12.29.04

birthday church rant

Ok, that's fucked up. for the first time ever, Dland has eaten one of my entries.. I'd explain how, but its partially my fault, partially the stupid fucking computer's fault.. and y'all would tell me its mostly mine..

Anyways. Its my birthday today. Woohoo.

I went home for christmas, and fun was had. I saw my grandpa for the first time in ages, I found a long-lost friend, and the little ones got lots and lots of gifts. RJ (the nephew) was baby Jesus in the children's participation nativity service on Christmas Eve, and Melanie was Mary, to the great amusement of Sarah and I... It seemed for a while like Kaitlyn was going to pull the same thing she did last year (sit in the pew with her aunties Sarah and Naners in her cute little angel outfit until she realized there would be pictures being taken..) until she realized that mommy and RJ would be in front of the church too..

Speaking of church, I'd like to take the little old lady stance of "I'd like my services to remain traditional"... The church in CB that my mother goes to has this congregation of old timers and young families.. and for as long as I can remember until 1999ish, the 830 service was always a traditionalesque service with a sing-along factor to it, and it was a fun service to go to... the 1030 service was the tradtional service, all out, with the choir in the choir loft, and the reverend in the front presiding over it all.... now, the first service is run pretty much strictly by a person who isn't the reverend, he only preaches thats it... there's this crappy music that no one knows, and they're expected to read the lyrics off of the projector on the wall, and from time to time there is a group that signs along to the crappy songs...the second service is now semi-traditional, with them still using the damn projector, but some of the songs are actually from the hymnal... my question is why, with an AGING congregation (in majority), would you use the projector, which, in my opinion at least, is overall harder to see???? especially when the members donated money for the hymnals to be used, and there are like 20 that are large print just for those that are losing their visual strength? I can understand trying to do this to gain members, but they're just losing members, and after a month of steady losses, wouldn't you try something new??? from what I hear, they aren't trying something new, because the reverend's daughter doesn't like any of the songs in the hymnal!!!! How fucked up is that??? why don't they go back to the way it was before and add like, a non-tradtional service at night some time so that she can go and be comfortable.... speaking of her being comfortable, he allows his teenaged girls to show up for church in blue jeans!!! when I was going, this was never acceptable church attire, even at early service!!! *grumbles* it just peeves me..

and in case you all care this is/was my birthmas present to myself... I needed some, so I got 'em and stuff..

Oh! and I took granpa to a messiah sing along, and it was sad.. he doesn't sing any more 'cause his sight has gotten so bad he can't read the notes... though we discovered at the christmas eve service that if he knows his part and the words, he'll still sing to like, little town of bethlehem and angels we have heard on high... so its sad but cute...