“As bad as this is, there are whole countries of Catholics where few attend church during the course of a whole year.”
As a member of the ELCA synod of the Lutheran Church, (my spouse’s family church over her lifetime), when they announced a few back that the ELCA would be ordaining females and members of the LGBTQ community, I was stunned that such a decision would come down with zero discussion at the congregation-level.
That said, shortly after the that decision was communicated, the ELCA sustained the loss of hundre4ds of congregations throughout the United States.
As I walk the halls of the church, I see the pictures of the bygone years of confirmation classes going back to the 1950’s, where there were 30-50 confirmations in a class, through the 80’s and 90’s, 20-30 confirmations, through today, 1-2 confirmations.
As I sit in the pew in my mid-50s and look around, I am among the youngest congregants in the church, save just a few, and even fewer children, maybe 3-6 total.
We pray for the oppressed, we pray for the environment, we pray for those marginalized, and yes, we pray for the migrants seeking a better life.
Stephen Bannon said it best: the churches are empty and the Mosques are full.
I pray nothing happens to my wife, for if it does, her funeral will be my last time attending this church.
I’m amazed you are still there.
The death of churches is a sad thing...