In particular, the great liturgies of Christmas, Holy Week and Easter attract packed congregations.

Hardly anyone in the packed congregations of about 1,500 people seemed to know either the hymns or the prayers.

Steel workers and quarry men hastened to prayer meetings at the end of their shifts; coal miners held services in underground sanctuaries; chapels drew packed congregations.

At the Yousuf Abad synagogue in Teheran, the packed congregation gathered for the Sabbath was approaching the end of Friday prayers.

Shepherded by Shy Jefferson, an actress and promoter from Los Angeles, the two spoke to the packed congregation of a Baptist church Sunday morning, did a local radio talk show and talked at several area high schools.

I was among a packed double-decker congregation the night of Nov. 9, 1965, when we were trapped in a tunnel under the East River during the historic blackout.

Rituals Carefully Observed A packed congregation sang hymns in Chaldean and Arabic to Arab rhythms thumped out on an electric organ with the gusto of Bible Belt gospelers.

He became organist at Christchurch in Penarth, playing on Sundays to a packed congregation, and taking the train into Cardiff to work at the University every week day.

The service, before a packed congregation of about 1,000 people, was at the Regina Mundi Church, a refuge and focal point for resistance during the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa.

On Monday night, Father Bidawid and a small cast of children re-enacted the Nativity scene before a packed congregation, including visitors from other churches.