Board 8 > My family has weirded me out with prayer.

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So here at my uncles for one of my cousins birthday(she's 9).

Family decides they are going to pray before eating dinner. We aren't a praying family but I guess this little section does to try to excuse all their life problems(a few former alcoholics among other things).

But where they totally weirded me out was that they decided everyone should hold hangs in prayer. Before eating. Before serving food and putting their hands on said food and then putting it in their mouth.

And none of them washed their hands after. I dont know if any washed their hands before.

For the record i did not participate they asked me and I was like "nope".

Leafeon13N posted...

So here at my uncles for one of my cousins birthday(she's 9).

Do you mean 9, or 36?

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Her actual birthday was yesterday the 28th.

She was actually a day earlier than expected as well so unlucky for her.

And that made me realize I aged her a year she is 8 my other cousin is 9.

Also we don't do birthday topics enough because today being the 29th means yesterday was Ermines birthday.

Do they worship a goddess called Corvidia?

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I always thought churches were germ factories but this just means it probably doesn't matter for most of those people anyway.

my family always did this when I was a kid

doesn't seem weird to me but idk I was used to it I guess
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Leafeon13N posted...

I always thought churches were germ factories but this just means it probably doesn't matter for most of those people anyway.

a lot of churches make hand sanitizer readily available

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It used to be a normal thing for families to hold hands while praying. It's very unlikely that if you had participated the germs would have killed you.

LeonhartFour posted...

a lot of churches make hand sanitizer readily available

Readily available and people using it does not always go together.

Uglyface2 posted...

It used to be a normal thing for families to hold hands while praying. It's very unlikely that if you had participated the germs would have killed you.

It would not, but doing this regularly over a long period of time definitely is going to spread germs you otherwise wouldn't spread.

Leafeon13N posted...

Readily available and people using it does not always go together.

I mean you can use it if you're that worried about it

it's a weird thing to be weirded out by to me but it's a pretty normalized practice for me

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happy ermine birthday

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LeonhartFour posted...

I mean you can use it if you're that worried about it

it's a weird thing to be weirded out by to me but it's a pretty normalized practice for me

Not a normal practice for us and the guy leading the prayer was my older cousins husband, and him not being very articulate made it a 2 minute speech of sentences all saying the same thing.

Also he hasn't worked since he married her and one of her previous husbands was a crook(she was in on most of his thefts and schemes so no innocence here). My theory on this one is drug dealer but who knows.

Most of the younger ones involved in the prayer are only religious to excuse their faults and not the practice what you preach types. So I find the whole ritual hollow.

This isn't a weird or uncommon thing all all though

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You always so judgemental, Red? You sound like a hoot to be around. They wanted to say grace. Who cares. Just be silent for a minute or two then forget about it. Not like they forced you to read scripture and get baptized or something. Sheesh.

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I was silent.

Also not being judgmental, keep in mind I know these people pretty well. It's not like these are people I see once a year.

At every major holiday gathering my family always prays before we eat. I'm always just kinda standing there with my eyes open not reciting the several prayers they all have memorized with their eyes open and heads bowed.

I never learned any prayers growing up. Some of them go on for a while too >_>
.

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The prayer is fine, they definitely made it more awkward than it needed to be but it's a fairly normal thing I've seen other families do.

Its just the gathering after being outside, touching hands, and then touching food thing that really bothers me. At the very least handwashing should be implemented somewhere.

ideally yes you would wash your hands before the prayer

but also, chill out

In the age of Coronavirus this is deeply irresponsible, tbh.

colliding posted...

but also, chill out

I think you overestimate my level of "chill" . I find their practice unsanitary and their prayer hollow but I don't think I was ever unchill about it.

I think the most unchill I got was being silently annoyed that the prayer was being dragged on too long and I was very much hungry and ready to eat. But I've been to enough professional sports events where the national anthem is either horrible or dragged on to the point of exhaustion that I'm pretty sure i can poker face things like this without notice.

Also surprised how many people find this normal. I've seen plenty of different families pray before eating, that isn't strange. But usually it's now your heads maybe put your own hands together and then pray. The linking hands thing is something I've never seen at dinner.

Some of you might remember some of my catholic church topics. i remember putting hands together and joining aisles for Our Father but even they have actually ended this practice(they seemed to amend it to just raising your arms out towards each other). Not that they didn't somehow keep 3 or 4 other unsanitary practices including drinking from the same horrible cup of wine..

It's not that uncommon for those who pray. It's not the most common, but it is still a regular practice. Holding hands in general is a religious thing. Even AA does this to form a circle. NA is even more intimate with an arm around each person at each of your sides to form a circle.

I think you just lack a more expansive religious experience.

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Always throws me off when I go out for lunch or dinner with the future in-laws and they say grace before we can eat. I never say anything and just kinda stare at the floor but it just feels weird and awkward.

If you're in a family you are already 100% going to be exposed to whatever easily transmittable stuff your family members have, no matter what, even if you don't develop symptoms

You're spending all your time in the same enclosed area. Your immune system develops somehow.

You also get to develop social norms, like washing hands before dinner. Your hands aren't going to magically develop a disease between then and walking to the dinner table

This combination of factors makes me think the hand touching is a non issue

I can't imagine being in a family that can't hug or shake hands

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ShatteredElysium posted...

Always throws me off when I go out for lunch or dinner with the future in-laws and they say grace before we can eat. I never say anything and just kinda stare at the floor but it just feels weird and awkward.

That's a perfectly fine way to handle it. Sorry it feels awkward but they likely appreciate you going through the motions.

Maybe just think about other stuff while they are praying so you arent just waiting?

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I mean he's talking about a family praying that doesn't normally pray.

I'd be a little weirded out if my family wanted to do it too, but not if like if it was a normal praying family.

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I grew up always praying before eating but we never held hands ever. I always thought it was weird when I saw people do that

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is your family a bunch of mongoloids that dont serve or eat with utensils?

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Zigzagoon posted...

happy ermine birthday

Happy belated :(

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