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From Our Interim Pastor, The Rev. Dierdre L. Thomson
"Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God: Psalm 147:1
I recently had lunch with a colleague, originally from the South, who also is an Interim Pastor. She has served at least 5 churches in the Northeast. She told the story of how people explained Worship attendance at each church. At her first church her first Sunday was on Children's Day. There were a lot of people in church. The following Sunday, there were hardly half, and the rest of the summer there were about a third of the usual number in the congregation. People told her not to worry. It is always like that. Come September the number of people in the pews at Sunday worship will go back up. And it did.
At her second church, she started in the beginning of September. There were not many people attending Worship. The people there said that come the end of September people would start coming to Worship. And they did. It was similar at the third and fourth churches. At her current church, she started in January. There was the usual attendance the first part of the year, and then attendance dropped immediately after Children's Day. As usual, the people at the church told her that come September, the attendance would increase again. And it did.
Then my colleague made a very interesting comment. She stated that "people not attending church in the summer" is a purely Northeast phenomenon. Attending Worship in the South is a way of life. There are no "extended vacations" from attending church. Her statement surprised me. Since I have lived in the Northeast all my life, and have always been concerned about Worship attendance dropping off during the summer - I thought that it was that way all over, including the South. Please notice that I said "extended vacations" from Summer Worship. Not the run of the mill two or three Sundays missed because of taking a trip, or even visiting other churches just to get an idea of how others worship. I am talking about the empty pews that seldom have someone in them from the end of the service on Children's Day until Rally Day or even later. That pretty much adds up to 3 months - ΒΌ of the year that some have chosen not to publicly worship God. Yes, I said "chosen", for that is what has happened. Those who do not come out to worship, as well as those who do, have made a choice. I have often wondered, "What if God chose to take a vacation from being there for us?" Fortunately, He has promised, "I will be with you always." We made a vow when we joined our particular church, that we would come and Worship God, and that we would do all in our power to help God's church. Let us start now to rid First Presbyterian Church of Englishtown of the
"Northeast phenomenon". I look forward to seeing you next Sunday.
In His Service,
Dierdre
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