i'd probably send them screaming for the hills with all my "buts" and "what abouts" :) I will however be forever grateful to my Dad for grounding me in the church as a child as a lot of my spiritual beliefs and practices stem from that, i have somehow found a way to incorporate them into one universal "religion" so to speak.

My daughter has recently found her way to teen service at one of the local churches in our area and I'm so happy & grateful she did, she absolutely loves it.  She found her way to it at a very bumpy confusing time in her life and it's given her focus and direction that she needs right now. It's also given her the faith and strength to tackle the hard times as she navigates her way thru the teen years which can be trying at the best of times. From what I can see it's really good for her, among many other positive things, it's given her a different outlook to life's setbacks and she seems to handle them easier with a more positive attitude. I happily drop her off and and am always eager to hear how she enjoyed it when i fetch her.  She comes bouncing into the car and practically trips over her words trying to tell me everything at once. Ironically since going to teen service she's actually been more receptive to us chatting about religion vs spirituality. We have the most wonderful chats sharing our beliefs and quite often find that our views are the "same meat, different gravy" scenario, same thing it's just being perceived from a different angle. What i find really awesome is that she's open to & totally accepts where I'm coming from along my spiritual path (as i do her along her religious path) - quite often spirituality is frowned upon in religious circles - which shows me she a) she has an innate tolerance to accept others paths without prejudice and 2) she has the ability to think for herself, to listen to her inner wisdom and make up her own mind about something, to come to her own truth.

I know a lot of parents think its their duty to impose their beliefs on their children (ie. just 'cos i don't go to church neither must she) but i don't agree with that - i would never expect her to follow something just because i do, specially not something as important as this - "let each soul walk its path" is what i firmly believe.  If it makes them a better person, what can be wrong with it? It's all about tolerance, respect and love for others no matter their faith, beliefs or path that they choose to follow.  Peace, love and happiness to all...........

[SandyB]

Shalom  on that  Delia ,, if one  reads up on the meaning of the word ,,,  what stands out is peace be unto you  ,, etc etc ,,,  all good stuff ,,  actually  pretty universal  tenet ,,,,,