Posted on 12/06/2005 3:32:33 PM PST by franky
This Christmas, no prayers will be said in several megachurches around the country. Even though the holiday falls this year on a Sunday, when churches normally host thousands for worship, pastors are canceling services, anticipating low attendance on what they call a family day.
Critics within the evangelical community, more accustomed to doing battle with department stores and public schools over keeping religion in Christmas, are stunned by the shutdown.
It is almost unheard of for a Christian church to cancel services on a Sunday, and opponents of the closures are accusing these congregations of bowing to secular culture.
"This is a consumer mentality at work: `Let's not impose the church on people. Let's not make church in any way inconvenient,'" said David Wells, professor of history and systematic theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a leading evangelical school in Hamilton, Mass. "I think what this does is feed into the individualism that is found throughout American culture, where everyone does their own thing." The churches closing on Christmas plan multiple services in the days leading up to the holiday, including on Christmas Eve. Most normally do not hold Christmas Day services, preferring instead to mark the holiday in the days and night before. However, Sunday worship has been a Christian practice since ancient times.
Cally Parkinson, a spokeswoman for Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., said church leaders decided that organizing services on a Christmas Sunday would not be the most effective use of staff and volunteer resources. The last time Christmas fell on a Sunday was 1994, and only a small number of people showed up to pray, she said.
"If our target and our mission is to reach the unchurched, basically the people who don't go to church, how likely is it that they'll be going to church on Christmas morning?" she said. Among the other megachurches closing on Christmas Day are Southland Christian Church in Nicholasville, Ky., near Lexington, and Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, outside of Dallas. North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Ga., outside of Atlanta, said on its Web site that no services will be held on Christmas Day or New Year's Day, which also falls on a Sunday. A spokesman for North Point did not respond to requests for comment.
The closures stand in stark contrast to Roman Catholic parishes, which will see some of their largest crowds of the year on Christmas, and mainline Protestant congregations such as the Episcopal, Methodist and Lutheran churches, where Sunday services are rarely if ever canceled.
Cindy Willison, a spokeswoman for the evangelical Southland Christian Church, said at least 500 volunteers are needed, along with staff, to run Sunday services for the estimated 8,000 people who usually attend. She said many of the volunteers appreciate the chance to spend Christmas with their families instead of working, although she said a few church members complained.
"If we weren't having services at all, I would probably tend to feel that we were too accommodating to the secular viewpoint, but we're having multiple services on Saturday and an additional service Friday night," Willison said. "We believe that you worship every day of the week, not just on a weekend, and you don't have to be in a church building to worship."
Troy Page, a spokesman for Fellowship Church, said the congregation was hardly shirking its religious obligations. Fellowship will hold 21 services in four locations in the days leading up to the holiday. Last year, more than 30,000 worshippers participated. "Doing them early allows you to reach people who may be leaving town Friday," Page said.
These megachurches are not alone in adjusting Sunday worship to accommodate families on Christmas. But most other congregations are scaling back services instead of closing their doors.
First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Fla., led by the Rev. Bobby Welch, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, will hold one service instead of the usual two. New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., led by the Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, will hold one Sunday service instead of the typical three.
Well then it's still yesterday here.
Or is it already tomorrow? I'm confused.
.....silence........silence........
(PM -- I don't hear anyone disagreeing... :>)
It's a good thing we have gravity or else when birds died they'd just stay
right up there. Hunters would be all confused. -- Steven Wright
I went to a restaurant that serves "breakfast at any time". So I ordered
French Toast during the Renaissance. -- Steven Wright
Support bacteria - they're the only culture some people have. -- Steven Wright
Somewhere, it's three o'clock. There's always somewhere where it's 3 o'clock....
Our church is packed to the rafters on Christmas.
I xeroxed my watch. Now I have time to spare. -- Steven Wright
"I can't stop thinking like this." -- Steven Wright
Usually the Christmas service is in the evening and not on Sunday. The last time Christmas fell on a Sunday was apparently 11 years ago. I suspect that attendance will be down unless the service is either moved to late morning or evening. Ususally Attendance is up on Christmas and Easter because you have the Christmas/Easter crowd that goes to church twice a year that shows up. I suspect they will be sitting this one out.
LOL. Want to make me a copy?
In my house there's this light switch that doesn't do anything. Every so often
I would flick it on and off just to check. Yesterday, I got a call from a
woman in Madagascar. She said, "Cut it out." -- Steven Wright
How truly sad that these churches will shut down on one of the holiest days of the year! This article certainly provides some insight into the Evangelical mindset. They use their Sunday service to "preach the word" whereas Catholics fill their churches to "worship God".
If I were to say the same thing about the motives of Catholics that you just said about the motives of Evangelicals, my post would be pulled in a heartbeat, I would be accused of being an "Anti-Catholic" bigot, and the mods would be moving this thread to the Smokey back room.
BTW since when is preaching and receiving the word of God not a form of worshipping Him?
"If our target and our mission is to reach the unchurched, basically the people who don't go to church, how likely is it that they'll be going to church on Christmas morning?"
Well, what about the already chiurched? Don't they have needs?
People I know who have attended megachurches will tell you that herein lies the heart of the matter. These churches are seeker friendly and do a great job of reaching the unchurched, they are not so great on feeding the flock after they have been reached. The message never seems to mature as the flock grows but is always aimed for the young Christian.
The funny thing about this article is that these are the same people who are out there screaming tht Jesus is the reason for the Season.
I'm Anglican myself and we have church every Sunday no matter what nad Christmas is a day of obligation no matter when it falls.
We had an Anglican priest who always said the same thing in hios Easter welcome. "We do this 51 other Sundays a year and it would be wonderful to see you here then too." lol
************
What a wonderful idea.
What is a Christingle service?
We're required to go to Mass this Thursday (Immaculate Conception.) Plus Christmas Eve services at 4, 6, 8, and midnight . . . plus Christmas Day services at 10 and 11:30 and 8 p.m. Plus, any time you want to pop in, Mass is at 8:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. every single day.
When we had our last big ice storm in Atlanta, my daughter & I were on a ski trip (and went to the cutest little Catholic church in Gatlinburg TN). My husband makes it a point of honor to get wherever he wants to go during ice storms . . . so he and my son bounced over to church in the 4WD . . . and the power was out! There were only about 20 people there, so they moved the services to the chapel (where they had a nice little generator all hooked up and ready to go!) Choir consisted of 3 people. I was sorry I missed it, it was sort of "Frontier Mass".
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.