What religious rituals could be modified to adjust to times?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So a minister could look after more than one congregation.
You could have y bishop write the sermon, the lay people take turns reading it, or have video conference for the speaker

The current set up is extremely expensive. Just imagine if church budget could include 50% charity

Some ministers already do handle more than one congregation, when the churches involved are small. At some point, when the congregations get larger, this becomes unfeasible because one minister can’t handle all the personal counseling, funerals, visiting the sick, etc.

My experience is that you are on your own when you get sick, become unemployed, go through divorce
The church is not there for people like that. It is a business.
Only select few who are very well connected get visits from the priest

I’m guessing you never reached out to your minister/priest to let him/her know what was going on in your life. I know priests who spend a lot of the week visiting people in hospitals and taking communion to those who are home-bound. It’s true they probably won’t visit you for the flu though—no time to do that for everybody.

Really?
Wait until you are really in need

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So a minister could look after more than one congregation.
You could have y bishop write the sermon, the lay people take turns reading it, or have video conference for the speaker

The current set up is extremely expensive. Just imagine if church budget could include 50% charity

Some ministers already do handle more than one congregation, when the churches involved are small. At some point, when the congregations get larger, this becomes unfeasible because one minister can’t handle all the personal counseling, funerals, visiting the sick, etc.

My experience is that you are on your own when you get sick, become unemployed, go through divorce
The church is not there for people like that. It is a business.
Only select few who are very well connected get visits from the priest

I’m guessing you never reached out to your minister/priest to let him/her know what was going on in your life. I know priests who spend a lot of the week visiting people in hospitals and taking communion to those who are home-bound. It’s true they probably won’t visit you for the flu though—no time to do that for everybody.

Really?
Wait until you are really in need

DP, I don’t know what it means to be well-connected, but my priest and the deacons know who I am because I’m at Mass weekly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So a minister could look after more than one congregation.
You could have y bishop write the sermon, the lay people take turns reading it, or have video conference for the speaker

The current set up is extremely expensive. Just imagine if church budget could include 50% charity

Some ministers already do handle more than one congregation, when the churches involved are small. At some point, when the congregations get larger, this becomes unfeasible because one minister can’t handle all the personal counseling, funerals, visiting the sick, etc.

My experience is that you are on your own when you get sick, become unemployed, go through divorce
The church is not there for people like that. It is a business.
Only select few who are very well connected get visits from the priest

I’m guessing you never reached out to your minister/priest to let him/her know what was going on in your life. I know priests who spend a lot of the week visiting people in hospitals and taking communion to those who are home-bound. It’s true they probably won’t visit you for the flu though—no time to do that for everybody.

Really?
Wait until you are really in need

I have been in need and they were there for me. I’m sorry about your experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So a minister could look after more than one congregation.
You could have y bishop write the sermon, the lay people take turns reading it, or have video conference for the speaker

The current set up is extremely expensive. Just imagine if church budget could include 50% charity

Some ministers already do handle more than one congregation, when the churches involved are small. At some point, when the congregations get larger, this becomes unfeasible because one minister can’t handle all the personal counseling, funerals, visiting the sick, etc.

My experience is that you are on your own when you get sick, become unemployed, go through divorce
The church is not there for people like that. It is a business.
Only select few who are very well connected get visits from the priest

I’m guessing you never reached out to your minister/priest to let him/her know what was going on in your life. I know priests who spend a lot of the week visiting people in hospitals and taking communion to those who are home-bound. It’s true they probably won’t visit you for the flu though—no time to do that for everybody.

Really?
Wait until you are really in need

I have been in need and they were there for me. I’m sorry about your experience.

Depends on the church, I guess

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So a minister could look after more than one congregation.
You could have y bishop write the sermon, the lay people take turns reading it, or have video conference for the speaker

The current set up is extremely expensive. Just imagine if church budget could include 50% charity

Some ministers already do handle more than one congregation, when the churches involved are small. At some point, when the congregations get larger, this becomes unfeasible because one minister can’t handle all the personal counseling, funerals, visiting the sick, etc.

