I'm playing hookey from church today.

[RevCheesehead]

Yes, on the day when countless people who rarely go to church, show up with their mothers to celebrate their special day, I took off, to spend with my Dad.

So, are you/have you gone to church today? Why/why not?
(:evilgrin:<------Devil's Advocate)

[lizziegrace]

1. REV!!!

I was thinking about you. I'm not at church today. :( It's now a 30 mile one-way trip and I now only go when I play in bell choir...

How are you sweetie? :hug:

[RevCheesehead]

5. Hi, lizzy!

30 miles is a long way to travel, especially with these damned gas prices.

I'm doing well. I'm so glad I decided to spend the weekend with Dad. :)

[lizziegrace]

11. I've been looking for a church a little closer to my new home

I'll still play in bell choir at my old church 'cause we're that good. :evilgrin:

[kedrys]

2. It's not really playing hooky if I never go, is it?

:rofl: Since this entire household is a branch of The Church of the Big Giant Cat, all I have to do in order to worship is stay here and check out the (passed out) hordes. :D

I *will* be calling my mom as soon as the s.o. get up, of course.

[RevCheesehead]

6. LOL.

I'm sure the cat agrees with you! :D

[scarlet_owl]

3. I'm going to church today.

I need to go. I haven't gone in three weeks.

[RevCheesehead]

7. I hear ya.

On the other hand, I needed to be away, especially today. But we're watching many church services on TV, and will be going to Vespers here at the retirement home in the evening.

I just needed a break from the professional stuff, and needed to be a normal person today. :)

[wildhorses]

4. no church today for me...but will meet my Mom and the rest of

the family for a late lunch...it will be a good time
:hi:




love the pics of your Mom and BTW your Dad favors the men on my Dad's side...like enough to be a twin?!?

[RevCheesehead]

Ah, a handsome group, eh?

It's the baldness, isn't it? :rofl:

[wildhorses]

12. maybe so...glasses too...but it was the nose that clinched it for me

:rofl:

[RevCheesehead]

13. Oh, God.....

I inherited the Overman nose, too. Oy.

:rofl:

[billyskank]

8. I didn't

Why not? Because I'm a Hare Krishna. :P

:hi:

[RevCheesehead]

9. Billy baby!!

It's nice to see you today!! :loveya:

[billyskank]

10. And you sweetie pie

:loveya:

[Darth_Kitten]

14. I'm not a church goer....

still figuring things out. ;)

but still, you are entitled to do anything you wish to do. :) Enjoy the day!

[RevCheesehead]

20. Hey, that's OK....

no judgment intended. I've just noticed a certain level of hypocrisy on this day, as people pretend to be something they're not, just to make their Mom happy.

For me, as a pastor, it's somewhat of a relief to not have to be exposed to that stuff today. :)

[Darth_Kitten]

29. You're very non-judgmental....

:D

Hypocrisy annoys me as well! You don't need to explain, just enjoy your day!

[WolverineDG]

15. Aw Rev

:hug:

The first Mother's Day is the hardest one. :hug: I'm glad you're able to spend it with your dad. I hope you two have a wonderful day together.

dg

[RevCheesehead]

18. Thanks, Kel....

We're doing well together. My Dad's so cool!

:hug:

[RetroLounge]

16. Hey there Rev!

I spent the weekend on the Baptist Assembly grounds up at Green Lake. The absolute amazing beauty of nature: That's kind of a church to me.

Today I'm helping the kids celebrate with their mom...

:hug:

RL

[RevCheesehead]

19. I've been to Green Lake.

Absolutely gorgeous!

Hey, I'm thinking of you today. It sure can't be easy, but you're making it better for your kids. You're a terrific Dad!! :hug:

[RetroLounge]

41. We are on the way now to Target

to pick out her Mom's Day present...

RL

[CaliforniaPeggy]

17. My dear Rev!

I am so happy to see you today......

And I am so happy to see you being a "normal" person!

As if you weren't!

Your dad needs your company way more than anyone else........

Have a great weekend with him!

And.....WELCOME BACK! The Lounge just is NOT the same without you......

:loveya: :hug:

[RevCheesehead]

22. Thank you, sweet Peggy.

We're really enjoying our time together. :hug:

[WritingIsMyReligion]

21. Not going to church.

I'm a godless agnostic/pantheist/satanist heathen.

:evilgrin:

[RevCheesehead]

24. That about covers it, don't it?

Although, I think you left out Druid. :)

[WritingIsMyReligion]

25. I love Celticism,

but I'm no Druid. I don't think. I'm just a hippy peacenik nut.

