Things you don't miss about the c of c

[agricola]

We never sang the third verses. We sang verses 1 and 2, then skipped to verse 4. ALWAYS (except at regional 'sings').

[Tsathoggua]

Wow! Extensive list! Nifty! Can't think of anything to add, right now. Good job!

[Moogy]

In Texas, the weather is rarely so bad that we couldn't make it the church building. I remember only once when I was young, my dad was slipping around on the ice as he drove. Actually, he wasn't slipping at all until my Grandma, his mother, criticized him for driving too slowly. He sped up just to show her what would happen!
Another time, probably when I was in high school, we were at my maternal grandparents' farm facing at least a forty mile drive to church. Granddad was their preacher. It was very icy, so he called and told them he could not get there. My grandmother quickly made unleavened bread and apparently they had Welch's on hand. We had our own short service.

[Cootie Brown]

In Texas, the weather is rarely so bad that we couldn't make it the church building. I remember only once when I was young, my dad was slipping around on the ice as he drove. Actually, he wasn't slipping at all until my Grandma, his mother, criticized him for driving too slowly. He sped up just to show her what would happen!
Another time, probably when I was in high school, we were at my maternal grandparents' farm facing at least a forty mile drive to church. Granddad was their preacher. It was very icy, so he called and told them he could not get there. My grandmother quickly made unleavened bread and apparently they had Welch's on hand. We had our own short service.

Good to know you had a scriptural upbringing. We had small group meetings on Sunday evenings once a month in private homes? We kept the emblems for the Lord's supper on hand primarily for that, because we were one of the host homes.

[Ivy]

We had small group meetings on Sunday evenings once a month in private homes? We kept the emblems for the Lord's supper on hand primarily for that, because we were one of the host homes.

I'm sorry, Cootie, but it isn't scriptural to have small group meetings in homes on Sunday evenings. It has to be at the church building
with all the saints or it doesn't count toward the 3 x weekly.

[Cootie Brown]

We had small group meetings on Sunday evenings once a month in private homes? We kept the emblems for the Lord's supper on hand primarily for that, because we were one of the host homes.

I'm sorry, Cootie, but it isn't scriptural to have small group meetings in homes on Sunday evenings. It has to be at the church building
with all the saints or it doesn't count toward the 3 x weekly.

Yes I Was concerned about that too. It seems the elders allowed unsound doctrine to polute our congregation & I'm certain they will all burn in hell for that.

[ena]

Good to know you had a scriptural upbringing. We had small group meetings on Sunday evenings once a month in private homes? We kept the emblems for the Lord's supper on hand primarily for that, because we were one of the host homes.

Oh no! Homes have kitchens. Of course mixing the LS with kitchens was not even what Paul was talking about. He was talking about dishonoring the Lord's Supper specifically while some were partying others that had nothing and could not partake. It's called being considerate. It is common in the CoC to read the verses you like while ignoring the rest.

[Shane R]

* The mind-numbing Bible class workbooks with such useless exercises as True/False questions and Fill in the Blank with proper words from the KJV.
* The sermons that cited no less than 30 different Bible passages.
* The total lack of Christian iconography/ornamentation in the buildings, usually supplemented with drab colors and dated floor coverings, often in some disrepair.

[Ivy]

* The mind-numbing Bible class workbooks with such useless exercises as True/False questions and Fill in the Blank with proper words from the KJV.
* The sermons that cited no less than 30 different Bible passages.
* The total lack of Christian iconography/ornamentation in the buildings, usually supplemented with drab colors and dated floor coverings, often in some disrepair.

Shane, I can tell you are the real deal.

Yes, all of the above, and.....the complete lack of windows. I think maybe there was an energy saving reason for that back during the late 60s / early 70s....does anyone remember? At the same time, it was symbolic....a plain, boxy shape out of which you cannot see what's going on in the real world. And....the less ornamentation, the more piety inside.

[Shane R]

My primary experience was in OH, KY, IN, VA, and WV. Windows were fairly common. My childhood church has a ton of them and they are long too. That is because the area is fairly temperate and the building lacked AC until the late late 90s. Of course, all of the windows had hideous beige, sort of houndstooth pattern curtains to limit the amount of natural light that could get in. That was not a very functional feature since there was a factory directly across the street, although that closed in the early 90s. Also, the largest grocery store in town was one block down the street so there was a steady stream of traffic driving by.

In KY and WV most of the churches were of some sort of cheap block construction that served the dual purpose of being a fairly efficient brick oven in the summer months. In that area, the windows were usually a side opening design that were mounted high enough in the wall to make it impossible to see anything but the hillside if you should attempt to look out of it from a seated position. Also, many of the churches that had installed AC had simply mounted a window unit in the wall. We all know how loud those are.

I do recall a few churches that had murals painted over the baptistry, always done by an amateur from within the congregation and always devoid of people. They seemed to follow one of two themes: the garden of Eden or the river Jordan. And sometimes the pulpits displayed a plain cross.