Monday, December 19, 2005 at 1:01am
Christmas may not be cancelled after all
Increasing church attendance over the 2005 holiday season in both the United Kingdom and United States appears to be calming concerns over the holiday that Christians must stick to political correctness to placate the views of non-Christians.
"This year there seems to have been even more stories about the banning of Christian images and words by silly bureaucrats," said Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in an interview with the Telegraph, "And it's all because of a quite wrong-headed idea that our neighbors from other religious traditions will be offended by Christian symbols."
On the subject of political correctness and a common identity, Williams asked what is left if you take the Christian faith out of the British identity?
"The majority of people in this land identify themselves by a common language, by common culture and by the implicitness of the Christian faith itself," said Williams, "It's a very important part of our identity."
All the press coverage of this issue may actually be spurring the increase in attendance this year. According to a recent Telegraph article, it is estimated 43 percent of adults will attend church at some point over the holiday season in the UK. This figure is almost a third more than those who responded to the same question in 2001.
Buddy Smith, executive assistant to the chairman of the American Family Associate, a group that promotes traditional family values, believes churches and families should concentrate their energies on the "celebration" of Christmas.
"The focus of the church should be on the celebration we call Christmas, especially since Christmas falls on a Sunday this year," said Smith.
Smith believes Christmas falling on a Sunday presents a "unique opportunity" for those who wish to worship this year.
"Churches are doing what they can to take advantage of the holiday falling on a Sunday," said Smith, such as "observing holy communion to the table over the Christmas holiday."
Despite Christmas Day falling on a Sunday, several prominent mega-churches have said they will not hold services on Dec. 25 due to it being a day meant for family gatherings.
Christmas is a time where families are "called together as a community of faith and in homes, too" explained Cally Parkinson, communications services director for the Willowcreek Community Church in South Barrington, Il.
Parkinson cited the low attendance in 1994, the last year Christmas Day fell on a Sunday, as a reason for not holding services on Dec. 25. Approximately 10 percent of members attended Christmas Day services in 1994, which prompted the Willow Creek Community Church to try a different tack this year.
The decision not to hold services on Christmas Sunday has drawn fire from those who feel the day should be sacred, especially since it falls on a Sunday. One such critic is California pastor and Bible teacher John MacArthur.
"I think it's ridiculous," MacArthur said in an interview with AgapePress, "You certainly wouldn't want to have a church service interrupt a celebration of Christ's birth...What kind of thinking is that?"
MacArthur went on to say "I can't think of anything more perfect than to have Christmas on a Sunday."
Responding to detractors, Parkinson said many churches opting out of Christmas Day services this year are simply taking into account their individual histories and resources. Each church must make the decision on whether or not to hold these services by itself.
Parkinson also noted Willow Creek Community Church has services each of the five days leading up to the Christmas holiday. This maximizes the number of chances individuals have to attend holiday worship in a timely manner.
Expected attendance for the sum of each of these services is estimated to be as high as 55,000, with normal weekend Sunday figures standing at approximately 20,000. Typically, Willow Creek offers Sunday services.
Attendees at these services will be given a DVD, which will provide a unique approach to worship, especially around the holiday period.
Parkinson said staff members at the Willow Creek Community church were "inspired to do something different" this year. The DVD is meant to give attendees "a completely different treatment and experience" than previous attempts at holiday worship services."
"We encourage [attendees] to use the DVD to re-experience the message of Christmas in a different format," one that will be focused more on a "family gathering time" at the home instead of the church.
Smith also brought up gathering time as a family as an important aspect of the holiday season and religion in particular.
"It's a time to share with my family and really come together around a common purpose," said Smith. "In general, Americans revere and respect the Christmas traditions, [however] political correctness is calling for such a blend of everyone's belief where everything is lost."
Smith said people should not be ashamed to celebrate the Christmas holiday with as many of their family and friends as possible. He spoke of his personal upbringing in Ackerman, Ms., to respect different identities and cultures while celebrating one's religious holidays.
