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Re: question about wiccans and church

Posted by Storyteller on April 24, 2006, 1:45 am, in reply to "Re: question about wiccans and church"
216.127.206.12

--Previous Message--
: According to my web dictionary, the word
: 'church' means: a building used for
: religious worship (chapel, mosque,
: synagogue, tabernacle, temple); the people
: involved in religious worship.
:
: Hence, there is no reason why Wiccans could
: not have a church, if they so wanted to have
: one.
:
: As far as having "official"
: churches: there are Wiccan groups that have
: registered with the IRS and have official
: tax status as 'churches'. By the way, the
: IRS uses a variety of factors in deciding if
: an organization qualifies as a church. The
: IRS has developed the following qualifying
: criteria:
: A distinct legal existence.
: A recognized creed and form of worship.
: A definite and distinct ecclesiastical
: government.
: A formal code of doctrine and discipline.
: A distinct religious history.
: A membership not associated with any other
: church or denomination.
: A complete organization of ordained
: ministers ministering to their
: congregations.
: Ordained ministers selected after completing
: prescribed courses of study.
: A literature of its own.
: Established places of worship.
: Regular congregations.
: Regular religious services.
: Sunday schools for the religious
: instructions of the young.
: Schools for the preparation of its
: ministers.
: Note: No one single factor is considered the
: exclusive determiner and it is recognized
: that few churches could meet all the
: criteria.
:
: --Previous Message--
: i am a student at srwschool.com it is a
: wiccan
: site for beginners and i am just learning.
: There is a question that i don't know the
: answer to.. the question is Do Wiccans Have
: Church? If you could please reply it would
: help so much. I am just a beginner so i can
: use all the help that i can get thank you
Sarah ...
I wasn't aware that any particular "group" of Wiccans actually HAVE a "church" (as it were) .. is that TRUE ? Just curious. I'm not disputing it .. it's just that .. well .. without a "heirarchy" of any sort .. (that I'm aware of) .. well .. how does THAT work (if I may ask)?

:
:
:

Message Thread:

question about wiccans and church - amanda kennedy April 3, 2006, 10:58 pm
- Re: question about wiccans and church - Sarah (Curmudgeon) SwampWitch April 4, 2006, 12:31 am
  - Re: question about wiccans and church - Storyteller April 24, 2006, 1:45 am
    - Re: question about wiccans and church - Lark May 2, 2006, 2:37 pm
    - Re: question about wiccans and church - Sylvan SilverNight April 30, 2006, 9:29 am
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--Previous Message-- : : --Previous Message-- : According to my web dictionary, the word : 'church' means: a building used for : religious worship (chapel, mosque, : synagogue, tabernacle, temple); the people : involved in religious worship. : : Hence, there is no reason why Wiccans could : not have a church, if they so wanted to have : one. : : As far as having "official" : churches: there are Wiccan groups that have : registered with the IRS and have official : tax status as 'churches'. By the way, the : IRS uses a variety of factors in deciding if : an organization qualifies as a church. The : IRS has developed the following qualifying : criteria: : A distinct legal existence. : A recognized creed and form of worship. : A definite and distinct ecclesiastical : government. : A formal code of doctrine and discipline. : A distinct religious history. : A membership not associated with any other : church or denomination. : A complete organization of ordained : ministers ministering to their : congregations. : Ordained ministers selected after completing : prescribed courses of study. : A literature of its own. : Established places of worship. : Regular congregations. : Regular religious services. : Sunday schools for the religious : instructions of the young. : Schools for the preparation of its : ministers. : Note: No one single factor is considered the : exclusive determiner and it is recognized : that few churches could meet all the : criteria. : : --Previous Message-- : i am a student at srwschool.com it is a : wiccan : site for beginners and i am just learning. : There is a question that i don't know the : answer to.. the question is Do Wiccans Have : Church? If you could please reply it would : help so much. I am just a beginner so i can : use all the help that i can get thank you : : Sarah ... : : I wasn't aware that any particular : "group" of Wiccans actually HAVE a : "church" (as it were) .. is that : TRUE ? Just curious. I'm not disputing it : .. it's just that .. well .. without a : "heirarchy" of any sort .. (that : I'm aware of) .. well .. how does THAT work : (if I may ask)? : : : : : : :

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