They might add online streaming.
Many churches initiated this during Covid and many watch online…
SoCal Catholic.
When the Archdiocese put Cardinal Mahoney into retirement at a luxurious villa instead of a prison for his cover-up and shuffling around of pedo priests, that left me so disillusioned my heart left the Church.
Also when my congregation booed a visiting priest from Africa when he had the temerity to defend life and call out abortion.
I’d say that was the trigger for me and quite a few of my fellows.
I live in rural Hawaii. I stream a church service and Zoom a weekly bible study. Because I can’t physically be there I’m not considered a member.
Locally there are lots of churches, but I don’t like their rules, their politics, or follow their peculiar faiths rules.
I’m OLD school Lutheran. That is hard drinking, not politically Liberal, aggressive, and pretty scriptural.
I don’t cherry pick verses, I look at the whole picture.
So I don’t do so well in Democrat dominated churches,
which Hawaii is full of.
We are out here, but hard to count as we don’t trust the counters.
We did this during covid and have wrestled with it continuing. It’s great for the elderly and shut-ins, but we ran into a group of regulars 5-6 who now watch the online service pretty faithfully but never darken the door. If it were not for the elderly and shut-ins we would discontinue the online broadcasts. We closed in person services in March/April of 2020, but returned in May 2020 and haven’t ceased having services but for one week in 2021 when the pastor and most of the deacons had covid.
Our death losses seem to come in spurts. About 2-3 members a year and they usually pass in the same month or close together.
In the last three years we have had loses due to death and the afore mentioned streaming reason, but we have been picking up membership at a good pace through people being saved and baptized and through people moving their letter.
We have a formerly large church in our community that has gone to a totally praise service format on the pastors decision alone without consulting the congregation and they are hemorrhaging members. Some have showed up at our church so that will probably continue.
They might add online streaming.
Many churches initiated this during Covid and many watch online…
Our church provided online streaming starting with the Covid mess. A well off new member helped to fund the top line video equipment and paid for training. Some younger members have really gotten into the technical aspect to make the tv services more acceptable.
However, as weather has been basically mild, the on line attendance has dropped to 3-5 local families (often man/wife). We have out of town and even country tv viewers.
My wife is recovering from a hip replacement, and we both got a form of Thanksgiving Covid and basically depend on the tv services.
A friend, who is a retired mainline pastor, who could work every Sat. and Sunday in local/nearby churches with no full time pastor/rector.
Often, these churches can barely afford him to give a once a month sermon and their new PG&E bills. He donates back 10% of his fees to these churches.
One of my wife’s nursing school fellow grads, died last summer. Her funeral had to be scheduled months later by the priest. Who was trying to “yoke”/help 3 other churches to keep their doors open once a month for services and other needs. There were no full or part time employees at any of those parishes. Volunteers, when able did everything.