I saw this article about 1 in 5 catholics attend mass. I am episcopalian and try to go to church but in actuality on make it about once a month. Did any of you grow up going to church and now find you and your family rarely attending except holidays? Is it because of busy schedules or what? Just curious why church seems to be getting further and further from people's weekly activities?
Hey there!
I grew up going to church until I tuned 13...then we slowly decreased the amount we went. More because at 12, 13, 14 all three of us kids were bigining to question (well challenge) our faith. We all wanted to explore different religions and my parents were ok with that. I would still go every now and then with my Dad but for themoset part we went on holidays.
I don't think one needs to atten church to show their trust/love/faith in a higher power what ever his/her name may be. Besides, didn't Creator create the earth? Why do we have to go to some building to show our commitment to him/her? I would much rather be amoung nature, and show my appreciation and trust/faith in those surrondings...
Now adays I do my "praying" while I stetch after a workout.
We did slack off from church attendance for a while, but to be honest, being busy was just an excuse. I'm glad we're back in the habit, because I get a lot of encouragement from being together with other believers and from hearing the sermons. Interestingly, the discipline of getting myself out of bed and over to church on Sunday mornings has helped me develop the discipline to eat right and exercise--not that that's why I go to church, of course.
I think church attendance slacks off for people for differing reasons. For myself, it was because I had an overzealous religiously fanatical mother who felt church was a place you lived and you should only visit your home once in a great while. We would go to Easter Sunrise Service at 7:00, then go to breakfast, then back to Sunday School at 10:00, church at 11:00, get out about 12:15, go eat out with all the church folks or huge Sunday meal at grandma's, back for choir practice at 5:00 then church at 7:00. Then we had Wednesday service, and my mother made sure to hit every Bible school/revival she could find in the area to attend. And if you lived under her roof, you WERE going to church.
That, coupled with just too danged many hypocrites within the church these days, I'm with fitgal..."I don't think one needs to attend church to show their trust/love/faith in a higher power". I don't hold the same beliefs as my mother. To her, that means I'm not a Christian and am going to burn in ****. So be it. I can't change her beliefs and will never try. Too much to invest in a lost cause.
I've been thinking lately of finding a church that we can attend however. My brother's is close, but it is the same religion we were raised on, and we just didn't care for the service when we attended Easter Sunday. We'd like to find a freewill church nearby, so that our son grows up experiencing religion. But we are likely to only be Sunday morning worshipers. I cannot, and will not, follow in my mother's footsteps.
As you can see by my Sunday routine as a child, it probably also explains why I topped 250 pounds.
I meant to elaborate on the hypocrites within the church statement I made, but forgot to get back to it. I wanted to mention that I've pretty much seen it all. The topper was when our pastor of 16 years beat his wife to death with a piece of firewood during a vacation in a cabin. It made national news and tore our church apart.
That was of course major. But I've been faced with the minor hypocrites since I was a child. Those who say don't do as I do, but as I say. Frankly, I got sick of my mother making us change the TV everytime she heard one curse word, but conveniently missed them saying a curse word if it was something SHE wanted to see.
When I was little, we went to church every Saunday, and on Saturday mornings, my sister and I attended chatechism (I could so be spelling that incorrectly...). Once I was in third grade and had performed my first communion, my parents told my sister (who was older) and I that we wouldn't be going to church anymore. They put us both through far enough in chatechism that is we ever wanted to go to church when we grew up, we had the option to do so without having to be baptised or anything. The only time I've stepped foot in a church for a mass since is when it's required (weddings, baptisms, Easter services where my a cappella singing group in high school had to sing, etc.).
That said, I have grown to be thankful for the option. I'm glad we weren't forced to go every Sunday for forever--I think it would have made me resent the church. I personally no longer believe in Catholicism (or any organized religion, really), but I agree with what others have said: if you do believe, you can believe from ANYWHERE. Man created the idea of having to go to a church to pray, so why can we not change that tradition? I think praying in nature or at anytime when you are comfortable and peaceful makes WAY more sense than going to a certain building on a Sunday morning. I NEVER comment on anyone else's religious beliefs or practices, but I really can't stand it when someone thinks I'm not as good a person simply because I don't attend an organized mass on a weekly basis (I had a roommate in college who was Menonite--whew, talk about a clash of beliefs!).
