Non-Christians and Mainly Music

my sister found it fine. there are normally only a few christian songs and although they often give the kids easter books and christian books for their birthdays she found the ppl there really not pushy which made it really good. i think depending on the age of the kids they wont really get any christian aspects from it unless you choose to reinforce it. Im a christian and took my kids but i was never once asked if i was actually a christian or anything like that so it all relatively non threatening. you could always keep going and if they are pushy or anything then you could try and find something else?

the local libraries also have a good music program called rhythm and bounce if you have a library near you though i didnt find it as good.

ETA: just to clarify my sister is really really non christian. lol

Edited by monikah

I'm not religious and we go to Mainly Music. There are songs about God and Jesus which I feel a little hypocritical singing (lightning bolts!) but otherwise there is no other emphasis on Christianity.

The people there - attendees and organisers are so lovely, much friendlier than non-denominational music classes I've been too. Whether that is a coincidence or not, I felt really welcome and DS loves the morning tea afterward with all the other kids. It's cute. All for $3 per session and no commitment to a term or whatever.

We go to Mainly music and are not religious in the slightest. I have no problem with the God references and only a couple of the songs they sing are really christian songs anyway.

Edited by kellie

Im not religious and go to mainly music and a mothers group. Its very non religious i forget and have to remind myself to watch what i say. I respect what they do for the community and i appreciate they dont shove anything down my throat. I did at first feel like a fraud but dont so much now. They are an awesome group of people and I dont feel like they are a church group

I do wish there were groups and organisations that did this much for the community that werent neccessarily church based so that everyone could feel like they could be a part of these amazing groups. its just a shame that you being christian is almost a prerequisite, without it actually being one, but what I mean is say a muslim or someone from another religion wouldnt be able to come to anything and they really do put a lot on in the community for mums and teenagers etc.........

I suppose it would depend on the group you go to whether they are more full on christian or not

I'm not religious and we go each week - its awesome!

We had 2 songs with a lot of religion - a grace before their mealtime, and they had "notices" which was about different masses etc as well as other info.

I just love the fact that everyones friendly, everyones out there having a go, the children love it - and it is totally affordable.

I also dont like having things pushed in my face or onto me, and religion is one of them, yet i have never felt uncomfortable or "preached at" or anything there.

hope that doesnt come across as rude in any way..

We're non religious and we go most weeks. There's one song with a reference to god, but I don't mind, DD isn't old enough to understand anyway. I've been going for a good couple of months and have never felt any pressure and no one is pushy at all.
The ladies who run it are all so lovely and it's very welcoming.

Completely depends on the group you go to and the church it is based in. (I'm on a MM team in our church).

One of our biggest aims is supporting mums and making them feel special and treasured, religous or not, SAHM or working or not etc (you know what I mean?). We usually aim to have one song about God per week (sometimes there's two but it's usually not "planned" that way) and sometimes there's none, just the way the music goes sometimes. We try to offer non-threatening ways that people can be involved in the church if they want but yeah I'd hate it if people felt they were being preached at and didn't want to come any more for that reason. (things like ladies pamper day and craft days etc)

I say go along for a couple of sessions and decide how you feel after a month of so - the programme could changed each week or two? But if it's not your thing it's not your thing and you don't need to feel bad about that.

(and our group aren't doing anything "mega" religious for christmas this year - random toy for the kids, special gift for the family, father christmas should be there and hopefully we can get the petting zoo back again - but other groups would think we were being farrrrrrrr to non-christian doing that )

Complete atheist here and l LOVE MM. We go to a fab group and the ladies are wonderful and l appreciate what a great job they do in the community. The religous aspect is minimal but each to their own and no one judges.

totally not religious here and our local music thing is run by the presbyterian church. There are subtle references to God (ie the odd song) and the newsletters will often have a bible quote in them. It doesnt bother me one bit. I think its good for kids to be exposed to many different experiences and religion is just one of them. Just because we dont go to church (hubby should as he had the boys baptised) doesnt mean they should grow up unaware of what a church is and does. The ladies that run it represent what I believe to be what churches should be about. They are kind, caring and selfless. If they want to mention a little religion..go for it.

Some people complained about singing away in a manger at christmas and saying grace before our Christmas party. I see it that when it is held in a church, you have to respect their beliefs.

I would never NOT go because it was in the church. Its the music and friendship that make it good.

sunnyhoney - im catholic, so totally biased, but i agree wholeheartedly with your last sentence!