another article on Christmas SundayMay trigger

[ex-shep]

One of the megachurches called it off next Sunday. For me, the jury is still out on this one.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/13413144.htm

I did look at the website of my denomination. Next Sunday varies all over the lot. The church I go to is not having services next Sunday, others are business as usual, and many are just having one service.

[Carmen]

I think that some may be depressed on Christmas, especially if they have no family, or none nearby. Others think of the perfect family life - whatever that is, and see that theirs doesn't measure up to it. The churches should be available for them. One could send a lot of deacons and other workers home that day, if less people are expected and work with a skeleton crew. The stress caused by Christmas preparations can be great, a service can still be held, but in a minimal way, emphasizing Christ, not commercialism or flashiness to give church workers a break. (Why not do things simply all of the time?) Live video isn't bad for shut-ins, although some of the older ones will probably not even have computers to access it nor know how to if they had them.

I think that on an individual level, we have to be there for each other, if we know someone that will not be going to see family, maybe they should be invited over, or so that they don't think it is just for them, maybe a party or pot luck can be arranged. I think that we can do things without the initiative of church organisations, it is learning to think and do for ourselves, being Christ for others - and not only on Christmas.

[Hope 98]

The church that I attend is having regular services on Christmas Sunday. The pastor made the announcement in yesterday's service.

What I liked about the announcement is that he made a point of NOT judging anyone for attending or not attending. He recognized that people may need to travel, have company, or any number of things that would make attending a regular Sunday service difficult. He also acknowledged that other churches may do things differently.

The bottom line was "We'll be here doing business as usual and anyone is welcom to join us."

The whole church may hold 100 people if we squeeze them in, and the whole atmosphere is generally casual. We won't be impacting local culture - but hey - it will be a place to go!

[truth]

What I liked about the announcement is that he made a point of NOT judging anyone for attending or not attending. He recognized that people may need to travel, have company, or any number of things that would make attending a regular Sunday service difficult. He also acknowledged that other churches may do things differently.

The bottom line was "We'll be here doing business as usual and anyone is welcom to join us."

The whole church may hold 100 people if we squeeze them in, and the whole atmosphere is generally casual. We won't be impacting local culture - but hey - it will be a place to go!

I'm impressed....... if that church was in my city I'd probably go there, too....you caught my attention when you said that he actually recognized people doing other things than attending church AND did not guilt them for it!

[ex-shep]

I'm impressed....... if that church was in my city I'd probably go there, too....you caught my attention when you said that he actually recognized people doing other things than attending church AND did not guilt them for it!

Sounds like the pastor has a good handle on things. Good for the pastor.

[ex-shep]

I think that on an individual level, we have to be there for each other, if we know someone that will not be going to see family, maybe they should be invited over, or so that they don't think it is just for them, maybe a party or pot luck can be arranged. I think that we can do things without the initiative of church organisations, it is learning to think and do for ourselves, being Christ for others - and not only on Christmas.[/QUOTE]

Can't argue with that.

[gwen]

Our current church always has a late night (11:00 PM) Christmas Eve service. Our pastor announced that there will also be a service on Sunday (Christmas) morning. Sunday school has been cancelled though. At our old "church", we were EXPECTED to be at the church every time the doors were open. At our current church, it is more like that they will be holding a service for those who WANT to come.

At our old "church", services were never cancelled for any reason, including hazardous weather/road conditions. There were times that we went to "church" when it was dangerous to be on the roads, but we weren't "excused" from being there. At our current church, they have made an announcement about the possibility of cancelling services due to bad weather and how to find out if a service is cancelled. If they decide to have service, this is what the bulletin said, "In the event we decide to have service, you will need to make the decision whether or not you can safely make it to church. Please use your own judgment in the matter." That freedom to not be "required" to be there is quite refreshing to me!

[ex-shep]

[QUOTE=gwen]Our current church always has a late night (11:00 PM) Christmas Eve service. Our pastor announced that there will also be a service on Sunday (Christmas) morning. Sunday school has been cancelled though. At our old "church", we were EXPECTED to be at the church every time the doors were open. At our current church, it is more like that they will be holding a service for those who WANT to come.


It is peculiar for my wife and I. We always catch the Saturday night service and sleep in Sunday. It is a drive for us. Sixty miles round trip and then going to work on in the afternoon is a bit much. Again I find the expository teaching more to my liking.

We did have a baptism canceled by the projected path of Hurricane Rita. Never happened. We used outdoor pools of the members. The senior pastor also had his father pass away at the same time. Somehow in our heart of hearts we just had to reschedule. So instead my wife and I were baptised in a chilly October afternoon outdoors. It was better than 20 years ago. The pastored smiled, "We just cut a hole in the ice". :eek: