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Let your next career move come to you.

In church is it considered inappropriate if you dont like singing, but know the tune to whistle along quietly with musicality?

Why? Isn't some participation better than no participation? (I always sing Jerusalem btw, bloody brilliant hymn and NOT because it's Jerusalem).

I whistled along in Synagogue today, because although I can read Hebrew, I'm not big on singing when I don't know what it means, and not a big fan of Godstuff anyway. The music is lovely and I can whistle very tunefully.

 

 

I'd bear in mind that whistling (especially indoors, especially at night) is associated with bad luck, or with summoning evil spirits and demons, in some cultures. And I have certainly known older people treat it as pure bad manners (especially in a woman).

So depends what church you are in, and where, and whose authority you care to recognise.  If being sensitive of other people's feelings, I probably wouldn't. But that's your call.

Surely you can work this out for yourself. People like convention , like to have a good sense of the experience they will have before they set foot out of the door. If some crank whistles during the hymns that will likely spoil things for a large proportion of people. Mind you , it will provide some conversation…

imagine if someone whistled the hymns at your wedding.  Precisely no one will think about the whistler’s musicality

Hold your horses Diceman.

We're talking about a religious building dedicated to God (and for these purposes any religious buildings qualify).

And you call me a crank for whistling quietly and pretty much note perfect among people who believe in a God and give thanks by sounding like strangled cats.

Religious buildings as places of community. Tick

As places to inspire Spirituality. Tick 

As places of worthy tradition. Tick

As places that support the needy. Tick

As places where you find the creator of all things? Are you the crank?

I asked the question because I don't know the answer. Just because behaviour is atypical why if it's perfectly respectful and considerably more musical than one's neighbours singing attempts is it wrong?

Jim off the fence.

If there are two spare seats in church today and one is next to a blue rinse congregant who has been turned down for the choir since 1959, and the other next to someone whose quiet melodic whistling is just audible from  a few feet away but no more, and a Sky Sport subscription is the prize for sitting down rather than walking out, where are you going to sit.

PS - no whistling I’m afraid. I would sit next to you so I could poke you hard in the ribs any time your lips start to purse.

 

(If you don’t, it’s on Netflix - first season is good).

Prodigal as someone who occasionally attends Anglican services, escorting my mother, and less frequently, Catholic services with the in laws, humming is acceptable and not unusual. The elderly congregation often struggle to read the words in dim lighting and tend to hum or mumble the bits they don't recall the words for.

I've never heard anyone whistle in a service. I have heard plenty of whistling from the verger setting things up, a previous occupant of that post, now deceased, whistled all the time. Lovely acoustics for it.

Do I have arrested development?

If you are regularly off worshiping skyfairies with other cult members then whistling or humming is a fairly unimportant distinction. 

Are you a true believer?

Jim, I think you're better off leaving the details on the collection plate. It wasn't me awarding the prize. I just invited you when I heard it was on offer.

I've been here two years RR and you have to ask me?

When our Rabbi spoke to me yesterday I introduced myself by explaining that I was an atheist. He didn't seem to mind. Perhaps he excused me on account of the whistling.

Whistling mainly.

Reflecting. Enjoying a bit of community and peacefulness.

Checking out any new talent.

Catching up with a few friends

There's a great horse chestnut tree nearby that sheds splendid conkers which I always like to collect at this time of the year.

The usual stuff.

What do you take me for? It would have been a metaphysical appreciation. Mrs P always knows in any event. 'You fancied that lady in row 3 seat 4 didn't you Prodigal'. As it happens there was no trigger.

I was also praying that West Ham would draw with Man City and that Spurs would create a sufficient goal difference to go top.

I suspect if the singing had been better that might have been granted as he plainly heard my whistling albeit quite late in the day.

Faod there are many and varied reasons for the decline in attendance at church. It has nothing to do with thinking people who whistle along to hymns are fruit cakes - I’ve never actually heard or seen anyone do this. This thread is somewhat bizarre

If you want to whistle and don't want to upset anyone in the congregation, you need to become a beloved eccentric and a mild running joke.

That's easy is you are on speaking terms with the rabbi / priest etc.  They just need to throw in a line about enjoying the music, especially PS making his joyful noise unto the Lord despite not being able to sing a note. 

That will do it. You could work up to forming a little club, and having it noted in your obituary, and managing a distinctive haunting, eventually.

I like all of that Tilnet. 

I sent an email to our previous Rabbi asking his opinion on this. He makes me seem positively sane so I think I know his response.

I missed the chance to ask the new incumbent yesterday but there will be fresh opportunities. 
 

I should add I don’t attend an Orthodox synagogue. I was brought up in that environment. Whistling would be out of place there. It’s not the only reason I left it. 

Gospel minister / spiritualist church - I think you can shop around there and find whatever position on whistling you need?

I too had a church-going youth. I remember the extraordinary revelation of meeting an earnest young American couple who were "looking for a church" in the area to suit them, interviewing various ministers etc.

Mind-blowing. What happened to taking the religion you and 90%+ of your countrymen were assigned, going to the local church, and moaning about it ceaselessly?

I'm sure there are lots of congregations that will appreciate your whistling once they have the signal that you come in peace. I would enjoy it.

What Royalty said on 17 Sept at 08:56.

Cults. "Skyfairies".

Any theist and god-botherer has arrested development, brainwashed since childhood. It is difficult to imaginge how lawyers (as well as physiscists and geologists) could believe in an unseen being and prophets who rise to the sky three days after they died, or grow a hose's head and do so, or fly to earth from Jupiter (the Mormon Jesus), or that we are descended from folk who were all burnt to cinders in a volcano.

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