My experience is that you are on your own when you get sick, become unemployed, go through divorce
The church is not there for people like that. It is a business.
Only select few who are very well connected get visits from the priest

I’m guessing you never reached out to your minister/priest to let him/her know what was going on in your life. I know priests who spend a lot of the week visiting people in hospitals and taking communion to those who are home-bound. It’s true they probably won’t visit you for the flu though—no time to do that for everybody.

Really?
Wait until you are really in need

I have been in need and they were there for me. I’m sorry about your experience.

Depends on the church, I guess

Have you had a bad experience, or are you just hypothesizing?

[Anonymous]

Just bringing the topic back into the thread. Here are few examples how some religious communities are dealing
with the corona virus to protect themselves and others from spreading the virus. This is an example of understanding
that sometimes certain practices might spread/prevent epidemics for one..

Public Masses canceled in Hong Kong as fears over coronavirus swell
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-asia/2020/02/public-masses-canceled-in-hong-kong-as-fears-over-coronavirus-swell/

Philippine bishops issue directives to prevent coronavirus outbreak
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-asia/2020/02/philippine-bishops-issue-directives-to-prevent-coronavirus-outbreak/

and one example when it was too late..

South Korea Posts Surge in Coronavirus Cases Tied to Church
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-20/south-korea-reports-spike-in-coronavirus-cases-tied-to-a-cult


Perhaps in the spirit of prevention our local religious communities could look into some measures that could be implemented
for the time being to proactively limit possibility of infecting others. After considering how much touching hands and sharing
wine or wafers is happening in the church perhaps it could be a good measure since we live in the area where many
cultures cross paths and oz of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Whatever could be respectfully done without compromising the respect for the religious services, maybe it is time to look into
it to avoid situation like the one in Korea?

[Anonymous]

Washing of the feet (to symbolize Jesus washing his disciples feet). It's just plain gross. Yes, I understand the historical and biblical context of the practice, but it is an uncomfortable practice. I was told that it teaches humility and it was a way of serving others. Maybe if wearing gloves and peroxide or alcohol were part of the practice I would not object.

Submitting to wash a stranger's feet is a ritual that I am not fond of. Also, I am not drinking from a chalice that other people had their mouths on. No way! So, I take communion bread, but I refuse to drink communion wine giving in a chalice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Washing of the feet (to symbolize Jesus washing his disciples feet). It's just plain gross. Yes, I understand the historical and biblical context of the practice, but it is an uncomfortable practice. I was told that it teaches humility and it was a way of serving others. Maybe if wearing gloves and peroxide or alcohol were part of the practice I would not object.

Submitting to wash a stranger's feet is a ritual that I am not fond of. Also, I am not drinking from a chalice that other people had their mouths on. No way! So, I take communion bread, but I refuse to drink communion wine giving in a chalice.

I agree.
Perhaps in the old days... make it very old days.. it was less gross or hygiene-defiant. It could actually do good washing feet in any water, since people were walking barefoot or in sandals so their feet were mostly dirty from the road dust but since the feet were exposed to air and sun they probably were also fungus free. Now 2000 years forward - fungus is an issue and washing the feet of how many guys? .. 12? in the same bowl?
Even touching them by the same person. Not stellar example of hygiene if you ask me. If this could be somehow modified or entirely omitted that would be probably good. Whoever is washing those feet's comes in contact with very personal germs by the means of their fingers. Don't the same priest later on touch the altar wafers and distribute communion? Don't know the details.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've actually never seen drinking wine from one cup except once; I'm Protestant and in my fifties. This has already gone by the wayside in most places.

So most Presbyterian and Methodist churches don't do this anyhow. And some now have gluten free communion. One Lutheran Church had the shared cup, but also had small individual cups available; only the oldest members were drinking from the shared cup.

My last Presbyterian Church (not here) actually had already gone through not having hymnals, and projecting the hymns and readings, back to using the printed hymnals and bulletins again. There were so many IT people attending who didn't want to deal with screens for Sunday.

I wish modern churches would bring back meditative prayer and chanting to a greater extent. And mix up singing and use older styles... medieval, Gregorian, etc... along with modern music.

As you've witesssed, churches play to their members -- they have to keep people coming in order to survive, although now with electronic giving, people can assuage their guilt by paying every Sunday, even though they do not attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up in a midwest Lutheran church, we had teeny little glasses for communion wine.


