Amen

[KittyVel]

I don't go to religious ceremonies. If I were to go, I suppose I'd just sit there and be quiet. My family likes to pray before meals all the time, but they know that I'm not Christian and are fine with me keeping my mouth shut. On occasion, I'll do the prayer, but I just use some random song lyrics for the most part. I'd find it too awkward to do anything serious.

 
I usually say something along the lines of, "Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub, yay God!"  XD  It works, and no one has said anything yet, so I'm sticking to it!  I think I saw someone else around here that says something like that, too, and I giggled because I didn't think it was a very common prayer.  X3

[Miss]

Was just wondering what y'all do when involved in a Christian religious ceremony, such as a funeral or wedding or Thanksgiving prayer at the family's.

During the prayers, do you bow your head and pray to your own God/dess (and if so, do you still say "Amen" with everyone else), hold your head up because Jesus is not your Lord, or pray with everyone else, invoking the God that the others are praying to.

---

For me personally, as a panentheist, I have no problems praying to God using Christian scripture; I'm just adding my voice to theirs in invoking the blessings of God, but using Christian format (I have no issues, for example, with the Lord's Prayer).  However, if the prayer involves Jesus, I'll talk to him during the prayer, asking more for guidance (as a student to a teacher) than as a prayer to a savior, just as I do when addressing the Buddha.

I always end a Christian prayer with "Amen."  It's a powerful word, similar in my thinking to "So mote it be."

Best~
EJay

 
Any time I'm joining the husband's family on the holidays and a prayer comes up, I bow my head and think about other things. "Oh I do hope the pie turned out well.." and so on so forth lol. I don't want people to ask me why I didn't pray, because explaining is a hassle and may ruffle feathers. I don't like to attract negative attention to myself.

[Marilyn/Absentminded]

During the prayers, do you bow your head and pray to your own God/dess (and if so, do you still say "Amen" with everyone else), hold your head up because Jesus is not your Lord, or pray with everyone else, invoking the God that the others are praying to.

I keep my head up and take the opportunity to look around at everybody without worrying about being rude for staring.  I figure if you're supposed to pray with head and eyes down, then anyone who catches me looking isn't praying either and doesn't have a position to question me from.

I don't make any pretense of praying but I'm quiet while others pray.  I sometimes say amen if it's a led prayer and has droned on for a while - at that point I am truly thankful it's done, and the tone of that amen has many echoes in the room.  The rest of the time I just take the sound of amen to mean that I can eat or talk or move around again.

It might be different for me because everyone knows I'm not Christian and neither is half my family.  We're not rude enough to question each others religious choices in a solemn setting, and general religious conversation at the dinner table is  pretty casual.  Argument happens, and debate happens, but unless somebody invited certain of my cousins by mistake, preaching doesn't happen.

I can't recall ever being taken to task for the way I don't pray.

Absent

[Waterfall]

I usually say something along the lines of, "Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub, yay God!"  XD  It works, and no one has said anything yet, so I'm sticking to it!  I think I saw someone else around here that says something like that, too, and I giggled because I didn't think it was a very common prayer.  X3

My nephew uses that one! He's seven so he can get away with it. I think everyone would just stare at me like a crazy person if I tried it. Maybe I should do it just for fun one of these days.

[victoreia]

I normally bow my head out of respect, and if I feel called to participate in my own way, I will. But I normally don't say anything out loud.

 
This.

I usually say something along the lines of, "Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub, yay God!"  XD  It works, and no one has said anything yet, so I'm sticking to it!  I think I saw someone else around here that says something like that, too, and I giggled because I didn't think it was a very common prayer.  X3

 
I think that may have been me! For some odd reason, my dad's family hasn't asked me to say grace the last few times we've actually sat down together for a meal...... :ange:

[FunkyDemon]

Was just wondering what y'all do when involved in a Christian religious ceremony, such as a funeral or wedding or Thanksgiving prayer at the family's.

During the prayers, do you bow your head and pray to your own God/dess (and if so, do you still say "Amen" with everyone else), hold your head up because Jesus is not your Lord, or pray with everyone else, invoking the God that the others are praying to.

The only time I would encounter a religious ceremony or prayer would be a wedding or funeral (we do have Thanksgiving, but there is nothing religious about it).

At weddings and funerals, I remain silent and don't bow.  That really hasn't changed since when I was an atheist.  My silence is as far as I am willing to go, and that is out of respect for the people, not the religions.  

At my grandmothers funeral, I said my own prayers outside of the ceremony.  It was actually funny having a minister that knew nothing about the people involved; trying to get them joining in for songs and prayers, nobody knew them so couldn't join in.

[Katefox]

I usually say something along the lines of, "Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub, yay God!"  XD  It works, and no one has said anything yet, so I'm sticking to it!  I think I saw someone else around here that says something like that, too, and I giggled because I didn't think it was a very common prayer.  X3

 
"Oh God make us able for all that's on the table!  Amen."  Which is actually in the book of table graces my family usually uses. xD  I'm rather partial to it for being short, and to the point.

This hasn't come up for me that much seeing as I haven't been to church since I started to explore Paganism, and haven't even been to many family dinners (my parents are the only ones who make a point of saying grace).  But as a rule, I'll bow my head and keep quiet during prayers, and, I think, keep the "amen" for prayers I can agree with.  Besides which, bowing my head for prayer is fairly engrained from childhood, so I'd feel weird not doing so.

And often it's just easier to extricate myself from a situation if I don't spend time trying to explain that I'm not Christian, and not really interested in praying (thinking of the old man who insisted on praying that God would heal me from being blind...but that was aggravating because of the assumption I needed healing, not particularly because it was a Christian prayer).

[Ghost of the Navigator]

Was just wondering what y'all do when involved in a Christian religious ceremony, such as a funeral or wedding or Thanksgiving prayer at the family's.

During the prayers, do you bow your head and pray to your own God/dess (and if so, do you still say "Amen" with everyone else), hold your head up because Jesus is not your Lord, or pray with everyone else, invoking the God that the others are praying to.

---

For me personally, as a panentheist, I have no problems praying to God using Christian scripture; I'm just adding my voice to theirs in invoking the blessings of God, but using Christian format (I have no issues, for example, with the Lord's Prayer).  However, if the prayer involves Jesus, I'll talk to him during the prayer, asking more for guidance (as a student to a teacher) than as a prayer to a savior, just as I do when addressing the Buddha.

I always end a Christian prayer with "Amen."  It's a powerful word, similar in my thinking to "So mote it be."

Best~
EJay

 
Most of the time I keep my mouth shut and if I agree with the message of the prayer/hymm I will end it with "So mote it be".  Coming from a family of Masons and being one myself it works out easy that way.  If I am asked to say grace I will use my Grandfathers dinner prayer, "Bless this food to our use and us to your service, and keep us ever mindful of the needs of others...   So mote it be".  This way hopefully whoever is at the table can direct it to their deity of choice.