Just praying at the home dinner table is becoming something of an
anachronism these days, but there are still families (like mine) who do
pray
before dinner at restaurants. I can't say that that applies at McDonald's,
because we hardly ever have a sit down dinner at a fast food restaurant,
but
if we bring home some KFC, yes we set the table and say grace.

When we eat a sit-down meal at home (increasingly rare these days) we ALWAYS
say a prayer, mostly out of tradition but also because it's simply a nice
thing to do.

When I was growing up, my family sat stoically at the table and recited the
old "Bless us, oh Lord..." prayer.

Mary's family, on the other hand, always joined hands, and said the "God is
great, God is good..." prayer.

As a result, in our family we now all join hands, and say BOTH prayers --
even though we do not practice any organized religion.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"Chris Hoffmann" wrote in message
...

I've had similar experiences - twice in college, once in a mall parking
lot.
Sometimes it's enough to tell them my father is a minister (which he is),
but other times they do what your two gentlemen did. All you can do is
excuse yourself and go elsewhere. Some people take the "go ye therefore
and
teach all nations" line a BIT too seriously. I think it's great that they
have placed such importance on the souls of others, but badgering a person
isn't the way to convert the masses.

As I said, Dad's a minister, and he would be appalled by behavior like
that.
I never asked him why he of all people wouldn't appreciate zeal like that,
but then in all the bible studies I had as a kid, not once did Christ go
seeking out people to convert. They came to Him, and perhaps that's how it
should be.