lamenting the lack of church

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Chas
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lamenting the lack of church

Post by Chas »

This is a topic I raised a while back and I thought to raise it again as there are new members here and new folks in Hua Hin and who knows, perhaps kindred souls.

Here it is Sunday morning and I am listening to Gregorian chant downloaded from the internet and lamenting the lack of a church to go to in Hua Hin. Part of this is due to the fact that the Catholic Church which I grew up in and which I was a part of no longer really exists except in name. As far as liturgy and the Mass, everything has gone to hell churchwide so it is no surprise to find nothing here. The priests here at St Theresa are nice enough fellows, but I come out of Mass there really, really depressed.

Many of you are C of E ( so I assume by the British overtones and the love of football) and I generally love C of E services. But to my knowledge there is no C of E presence in Hua Hin nor is one planned. I took the step of going to the C of E church in Bangkok a few weeks ago. Delighted with the music and the chance to hear the only pipe organ in Thailand played very well. But I still have not gotten over the shock of watching the priest do the communion service in his street clothes!

Anyway, I welcome any news or notes or discussion. Maybe a traditional priest will happen by and a service arranged? Maybe an old-fashioned hymn sing?

Maybe I should just convert to Buddhism. I seem to attend temple ceremonies more than Mass these days anyway.
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redzonerocker
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Post by redzonerocker »

maybe you should convert to buddhism, its a lot less of a hypocritical & corrupt religion than others seem to be.
yes i'm british, catholic mother, protestant father who jointly dabbled along the way with the mormon religion & jw's too.
was i confused as a kid? not at all. doesn't matter what church you go to or what religion you are,it does matter what you personally believe thats all important.
whats better, abuse life & go to church once a week to dissolve your sins? or cherish life & never go to church?
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Post by darwinian »

Read The God Delusion by Dawkins.
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Post by DawnHRD »

I believe there is a church service every Sunday at the Hilton, Chas & that the church at Salesian also has some English speaking services. Can't tell you much more than that, as I'm agnostic, I'm afraid - but they might be worth checking out.

Edit - jut reread your post. Is the church at Salesian St Theresa's? In that case you already know about those. Sorry. :oops:
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Chas
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Thanks Dawn & others

Post by Chas »

Did not so much want to start a thread on religion in general, or what one believes or doesn't believe etc. though that it is the heart of the matter. I was mostly just waxing nostalgic for the good old days. "Smells and bells" and all that.

As a lifelong organist, choir director, choir member, soloist etc in churches ranging from Baptist to Catholic, I just miss having a place to go once in a while that feels like home.

Yes Dawn, the Salesian is St Theresa's That they just built an immense new school and still use an old barn for a church should tell you something about their priorities. The music is in the hands of the Filipinos who have gigs at the various hotels around town. . .and thats what you get for music. Pop rock. The problem is that they are no different than my sister's home church ( Catholic) back in New Jersey or Catholic churches anywhere I would guess. The liturgy sucks. The music sucks. The whole experience sucks. ( I hesitate to come out and say what I really think!!)

I agree that Buddhism has a lot to offer but even after seven years here, it doesn't quite feel like home. And my personal belief system is obviously a lot stronger and more accepting than any single church. ( I think Native Americans had a lot of things exactly right)

The Hilton crowd, I must admit to not having tried. They are evangelizing fundamentalists and I have a hard time getting past that crucial fact. [/u]
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Post by PeteC »

I think the Pope just introduced something that goes against Vatican II and states that any church can once again hold Mass in Latin if they want to. This may indeed attract more people back who have been gone for many years, at least those of us in our 50's and higher.

To answer expected questions, in these times people are searching for something that makes them feel secure, and many times those are things they became comfortable with as a child, concerning religion. Human nature I guess when the world around you seems out of control. Pete :cheers:
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Post by mil_dos »

Halfway through The God Delusion at the mo'. Rarely, has so much common sense been squeezed into a single book.
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Post by darwinian »

Here,here
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Post by caller »

mil_dos wrote:Halfway through The God Delusion at the mo'. Rarely, has so much common sense been squeezed into a single book.
Then after you have finished, try to read another with contrary views.

In this day and age, we seem susceptible to instant enlightenment with the latest faddy writer or whatever and after they have there 15 minutes, along comes another to milk the honey, so to speak.

