Methodist Service

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by RedHeadGal

Our stake contains a geriatric ward, consisting entirely of temple missionaries. Once in a while, one of them will appear as a speaker in our ward, at which point they almost invariably comment on how wonderful it is to hear the sounds of children in the congregation. I had always just thought they were feeling nostalgic or something, but now I'm wondering if perhaps there is a level of sarcasm I hadn't detected.

I think we actually like the jungle noises. The silence of a student ward feels oppressive. No clapping, no whispers (or shouts) of agreement, or "Amen!". Heck, even a return salutation of "ALOHA!" is frowned upon.

Plus sarcasm and irony are not typical Mormon traits, esp. among temple workers.

[RedHeadGal]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I think we actually like the jungle noises. The silence of a student ward feels oppressive. No clapping, no whispers (or shouts) of agreement, or "Amen!". Heck, even a return salutation of "ALOHA!" is frowned upon.

Plus sarcasm and irony are not typical Mormon traits, esp. among temple workers.

Well, I very rarely enjoy the "jungle noises" when they are kids. I know--what are the parents supposed to do? But it is distracting. And I still don't think those temple workers mean what they say with they talk about they noise. By and large, they appear to be a grim and rigid bunch, and they get very irritated if your primary runs over by a couple of minutes and affects their ability to get into the chapel early.

Incidentally, I did attend the Christmas Eve service at the Episcopal church near my home. It wasn't exactly a hallelujah and amen! crowd, but I quite liked the general participatory nature of the service: standing, sitting, kneeling, reading aloud, singing, listening, as outlined in their program.

[MikeWaters]

I've been to some Catholic worship, and compared to LDS worship, it feels like you are in a step aerobics class. Stand, sit, kneel, sit, kneel again, sit...