### structure | building:

Church
* Every church has a liturgy
  - garments and robes
* Many churches are heritage buildings that have been upgraded
  - bleed the spirituality out of religion in the name of public piety
  - emphasize performance, morally and spiritually
* Many churches have an ethos as a part of their denominational tradition or leadership style
  - kitchens and halls that can be used for next to nothing
  - seven windows on each side of the nave, numbers some consider holy
  - windows made of colored glass
  - hold special services for animals
  - let gays and lesbians give their tithes and worship, yet refuse to bless their unions
* Many churches maintain christening records, which in most cases are naming ceremonies
  - extensive calendars and hagiographies, or writings about the saints
  - marry same-sex couples
  - operate private schools, including seminaries and universities
* Many churches provide Bibles and hymnals in Braille for the blind
  - prayer for sick and diseased persons
  - require couples to undergo pre-marital counseling
  - say they believe in the Bible, but church discipline is never practiced
  - teach against pastors being divorced and remarried
  - use a four-candled wreath, lighting a new candle each week
* Most churches are havens for prescientific and reactionary views of religion
  - museums for saints rather than hospitals for sinners
  - belong to a larger group of churches or denomination
  - care for their people and treat everyone who attends like family
* Most churches have Deacons, and some have Elders as well
  - choirs who participate in church services
  - electricity
  - far more people in worship than they do in small groups
  - prayer chains
  - spiritual energy
  - only keep records back to the date the church or parish was formed
* Most churches use poetry in the form of Psalms or prayers
  - statues
* Some churches are congregational in government
  - different in their doctrines and traditions which they practice
  - so liberal that everything is tolerated, even the sin of homosexuality
  - celebrate All Souls' Day
  - check a person's faith by asking doctrinal questions
  - claim to be teaching the whole truth or the full truth
  - conduct public child dedication services
  - consider the term elder to be synonymous with pastor
  - employ specially trained members of the laity to conduct nonliturgical functions
  - enroll persons automatically whenever they unite with the church
  - even have women preachers which is completely against the Bible
* Some churches have a board of deacons, while others answer to a synod, convention, or association
  - stained glass window in front that is lit by electricity
  - bishops but no elders
  - elementary schools
  - events where children can come and make gifts for family members
  - facilities for baptising people by immersion
  - great pipe organs, some have orchestras, some have small ensembles
  - group confessions
  - little boxes with a separation between the priest and the person confessing
  - parish nurses in charge of health education for their memberships
  - schools that the children can attend
  - services every day
  - small baptismal fonts
  - hold the Bible in one hand and ADD to it with the other
  - limit administration of communion to special authorities or to special buildings
  - observe communion once a month, some every two weeks others once a week
  - only allow church members in good standing to partake of communion
  - ordain ministers with only a high school education
  - possess birds
  - provide niches within the church or as a part of a garden wall
  - run food pantries, which easily run out of both food and money to continue their work
  - see the submission of women and the primacy of men as central to their theology
  - send men down to preach
  - sponsor counseling centers and some educational institutions have counseling services
* Some churches teach baptism sacrament, some that it is necessary for salvation
  - salvation by personal effort
  - that there are 'major' sins and 'minor' sins
  - urge use of liturgies for coming out
* Some churches use a cross for processions, but retain a crucifix as a devotional image
  - the term sacraments instead of ordinances
  - videos to enhance worship for people of all ages
* also play an important role in community life.
* always means groups of believers.
* are Spiritual hospitals where sinners meet.
* are an important part of a community's life
  - source of support for people with mental health problems
  - assemblies of believers
  - big, literally and historically, in Savannah
  - communities of memory and hope
  - crucial organizations, especially in the life of small communities
  - generally in the center of most towns and cities
  - heralds of mercy, grace and justice
  - houses of worship
  - important in Europe
* are located in christian communities
  - weddings
  - made of members
  - parishs
  - park benches in trailer parks
* are places of refuge, hospitals, reconciliation centers, and classrooms
  - quiet
  - significant land-owners as private institutions
  - temples
* are the buildings of humans
  - largest single group of organizations within the non-profit sector
* are the most dissatisfied owners of buildings in the world
  - technologically backward organizations in our society
  - primary source of organized self-help
  - turned into mosques, bell towers and cathedral spires are turned into minarets
* are used for funerals
  - social support
* are used for spiritual healing
  - renewals
  - victims of bombings
  - voluntary religious associations
* can either curse the darkness or light a lamp
  - help couples bond
  - open their nurseries so parents can go to work knowing their children are safe
  - play a key role in supporting families who adopt children with special needs
  - provide young mothers with much more than a flower once a year
* cater to couples starting families, because that's when many young adults return to church.
