Pagan Ettiquite in Christian Churches.

"How do you act when attending service" is a common question asked, and while attending Christmas mass with my in-laws this evening, it got me thinking...a blog post on Pagan Ettiquite within Christian Churches (and this can be applied to ANY house of worship).

First of all one should think on how they would like someone to behave during a public ritual that YOU are performing. Would you appreciate someone being a big distraction? Or would you prefer someone making a public specticle that they are bored and don't really want to be there? I think any rational person would prefer neither.

Think about it. A Church is a place of worship, therefore commends respect. You don't have to perform each and every act everyone else does while in the church, but be respectful while in attendance. Stand when people stand and sit when people sit (you may also want to kneel when others kneel, otherwise you could stick out like a sore thumb...just sayin').

There's no laws saying that you absolutely have to pray traditional prayers when it comes time to do prayers, just bow your head and say nothing.

When sitting in church seats (or "pews" (lol I hate that word)), don't slouch, don't shift around and look bored, don't play with things (particularly noisy things like keys). Sit down, pay attention (you may actually learn something regarding the tradition whose church you are attending). It really comes down to common sense.

What one should expect during a service (I'll use the Catholic service because that's the one I'm most used to), is rising for the opening processional (priest and assistants walking the aisle), sitting for the opening prayer, first reading, a psalm (sometimes sung), second reading, gospel reading, homily (kinda like a sermon), offering (optional, it is not a requirement for someone to make an offering donation), communion (if you have not received first communion from the church or have made traditional confession, you cannot receive the communion from the priest, therefore would remain in your seat when this time comes), final prayers, and exit processional.

It's actually not that bad, and maybe takes an hour out of your day (not too bad...my neighbors (who attend another denomination), leave their home at about 10am and get home at about 12pm...and their church is maybe a 5-10 min drive away, so it could be worse).

So, as a Pagan, attending a Christian service, use some common sense, be respectful and don't complain. Think on how you would feel about a Christian attending your ritual, you would want them to be respectful to your service too.