But I though OP had things like menstrual huts in mind.

Most churches use these nowadays.

Menstrual huts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So a minister could look after more than one congregation.
You could have y bishop write the sermon, the lay people take turns reading it, or have video conference for the speaker

The current set up is extremely expensive. Just imagine if church budget could include 50% charity

Many of the big mega churches have video pastors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So a minister could look after more than one congregation.
You could have y bishop write the sermon, the lay people take turns reading it, or have video conference for the speaker

The current set up is extremely expensive. Just imagine if church budget could include 50% charity

Some ministers already do handle more than one congregation, when the churches involved are small. At some point, when the congregations get larger, this becomes unfeasible because one minister can’t handle all the personal counseling, funerals, visiting the sick, etc.

My experience is that you are on your own when you get sick, become unemployed, go through divorce
The church is not there for people like that. It is a business.
Only select few who are very well connected get visits from the priest

I’m guessing you never reached out to your minister/priest to let him/her know what was going on in your life. I know priests who spend a lot of the week visiting people in hospitals and taking communion to those who are home-bound. It’s true they probably won’t visit you for the flu though—no time to do that for everybody.

Really?
Wait until you are really in need

I have been in need and they were there for me. I’m sorry about your experience.

Depends on the church, I guess

Have you had a bad experience, or are you just hypothesizing?

reflecting on the various comments here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just bringing the topic back into the thread. Here are few examples how some religious communities are dealing
with the corona virus to protect themselves and others from spreading the virus. This is an example of understanding
that sometimes certain practices might spread/prevent epidemics for one..

Public Masses canceled in Hong Kong as fears over coronavirus swell
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-asia/2020/02/public-masses-canceled-in-hong-kong-as-fears-over-coronavirus-swell/

Philippine bishops issue directives to prevent coronavirus outbreak
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-asia/2020/02/philippine-bishops-issue-directives-to-prevent-coronavirus-outbreak/

and one example when it was too late..

South Korea Posts Surge in Coronavirus Cases Tied to Church
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-20/south-korea-reports-spike-in-coronavirus-cases-tied-to-a-cult


Perhaps in the spirit of prevention our local religious communities could look into some measures that could be implemented
for the time being to proactively limit possibility of infecting others. After considering how much touching hands and sharing
wine or wafers is happening in the church perhaps it could be a good measure since we live in the area where many
cultures cross paths and oz of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Whatever could be respectfully done without compromising the respect for the religious services, maybe it is time to look into
it to avoid situation like the one in Korea?

The Korean example was a cult where people are afraid to admit being sick. Not the same as your average American church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just bringing the topic back into the thread. Here are few examples how some religious communities are dealing
with the corona virus to protect themselves and others from spreading the virus. This is an example of understanding
that sometimes certain practices might spread/prevent epidemics for one..

Public Masses canceled in Hong Kong as fears over coronavirus swell
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-asia/2020/02/public-masses-canceled-in-hong-kong-as-fears-over-coronavirus-swell/

Philippine bishops issue directives to prevent coronavirus outbreak
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-asia/2020/02/philippine-bishops-issue-directives-to-prevent-coronavirus-outbreak/

and one example when it was too late..

South Korea Posts Surge in Coronavirus Cases Tied to Church
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-20/south-korea-reports-spike-in-coronavirus-cases-tied-to-a-cult


Perhaps in the spirit of prevention our local religious communities could look into some measures that could be implemented
for the time being to proactively limit possibility of infecting others. After considering how much touching hands and sharing
wine or wafers is happening in the church perhaps it could be a good measure since we live in the area where many
cultures cross paths and oz of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Whatever could be respectfully done without compromising the respect for the religious services, maybe it is time to look into
it to avoid situation like the one in Korea?

The Korean example was a cult where people are afraid to admit being sick. Not the same as your average American church.

and where they sat closely together on the floor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So a minister could look after more than one congregation.
You could have y bishop write the sermon, the lay people take turns reading it, or have video conference for the speaker

The current set up is extremely expensive. Just imagine if church budget could include 50% charity

Many of the big mega churches have video pastors.

People should stop giving their whole tithe to the church.
There is no requirement for that. Feel free to pick a charity or a cause of your choice