:D

:hi:

[swimboy]

87. And I'm a Methodist hippy peacenik nut!

;) :hi:

[Gormy Cuss]

23. Good thinking, Rev.

This is a hard day for you and your father.
:hug:

[RevCheesehead]

26. Actually, it's a lot easier, because we're together.

Less lonely, and lots of love. :hug:

[Call Me Wesley]

27. I wasn't going either for obvious reasons.

Otherwise I like to visit churches (not when something's going on, though.) We have beautiful old churches here.

Glad to hear you had a good day! :hug:

[RevCheesehead]

33. Sugar Plum!!

:hug: I've missed you!

Did Ginger get Mommy a Mother's day card? Or at least a dead mouse? :)

[Call Me Wesley]

38. You've been missed, too.

:loveya:

No card, no mouse (hopefully), but he's full of love as always. He was going out yesterday in the bad thunderstorm we had and came in totally wet, loudly meowing. I understood it as "I'm wet! I'm wet!" He's the only cat I vere had that just loves to be dried off with a towel. I think he goes out in the rain just for this. ;)

[RevCheesehead]

48. Of course.

How else is he gonna get "Daddy Hugs"? :loveya::hug:

[Patiod]

28. Slept in and missed Meeting

My SO says I'm happier and calmer when I do go. What's embarrassing is that Meeting starts at 11:15!!!!

In ten years, I've only been moved to speak during Meeting once, and it was Mothers Day.

I found myself standing and saying that most Moms work hard, but that one Mom in our Meeting was going above and beyond, raising 4 small children of her own, plus four young foster kids (who had a variety of severe emotional and medical problems) and that on this Mother's Day, anyone with free time might talk to her about how they could help out. Didn't plan to say it - don't really know where it came from - but she told me later she got a few calls from people, and found a regular helper from it.

[RevCheesehead]

34. That's what happens when the Spirit moves.

How cool is that!!! O8)

[Patiod]

42. I've been sitting in Meeting, pondering a problem

when an older Friend stood up and directly addressed the issue I was contemplating.

Doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's pretty awesome!

[u4ic]

30. I hope you and your dad are doing well,

Rev...:hug:

I'm off to my Unitarian service in about 15 minutes...needed my DU fix for the morning. :hi:

[RevCheesehead]

35. I totally understand that, too.

Even though I don't always post, I'm usually here daily, reading, crying, and laughing with all of you.

Blessings for a wonderful day! :hi:

[jane_pippin]

31. Nope. But I was thinking about it...

We used to get a corsage for my mom and grandma, go to church (so my grandma could look at everyone else's corsage and show off hers, and for the churchin' up in general since we were in the choir and had to be there 8 billion times a week anyway), and then sometimes we'd stay for the mother's day breakfast they had too.

I haven't been to church in ages but there's one nearby and every once in a while I toy with the idea of stopping in for a service. I usually work Sundays though, so that's my excuse.

I haven't crossed paths with you lately Rev, so here's a "how're you doing, great to see you, hope you're doing ok" hug for you and your dad. :hug:

[RevCheesehead]

36. Thanks, Jane.

You know, I've been watching the local church services on TV, and all I can say is "Good God, if this is what's happening in churches, no wonder people are staying away."

Ancient, unsingable music, theology of sin and worthlessness, Jesus seen as the only thing available to save our worthless souls, and an angry God who demands a blood atonement. Sheesh - if these were my choices, *I* wouldn't be in church, either. :eyes:

(I'm deep, deep, deep in the heart of conservative Lutheran country. Lord, save us!)

[jane_pippin]

39. Not to get too serious, but part of the reason

my family stopped going was that we noticed some conservatism creeping in among some of the newer members. The "you kids shouldn't get excited about Santa because it's a secular bastardization" kind of thing. The people into that sort of thing started volunteering to be youth group leaders and it just stopped feeling like it used to. The people who were in charge before that were very open minded. For part of our Confirmation classes they took us to a Catholic service, a Jewish service, and a Greek Orthodox service so we could be exposed to other forms of worship before deciding to commit to anything. And for our weekly youth group meetings we had some really good discussions about the environment, feminism, all sorts of things, where they really encouraged us to think for ourselves, be open to everyone's opinion, draw our own conclusions--a very empowering approach to getting young people to become adult decision-makers, in my opinion. Once the new people started sitting in on the meetings I started hearing more of this "abstinence only" business, and I was thankful that it was time for me to move away for college so I wouldn't have to be around that kind of narrow-mindedness.

Ah well. Sorry that I'm rambling on, but I do miss that family feeling we used to have there. It's sad that it started to become something else, and it's sad that more of us didn't stay to make sure it didn't get too ridiculous.