In this respect, Smith said he has many non-Christian friends. As a group, each member respects the others' holidays and religious beliefs and is not offended by differing personal faiths.
"This year there seems to have been even more stories about the banning of Christian images and words by silly bureaucrats," said Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in an interview with the Telegraph, "And it's all because of a quite wrong-headed idea that our neighbors from other religious traditions will be offended by Christian symbols."
On the subject of political correctness and a common identity, Williams asked what is left if you take the Christian faith out of the British identity?
"The majority of people in this land identify themselves by a common language, by common culture and by the implicitness of the Christian faith itself," said Williams, "It's a very important part of our identity."
All the press coverage of this issue may actually be spurring the increase in attendance this year. According to a recent Telegraph article, it is estimated 43 percent of adults will attend church at some point over the holiday season in the UK. This figure is almost a third more than those who responded to the same question in 2001.
Buddy Smith, executive assistant to the chairman of the American Family Associate, a group that promotes traditional family values, believes churches and families should concentrate their energies on the "celebration" of Christmas.
"The focus of the church should be on the celebration we call Christmas, especially since Christmas falls on a Sunday this year," said Smith.
Smith believes Christmas falling on a Sunday presents a "unique opportunity" for those who wish to worship this year.
"Churches are doing what they can to take advantage of the holiday falling on a Sunday," said Smith, such as "observing holy communion to the table over the Christmas holiday."
Despite Christmas Day falling on a Sunday, several prominent mega-churches have said they will not hold services on Dec. 25 due to it being a day meant for family gatherings.
Christmas is a time where families are "called together as a community of faith and in homes, too" explained Cally Parkinson, communications services director for the Willowcreek Community Church in South Barrington, Il.
Parkinson cited the low attendance in 1994, the last year Christmas Day fell on a Sunday, as a reason for not holding services on Dec. 25. Approximately 10 percent of members attended Christmas Day services in 1994, which prompted the Willow Creek Community Church to try a different tack this year.
The decision not to hold services on Christmas Sunday has drawn fire from those who feel the day should be sacred, especially since it falls on a Sunday. One such critic is California pastor and Bible teacher John MacArthur.
"I think it's ridiculous," MacArthur said in an interview with AgapePress, "You certainly wouldn't want to have a church service interrupt a celebration of Christ's birth...What kind of thinking is that?"
MacArthur went on to say "I can't think of anything more perfect than to have Christmas on a Sunday."
Responding to detractors, Parkinson said many churches opting out of Christmas Day services this year are simply taking into account their individual histories and resources. Each church must make the decision on whether or not to hold these services by itself.
Parkinson also noted Willow Creek Community Church has services each of the five days leading up to the Christmas holiday. This maximizes the number of chances individuals have to attend holiday worship in a timely manner.
Expected attendance for the sum of each of these services is estimated to be as high as 55,000, with normal weekend Sunday figures standing at approximately 20,000. Typically, Willow Creek offers Sunday services.
Attendees at these services will be given a DVD, which will provide a unique approach to worship, especially around the holiday period.
Parkinson said staff members at the Willow Creek Community church were "inspired to do something different" this year. The DVD is meant to give attendees "a completely different treatment and experience" than previous attempts at holiday worship services."
"We encourage [attendees] to use the DVD to re-experience the message of Christmas in a different format," one that will be focused more on a "family gathering time" at the home instead of the church.
Smith also brought up gathering time as a family as an important aspect of the holiday season and religion in particular.
"It's a time to share with my family and really come together around a common purpose," said Smith. "In general, Americans revere and respect the Christmas traditions, [however] political correctness is calling for such a blend of everyone's belief where everything is lost."
Smith said people should not be ashamed to celebrate the Christmas holiday with as many of their family and friends as possible. He spoke of his personal upbringing in Ackerman, Ms., to respect different identities and cultures while celebrating one's religious holidays.
In this respect, Smith said he has many non-Christian friends. As a group, each member respects the others' holidays and religious beliefs and is not offended by differing personal faiths.