From: mhanson.humanist@gmail.com   
      
   Greetings:   
      
   I am currently houseless, self-employed, dependent on some charities to be   
   comfortably fed. Many of the meals available are at Christian churches to whom   
   I am grateful, and I take my hat off and keep quiet during their grace.   
      
   At one such community meal there was a discussion about "God" and there were   
   disagreements among the main three participants. I choose to remain silent and   
   let them do as they will, and I was glad I was not invited. Had they insisted   
   I would have excused    
   myself, stating that I would not like to have such a topic at a table I'm   
   about to eat at. If they insisted I would suggest waiting until after dessert.   
   If they continued asking most likely I would just keep silent until they were,   
   unless they say I'm    
   bring rude to which I imagine I would give slight chuckle.   
      
   It bothers some people greatly having to participate in sermons and prayers   
   and such to have a basic need meet, but I figure it is just a courtesy to the   
   providers. My only objection is when they get too personal, especially when   
   I'm trying to eat. I was    
   served a breakfast plate and started eating when a woman came up and asked if   
   I needed prayer. I said, "No, thank you."   
      
   To which she responded, "So you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal   
   savior?"   
      
   My breakfast was getting cold. "Yes, I had." - which is true, I did in the   
   past, but had since recanted. I had no desire to explain the details; cold   
   potatoes and eggs I have to force myself to swallow.   
      
   There are other religious groups that offer food: Buddhist, Muslim, Sikh,...   
   no other group put us through all this just to get a meal.   
      
   To those who may accuse me of being unappreciative, I answer that my grace is   
   a lot longer than most. While most thank their god exclusively, I thank all   
   the people responsible, which is a lot more than most people realize. Of   
   course there are the    
   servers and the cooks, but there are those also who bought the food, provided   
   the funds to make the purchases, transported the items to the place of the   
   meal. There are the farms and factories and all the workers who worked to   
   prepare each and every    
   ingredient,  as well as the transportation between all the necessary points.   
   And let's not forget the fueling and maintenance of the vehicles involved. The   
   makers of the plates and silverware, the cooking utensils, the building   
   itself. Every meal has    
   thousands if not millions of fellow humans responsible for another few hours   
   of comfort for ourselves.   
      
   Thank you.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)