[RevCheesehead]

49. That's so sad when that happens.

I hate that the conservatives have chosen to do a hostile takeover of the church. Not just in some places, but seemingly in every denomination. It's like "McStripMall" church - one size for all, whether you like it or not. :(

[Callalily]

32. Oh Rev . . .

I was thinking about you on this day. Those of us without moms, well . . . for me has been a bit on the melancholy side, and I suspect for you too.

Good of you to spend extra time with your dad. You both need to draw strength from each other.

As far as church, I don't attend. Long story, but I do not feel the need. We all cope in our own special ways.

[RevCheesehead]

37. It makes today look different, doesn't it?

I have yet to hear a good sermon that connects the virtues of Motherhood with the loving, nurturing God that I know. And so many of these conservative churches are so attached to their male-God image, they just can't fathom anything else.

Sorry, didn't mean to get on my soapbox. It's just that the hypocrisy is driving me nuts today. :banghead:

[Callalily]

58. Never, EVER apologize Rev

I now exactly where you're coming from. Sending you big Can never have enough of them.

[swimboy]

86. Aww--you could hear a sermon like that at my church!

I go to church at the struggling downtown Methodist church I was born into. Happily, it is a very loving place with an extremely talented (and female) minister. I sing in the choir, go to Sunday School and help out with a number of things. It's a beautiful place in the city.

And they always love it when I can get mr. swim to come with me.

[tjwmason]

40. I'm going to sound horrifically pious.

Went to Mass this morning (local R.C. Church), and in a few minutes I'll be off to the parish church (i.e, Church of England, alias Anglican) to Evensong. Why? This is what I do every Sunday.

But in my defence against accusations of piety - I'll probably fall asleep during the sermon this evening.

Addendum - it's not Mothers' Day in the U.K. we had that back in March, but even then my mother and I go to different churches.

Hope you had (or is it have, not sure of time-zones) a good time with your father. :hug:

[RevCheesehead]

50. Ah, Evensong!

Such a beautiful service, and so serene! I hope it was wonderful! :hug:

[NNadir]

43. That's better than playing church with hookers.

I think.

:hide:

[RevCheesehead]

51. Bwahahaha!

:rofl: Yup. :7

[hfojvt]

44. I was going to go today

then I realized that it is Mother's Day. I generally avoid the CME crowds, and do not want to be one of them (although I may only go about 3 times a year too). I suppose if I lived a couple hours away I might go with my parents too. They would like that.

[RevCheesehead]

53. And ya know the funny thing about that crowd?

They ALL expect me to remember them, BY NAME. As if. :eyes:

[Dangerously Amused]

45. Rev!! You better turn yourself in!

God knows you're playing hookey and he sent out his minions to look for you and haul your ass back to church!






Seriously, how you doin'? You've been on my mind.

Hey, send my best to Cheese Pops, okay? :hug:

[RevCheesehead]

54. LOL!

Someone needs to caption that picture! :rofl:

I watched church on TV with Dad today, and we're going to vespers tonight. God told me to take a break, and come back with a better attitude. :hi:

"Cheese Pops" - I like!! :D

[Ellen Forradalom]

46. Episcopalians are the only Christians

whom God trusts enough to permit taking the summer off from church. Don't you know that?

[RevCheesehead]

55. That's why I get an occasional day like today.

I think of it as giving my congregation a break from me. :D

[ZombieNixon]

47. No.

Because I'm a godless Agnostipagan. :evilgrin:

[BigMcLargehuge]

52. actually Rev, I did...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x5152044

[RevCheesehead]

56. And that's just one of the many reasons......

why I adore you! :hug::loveya:

[BigMcLargehuge]

57. :)

:hug:

[xmas74]

59. I did not.

I worked all night and didn't get home from work until 8 am. I fell asleep instead for my Mother's Day present.

[WCGreen]

66. That could be the best Mother's Day gift yet......

[xmas74]

68. An extra hour of sleep.

It was wonderful.

[RevCheesehead]

69. OK, this might sound hokey, but...

I think that when we sleep we are nearer to God than we realize.
I mean, how else can you explain all them people out there, snoozing in the pews? :shrug:

I'm glad you had a good day today! :hug:

[xmas74]

89. Thank you!

Sleeping is such a nice thing overall. I just wish it would happen more often!

[yellowdogintexas]

60. I went, and my Sunday School topic today was the anti gay marriage

amendements across the country...why they happen, why they win big in some states and not so big in others.
the lesson was brought by a professor at a local university, openly gay in a committed partnership..he teaches sociology at the univ. Great discussion afterwards too.

I LOVE my Sunday School Class. and good on you Rev for spending Mother's Day with your DAD since you lost your mom this year.

