Sunday still feels different. Does anyone else notice that?

Sunday doesn't have a shape for me other than what I'm going to cook. I have just moved our customary main Sunday dinner to Sunday lunch. I have faith in nature and the universe but no organised church or community. We have very little family now and shrinking fast, a few friends not local. DH says he is a Christian and follows the life of Jesus but feels totally let down by the C of E of whom he was an active member.

I've been retired many years but the weekend does still seem to be different to week days.
I live in a close and Sundays are generally different - no children walking to school, no cars moving, no one dashing to get the train/bus to go to work.

Just quiet and peaceful.

More practically, when you are retired all days can run into one, so to do something differently on Sunday helps to punctuate the week and anchor it on one day.

We always have a extra nice meal at lunch time on a Sunday and a tea and cakes meal in the evening

Sunday has always been a different day for me. My parents were very strict about “ keeping the sabbath” though they did relax their rules as they got older. I don’t have rules as such- more a way of life as a Christian.
My Sunday focuses around church, though I don’t go to as many services as I used to. I still cook at lunchtime. That was necessary, to work around services especially Evensong, and the habit has stuck, though today I wasn’t hungry until early evening ( no Evensong tonight).
I don’t do housework on Sundays, though I might sometimes do some washing or ironing, depending on how busy I have been. I avoid shopping on Sundays as the shops are busy, though I will pop out for milk if I need it.
Normally I don’t have much contact from my family at weekends as they are busy with their own lives, but if I am invited I will go to my son’s if he is doing a Sunday roast for all the family, or pop over to see my daughter for an hour in the afternoon by invitation, but most Sundays apart from church I am alone and occupy myself to try to avoid feeling lonely.
I tend to avoid events on Sundays as they are full of families and I don’t feel I belong. I go to church in a different village from the one I live in, so I no longer have that same sense of community, but the church is still important in that village.

We were delighted when shops opened all day on Sundays,we regularly worked a 6 day week and had to try to catch a shop for food on the way home from work.
Corner shops were considerably more expensive but they were the only ones open until 10pm and choice was limited.
Of course it wasn,t that long before Sunday weddings became popular so we took Wednesday afternoons to do banking and visit suppliers and pick up a weekly shop .
It’s incredible how much you can fit into one afternoon when you need to…even a Chinese lunch in town.
The woman who used to serve us then as a teenager still serves us at a different Chinese restaurant now and often talks about those busy times.
Now retirement means family here for Sunday lunch ,none of us have a religion but we do have each other THAT is much more important…to us.

Sometimes another day in the week feels like a Sunday. Maybe its just the quiet. We live close to a busy little town centre. but some days have a stillness to them.

Many tradesmen will not answer their phones on Sunday and why should they?

It’s a long time since I went to church but Sundays do still feel different. For me, it’s because I know officialdom is sleeping, so no post (although parcels sometimes get delivered on a Sunday), no communications from the likes of the NHS/Council/HMRC etc. When my Dh was very unwell we appreciated that there’d been no summonses for blood tests or calls about prescriptions or to discuss results.

Likewise, there is no obligation on us to contact anyone on a Sunday - it can wait until the working week.

I like a quiet Sunday often see son number 3 but not the others. Me and my hubby tend to do the garden and nice quiet chores. A nice lunch glass of wine and all is good.

It’s just another day, no faith, but as kitty says, it’s an opportunity to catch up with DDs and DGSs who have work and school all week.
I’m ‘funny’ in that I made a conscious decision not to shop on weekends, because I feel for those who have no other option. I’ll go to a garden centre, the beach or a child friendly farm/attraction, but I’ve 5 other days to buy whatever I need or want.

Sundays are often different here although we are not churchgoers and are retired.

Weekends are different because that is when we mostly see children and grandchildren as they are tied to conventional school and office hours - so to some extent we are too.

Now that I’ve retired Sundays feel different because I don’t get the dreaded ‘Sunday feeling’ because I had to face work on Monday

I don't think if takes faith to build a community NoraHayes but community does matter and if you access yours through faith that sounds positive.

Yes my Christian faith is important to me but I don't push it on to other people. We have friends from different religions and some of no faith at all. Our friendships are based on our love of music, sharing meals and wine together, the books we like to read, the films we like to watch. So really faith does not come into the reasons why we are friends which are rich and diverse. No way would I discuss my faith when sharing a meal with non-believers it would not be necessary or appropriate.

Sundays are still slightly different for us, often in summer when we have a family bbq, otherwise quiet. Monday the to do lists kick in.
I get comfort from our village community centred in our local pub, many a time have regulars pulled together to help those in distress. Including my son when he went missing as an 8 year old (he’s now 35)!
That’s where we find most of our tradesmen, people to help if a car needs a push or a lift somewhere, money raised for friends with unexpected events or our local food bank.
A few funeral processions started off from there too, my community Nora

To ginny
You make a fair point and I completely agree that decency has nothing to do with whether someone believes or not , I'd never suggest otherwise. What I find interesting is how much of what we consider community infrastructure was quietly built around faith without people necessarily realising it. The Tuesday morning group. The ones who show up. Whether you believe or not, those structures did something. Your story about the vicar made me laugh by the way I think she meant it as a compliment even if it came out slightly wrong.

To toetoe
A continuous happy — that's such a beautiful way to put it. And I think that's exactly what people who haven't experienced it don't quite understand. It's not about the big moments. It's the steady undercurrent of it. Thank you for sharing that you've actually helped me understand something I was trying to put into words."

I hope you answered her with “I am” ginny 😀

I can’t say I agree with you. A faith has little to do with helping and caring for others or being judgemental about those who do or don’t believe. It is just about trying to be a decent human being.
A while back a very ‘religious’ church going lady was very suprised when she learned that I did not know the new local vicar as I was not a believer and didn’t attend church . “Oh,” she said “ but you seem such a nice person”. I found it rather amusing.

Even though I live alone Sunday feels a different kind of day . Often a nice roast lunch and glass of wine . I have my church and my faith and the people my church family who I really believe would help me if I asked . I was chatting to a friend who is struggling and as we chatted I said my happiness is found in my faith , which surprised me as I took a moment to actually find the answer . After thinking about this I do feel it's true , I love my family of course and they bring me happiness and I'm blessed they are safe and well . I don't see them often and that's fine , it was when I was answering a question from my friend when I said " my faith makes me happy " and it isn't momentarily it's a continuous happy . I hadn't thought about this before . I can't go any deeper but I know I really feel this , even though I only go to church on a Sunday .