Anyway, all of that to say--I don't think church is a priority for people anymore. People are not only busier (those precious Sunday mornings are the only day each week when I get to sleep past 5am), but also more open-minded and less likely to follow old traditions blindly (not to say that going to church regularly automatically makes you a blind follower, so please don't get offended), so praying from anywhere at any time makes more sense to a LOT of people rather than joining with others at a given time and place. I hope that all made sense
Growing up, we were in church every Sunday, as well as Wednesday nights, during the week for revivals, etc. I continued being active in church throughout university. After university and after my husband and I married, there were several years that we didn't attend anywhere. When my children were born, we wanted our children raised in the church and have started attending again. There was a period of a year or two where we didn't go regularly, but we do now.
Of course you can believe (or not believe) or pray from anywhere. What I can't get at home is fellowship with other believers. So even though we are busy and even though the temptation to sleep in is there at times, we do continue to make it part of our live.
I'm Episcopalian too. We go about twice a month. It's just laziness on my part, to be honest. I'm a night owl. A nine-ten start time for Eucharist just doesn't mix well with a 2AM bedtime. It's kind of difficult with three young ones, but we lucked upon a church that doesn't bat an eye when they get loud during the service. My usual comment about St George's: You've got to love a church where you can open the walls.
While it is true of course that I can worship God anywhere...Well, coffee hour is lonely when it's only me. And a church provides opportunities for outreach that just don't exist for the solitary worshipper, not without great difficulty. I'm not into St George's enough to know what all charities they have their hand in, but my church back home not only hosts AA meetings but is an active supporter of the local battered women's shelter, one of the homeless shelters, and Christian Assistance Ministries, which has a clothes closet, a food bank, and also provides monetary assistance (like, for paying your bills). They also regularly run mission trips down to Honduras, and when the Episcopal church does a mission trip they take construction equipment and medicines. My abilities are much magnified through my involvement with the church. I don't make enough money to do much of anything on my own, but the church offers the opportunity to get my hands involved as well.
I couldn't deal with spending hours upon hours there, though. If my soul can't be saved in an hour, it's not gonna be saved in three. I'm good for sixty minutes on Sundays (not counting fellowship afterwards, of course), and maybe an occasional Bible study class or service Wednesday nights, but I couldn't go spend two or three hours at church every night like my sister does.
I must say today as I sat in my church that I was surrounded by HYPOCRITES and SINNERS. I took the time to THANK GOD that I was able to worship with them today!
My dad had the same feelings, many of you have mentioned, about church. His father was one that had nothing but time for the Sunday school kids but would come home and beat the freakin' daylights out of my dad and uncle. My father tried several times to take our family to church growing up but we never stayed...always some reason we didn't stay. I truly regret that he didn't keep trying to find the right fit for him.
Thanks to my ex-wife I have been a regular member at a Missouri Synod Lutheran church for over 22 years now. My wife, my ex and all of our kids attend regularly...it is the greatest comfort in the world knowing that not only I, but my children have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I pray that each of you KNOW HIM at some point in your lives.
I could pray ANYWHERE...but that doesn't FEED me.....
I could go outside ~ the mountains ~ rivers ~ etc...to worship God's GLORY...but that doesn't FEED me.....
I could say my COMMITMENT to my "god" is in being a good person.....but Christians KNOW the difference.....
I could not go to church and BLAME it on someone else....but I am smart enough to know that NO one but Christ is perfect....I am smart enough to know that it is between HIM and ME on MY relationship with HIM....
For those of you that do not attend a Christian church ~ those of us that do will pray for you!
If you do not attend a Christian church I ask you to give it a shot....it WILL change your life!
You know, I find it really rude that people force their personal religion on others. NO RELIGION IS BETTER THAN ANOTHER!!! PERIOD!!!!!!! If you truely are a christian you would accept other peoples religion (and choices) and not indicate that your personal religion is better than anyone elses!!!!
