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.
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. Excuse me, but isn't there something about when two or more are gathered in my name?
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.
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.
This is very telling about the whole megachurch fad. The doors will be open in my church on Christams.
AP
3 comments:
This is very telling about the whole megachurch fad.
That is truly sad: that they would close to remember his birth and forget/choose not to remember His death.
Our church is closed for Christmas. It was opened for Halloween for an outreach....but closed for Christmas. It has the name "outreach" at the end of its name........we now call it an "inreach" church. We will be moving on to another church!
When it takes 1500 volunteers a week to provide services for a church, I see nothing wrong with moving a service to a Saturday and taking Sunday off.
We come from the biblical standpoint that going to church is inequivalent to worship and keeping the sabbath holy.
Have a problem with it? Go somewhere else. As an active volunteer I appreciate the time to spend with my family.
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