Stop Making a Big Deal Out of Easter Worship<\/a>.\u201d He calls it \u201cactivity that ends up with people who are burned out and a worship service that looks nothing like the service that is held on a normal Sunday,\u201d says that \u201cwe too often put on a \u2018show\u2019 for visitors rather than invite them to experience the community that is the church\u201d and that \u201cmost churches perpetuate the practice of coming to church only on special days because we have, in fact, said that this day is more worthy than any others.\u201d<\/p>\nI don\u2019t know anything about Rev. Reyes-Chow\u2019s church, but it sounds like they\u2019re heavily focused on recruitment. There\u2019s nothing wrong with that \u2013 all organizations have to attract new members on a regular basis to at least make up for those who die, move away, or drop out. Growth is good, but few if any people will join on the basis of one service no matter how good (or bad) it is. Christmas and Easter Christians (and Beltane and Samhain Pagans \u2013 I\u2019m sure every path has their equivalent) don\u2019t turn out only twice a year because those are the only fun services. They turn out only twice a year because their faith isn\u2019t very important to them.<\/p>\n
I think Rev. Reyes-Chow means well, but he\u2019s missing the point: churches should<\/i> make a big deal out of Easter because Easter is a big deal for the people already in the churches.<\/p>\n
No matter what our spiritual path, we need holidays: holy days, special days, days when we put aside the ordinary and pick up the extraordinary. Special days encourage us to practice our faith more intensely: think of Christians observing 40 days of somber Lent, followed by the celebration of Easter. Think of Muslims observing the fasts of Ramadan. Think of Pagans celebrating the sensuality of Beltane or exploring the depths of Samhain. If we try to do these things all the time we\u2019ll burn ourselves out or we\u2019ll ignore other important practices and observances, but we can \u2013 and should \u2013 do them for a short time.<\/p>\n
I would tell Rev. Reyes-Chow that if his church has truly gone overboard on Easter (as so many do around Christmas<\/a>), then gently nudge the congregation back toward sanity, focusing on the things that make it truly special. <\/p>\nBut what to keep and what to drop should be determined by what\u2019s meaningful for the people who have made a year-round commitment, not by what may or may not look appealing to people who only think about going to church twice a year.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Should Christians make a big deal out of Easter?\u00a0 Should Pagans go all out for Beltane?\u00a0 Are special holidays worth the trouble? \u00a0 Here\u2019s an interesting essay by Bruce Reyes-Chow, a Presbyterian minister who\u2019s calling on his congregation to \u201cStop Making a Big Deal Out of Easter Worship.\u201d He calls it \u201cactivity that ends up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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