I am glad that YOU find comfort in how YOU relate to the higher power, but to incinuate that you way is the ONLY way ("For those of you that do not attend a Christian church ~ those of us that do will pray for you!") is just plain wrong!
EZ MONEY, I agree with fitgal. You're not being rude but hoping that we all get to know "HIM" at one point in our lives is a choice we each might make and not something people should suggest. I wanted to annouce to the world that I dennouced my religion at one point, but I still have catholics and other christian sects coming after me, constantly. Its funny, because you think that religion can only be true if one is TRUE to God and oneself; for most churches, it suffices to get sinners and hypocrites to go to mass and hand in their donation. Believe me, I've been telling people that I WANT TO FIND GOD but its utterly impossible because no matter what I try, I'm convinced that there are things that cannot accept from the christian religion. I cannot and will not accept those particular things, and I tell people this and they'll respond "Oh its okay, none of us know the correct answers to all your questions, we'll help you through this.. blah blah blah" and they NEVER DO answer my questions. They always trickle away from them, strictly adhering to what's tradition. One of my friends constantly bugs me to go to church. I WAS NEVER BAPTISED NOR CONFIRMED and I never will until I (PERSONALLY) FIND spirituality. FOr now, I'm rather agnostic and I am open to all religions. ALL. I do not believe the christian religion is better than any others, as your tone seems to hint. ANd I extremely dislike it when people MAKE a suggestion, specifically to THEIR religion. What about others? Religion is a concept/idea and a practice. There's no proof that a particular religion is THE ONE. SO why in the world would I need to be christian? I respect the fact that you are, but really, no need to pray for me.
I can only speak for myself. I haven't attended regularly for about 10 years. I've searched around a few times for a new church in the interim. I would love to find one that gave me something to really think about during the week. I want a sermon delivered by someone intelligent and thoughtful-something to apply to my life. I think it is a cop out to say I don't need to be in church to worship God. Of course, I don't. In reality, though, I don't spend regular time thinking about things bigger than myself in a normal week without church. I just want to find one where I don't sit there resenting what a waste of time it is.
Preachers kid here so yes, I attended church even when there wasn't anything going on, lol I haven't attended in the last few years. Not that I don't want to attend but the habit got changed. I ended up in a job that took many hours from me for a few years and some of those hours were during church time...when I didn't have to work during church times I slept, ate, grocery shopped, cleaned house, anything I didn't have time to get done other days - so I lost the habit of going.
My parents raised us in church. There wasn't a Sunday morning, evening or Wednesday evening that we were'nt there. I attended church with my own children when they were younger. I am married to a devout Mormon and I am of Baptist faith. I didn't change my beliefs for him and he didn't change for me. Other than a wedding, funeral or occasional Christmas pageant we have not been in a church together. I do attend church semi-regularly with my 13 yr. old and she is in a youth group on Wednesdays. My 20 yr. old son recently started going to church again when he was in basic training for the Army. I think my children have been exposed to religion enough to make their own choices as adults. I do like to hear a good sermon, but I'm not too fond of the way many churches are asking for donations for anything and everything. I have never tithed and my sister thinks I'll sure go to He!! for this. I give weekly whatever we can afford as a family.
Church Attendance
It's kind of difficult with three young ones, but we lucked upon a church that doesn't bat an eye when they get loud during the service. My usual comment about St George's: You've got to love a church where you can open the walls. 
And a church provides opportunities for outreach that just don't exist for the solitary worshipper, not without great difficulty. I'm not into St George's enough to know what all charities they have their hand in, but my church back home not only hosts AA meetings but is an active supporter of the local battered women's shelter, one of the homeless shelters, and Christian Assistance Ministries, which has a clothes closet, a food bank, and also provides monetary assistance (like, for paying your bills). They also regularly run mission trips down to Honduras, and when the Episcopal church does a mission trip they take construction equipment and medicines. 
My abilities are much magnified through my involvement with the church. I don't make enough money to do much of anything on my own, but the church offers the opportunity to get my hands involved as well. 
freakin' daylights 