* community of faith and faith way of life.
* complex of personal relationships.
* deal with individuals and personalities.
* die when they lose touch with the communities in which they are situated.
* exist in many cities on all continents.
* function basically as social institutions.
* generally retain records of burials in their cemeteries.
* give people a chance to work together, to socialize.
* happy environment where people celebrate the joy of their salvation.
* have a long tradition of giving the needy soup, soap and salvation
  - reputation of being alive when they are dead
  - significant role to play in protecting the elderly from loneliness
  - candles and incense
  - presence
  - reputations
  - strong presence
  - various styles and structures of leadership
* hold great power and wealth but it is all based on faith.
* includes bases
  - boilers
  - ceilings
  - church towers
  - courtyards
  - doorknobs
  - elevator cars
  - elevators
  - floors
  - foundation stones
  - hinges
  - interior doors
  - readsides
  - roof peaks
  - roofs
  - room light
  - sections
  - staircases
  - storeys
  - walls
  - window frames
  - windowpanes
* is people born of water and spirit
  - the only society on earth that exists for the benefit of non-members
* is the place where people dress up in fine clothes
  - religious people gather
  - the bond of creation is celebrated
  - where everyone comes to get away from the war of society
* keep more than just birth, marriage, and death records.
* living organisma body.
* often have seasons of remembering
  - operate like banks that clean clothes and laundries that cash checks
  - stand on land of archaeological importance
  - turn a blind eye to heterosexual sin
* ordain homosexual ministers and marry homosexual couples.
* place of acceptance rather than judgment
  - to get to know others, and to be known by others
* play a key role in promoting the adoption of older and minority children
  - traditionally a great role in preserving the national identity of minorities
  - very important roles in communities and provide essential social services
* predominate, with some schools, public buildings, and theaters.
* provide armies of compassion to help the poor.
* sometimes have illegitimate children, but they are children nonetheless.
* speak corporate language, just like companies have a corporate language.
* spiritual priesthood of all believers, an invisible fellowship.
* tend to feed, clothe and help the poor.
* thrive only when their members grow spiritually.
* usually honour prophets only in the first generation of their life.
* vary with many different doctrines and beliefs.
* word that makes some people want to barf and other people yawn.
+ Advent: Christmas
  * Generally, Advent is a time when many people are very busy in preparation for Christmas Day, cleaning and decorating, buying food and gifts, writing cards and letters, and cooking the Christmas feast. Some churches use special candles during advent.
+ Charlotte Church: 1986 births :: Living people :: British singer-songwriters :: British television talk show hosts :: Classical musicians :: People from Cardiff :: Welsh movie actors :: Welsh pop musicians :: Welsh singers :: Welsh television actors
  * Church released her first album in five years, titled 'Back to Scratch', on 17 October 2010. Church has a mezzo-soprano vocal range.
+ Eucharist, In other churches: Sacraments :: Christianity
  * In most Protestant churches, not including Lutheranism, the sacrament of communion involves eating small wafers or Matzos and drinking wine or grape juice, and not believing that it is the actual body and blood of Jesus, but as a very important symbolic observance, and fulfillment of what Christ commanded. Some churches offer it daily, some weekly, some monthly, and some a few times a year.
+ Glass:
  * Glass is often used to make windows and bottles. Many churches have windows made of colored glass.
+ Gothic architecture, Regional differences, Building materials
  * In Italy, limestone was used for city walls and castles, but brick was used for other buildings. Some churches have very rough brick 'facades' because the marble was never put on. Florence Cathedral, for example, did not get its marble 'facade' until the 1800s.