It happens in business, lifestyle and religion, but what lasting effect do they have?
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Re: church

Post by Jaime »

redzonerocker wrote:maybe you should convert to buddhism, its a lot less of a hypocritical & corrupt religion than others seem to be.
The old ones are the best - that one always makes me laugh!

Seriously - if smells, bells and ceremony are what turns you on then maybe a conversion to Buddhism is the way forward. Moving on to pete's point; surely, the whole point of the mass being conducted in native tongues was to ensure that the congregation were able to hear and to understand The Word and ultimately allow them to engage in some sort of theological understanding, rather than behaving like brainwashed automatons? Quite frankly, the thought of attending a mass conducted in Latin leaves me cold. It may as well be in Pali.
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The pope?

Post by Chas »

I keep close tabs on what the pope is up to but must admit that we have absolutely nothing in common. (For those not following Catholic Church issues, think George Bush in a pointy hat.) Possibly the only thing we agree on is the Mass in Latin which, if you have not grown up with it, might seem as strange as Pali, but if you have and have a missal to follow etc, it seems very natural. Yes, he has "encouraged" the Latin Mass, but by now the priests have lost the way to do it and just dont know Latin. . so it IS a foreign language. Return to the old ways is impossible I would say.

And it it not so much the language as the overall quality of the experience. So much wonderful music is written in English and that, along with the Latin, has been tossed out in favor of stuff that can be strummed on a guitar. ( One of my favorite composers of sacred music is Healy Willen, C of E and a Canadian who wrote in English.)

The concept of having a respectful service, conducted with dignity and prayerfulness, with good music performed well and an opportunity to reflect for a bit on life. ..has just disappeared in the Catholic Church. And to add in a good sermon ( which you NEVER get in a Catholic church I might add) well, its not what you get these days.
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Post by mil_dos »

Might be time for the DVD shops to start stocking Father Ted re-runs.

Funniest thing since Dad's Army.
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Re: The pope?

Post by VincentD »

Chas wrote:... is the Mass in Latin which, if you have not grown up with it, might seem as strange as Pali, but if you have and have a missal to follow etc, it seems very natural.
Yes, they seem to have 'lost it' practically all over. Sad, really. The Saturday Novenas at the Redemptorist Church on Thomson Road in Singapore are still very popular; the Novenas are conducted every hour except for lunch and are in Latin...
Chas wrote: And it it not so much the language as the overall quality of the experience.
Agreed.
Chas wrote: The concept of having a respectful service, conducted with dignity and prayerfulness, with good music performed well and an opportunity to reflect for a bit on life. ..has just disappeared in the Catholic Church. And to add in a good sermon ( which you NEVER get in a Catholic church I might add) well, its not what you get these days.
It all depends. As you say, I've been quite disappointed with the services conducted at the main cathedral in Bangkok (behind the US embassy); it draws the expat crowd and the music (at least for the English services) is dominated by the Phillipine pop crowd.
I now attend a church outside of town, and sometimes help with the organ playing for the early morning service. The congregation here is much more community-minded, you should see the turnout for midnight mass!

I guess the annoying thing is that most of the organists these days come from your typical music school mill-type training, so they can't wait to try all the latest bells and whistles with drum beats and auto arpeggio - totally puts me off.
Mum used to play for the church back home; she had the proper Grade training and we had proper organ music back then. (I had to help turn the pages.. :)) Yes, I miss that too.

The catholic community in Thailand is actually quite active; there is a major seminary up near Sampran (Rose Garden) and there is a shrine to a Thai saint there too. Church feast days are well-attended, even those out of town.

Perhaps you should drop by Sampran next time you come up to Bangkok.. :)

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Sampran?

Post by Chas »

Thanks for the reply Vincent and the info.
I had actually been planning to head up to Bkk this coming weekend to give the C of E church there another try. The pipe organ was nice to hear. I know what you mean about the bells and whistles on the ubiquitous electronic versions.

Never been to the Catholic cathedral in Bkk but if the music is in the hands of the Philistines. . er Filipines, I am not likely to go. Singapore does have more of a selection of churches to attend, I am sure and of traditional services too. (Please IM me with directions to the Sampran church. I am interested. Thanks.)
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Post by acerockolla »

Thailand does not need the catholic church, imagine the Thais all running around feeling guilty for everything - oh and how much more rampant would AIDS be as the stupid pope still refuses to wake up in the real world.
Face it the catholic church is just a meeting place for kiddy fiddlers and those that seek to protect them.
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