[RevCheesehead]

70. That sounds like a great class!

I was telling my dad today that I prefer places that invite open discussion, rather than "we'll tell you the real truth about _________ (Harry Potter; The DaVinci Code; Human Sexuality; Elections; etc...)

You pretty much know it's going to be an awful class when it's advertised as "What the Bible really says about...." :eyes:

Dad and I had a great day together! :hug:

[Kat45]

61. I went. Today was our Music Appreciation Sunday.

No sermon, lots of hymns. All of the children's choirs, a larger-than-usual pickup choir, a horn. Children did readings about the origins and composers of the hymns. And each woman got a flower for Mother's Day.

[RevCheesehead]

71. I remember those Music Appreciation days well.

I used to do Church Music full-time, and those days were killers! (But also lots of fun, and a great way to thank the volunteers).

[KitchenWitch]

62. did not go to church today!

Glad you spend the day with your dad!

:hug:

[RevCheesehead]

72. That's good to know.

I'll be sure to note your name is NOT on the hypocrite's list. :P

Hey, Witchy - on the way down here on Friday, I got to hear the opening of Randi's show, and :bounce::bounce: my boobies in the car! (I, of course, thought of you!)

[KitchenWitch]

90. VERY cool!

:hi:

[Left Is Write]

63. Yes, I went to church.

Why? Well...it's pretty much a weekly habit, though I did waver about having my kindergartener go. She was up too late last night. (She went, but she's been crabby all afternoon on too-little sleep).

There were fewer people than usual at services this morning.

[RevCheesehead]

73. Really?

I've usually noticed that Mother's Day brings people out of the woodwork. People I haven't seen since.... well, since last Mother's Day.

[Left Is Write]

80. Really.

Last week was the end of Sunday school for the season, and I think some people just decided to sleep in or take a day off. Or maybe a lot of mothers got breakfast in bed. :D

[Catch22Dem]

64. I've been playing hookey for about 20 years now.

:evilgrin:

[RevCheesehead]

74. I won't tell.

Promise. O8)

[WCGreen]

65. I was actually going to head off to the Church on the Rise....

A fundy church out here in hte Bosom of suburbia....

But I couldn't get out of bed....

The old lungs were complainin' fiercely today....

[RevCheesehead]

75. You were going to go to a fundy church?

Oh, I see... the "Bosom of suburbia."
It's all about the boobies for you, ain't it? :evilgrin:

[WCGreen]

78. I am going to right a story for an internet zine

about the rise of this particular fundie church....

It's in Ohio so it plays into the whole Blackwell as a better christian than you are type of appeal they are trying to lay down....

[elshiva]

67. I went. It's just a habit. Good that you got a day off!

:hug:

[RevCheesehead]

77. Thanks, elshiva.

It's times like this when I rely on the community of faith to pray for me while I'm absent. After all, I do it for them all the time!

:hug:

[Robeson]

76. No. I'm not religious....

...so I have no need of going.

[JVS]

79. I didn't go today because I'm tired. I'll go on Wednesday

Of course, I skipped last wednesday because I had papers to write. Oh well.

"When God purifies the heart by faith, the market is sacred as well as the sanctuary." -Martin Luther

[Deep13]

81. Worshipped at St. Mattress.

Our Lady of the Blessed Coils. Church seems like a good way to waste a Sunday morning.

[tjwmason]

82. There is actually a church in London called St. Andrew by the Wardrobe.

:eyes:

[RevCheesehead]

83. Maybe that's an homage to C.S. Lewis.

:shrug:

[tjwmason]

85. It predates him.

By around a thousand years.

It was originally part of Baynard's Castle, and Edward III moved his "royal wardrobe" to the close vicinity of the church in the 14th century - hence the name.

It burnt down in the Great Fire being rebuilt (along with so many other City churches) by Wren; only to be bombed by the Nazis during the war such that the interior had to be rebuilt afterwards.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

84. Hi, Rev

I think I can understand your feelings about yesterday. I skipped church on Father's Day the year my own father died.

Yesterday the clergy had the bright idea of loading the main morning service with all kinds of extra stuff, including reception of 40 new members (each of whom got a carnation pinned on them) and recognition of volunteers. When it became clear that the service was going to run waaay overtime, choir members began sneaking out the back way. I was one of them, because my family had lunch reservations, and I'm sure other people did, too.

I joked that the choir was going to look like the premiere of Haydn's Farewell Symphony. (classical music joke).

[Left_Winger]

88. Did I go to church today (er, yesterday)? Kinda...

I was in the cemetery where my mom is buried. This is on church grounds, but that was as far as I made it.