I go to church. That put me in a solid majority of Americans when I was young. Now I’m in a minority.
The trend toward that significant shift began a few decades ago. It got a jolt during Covid when staying home became a preferred pastime for many.
A lot of people blame a lot of things for the drop in church attendance. We can take comfort in knowing God’s time is not our time. Rather than griping about it, how about if we believers commit ourselves to being the most decent, loving, and kind people we can be? Maybe we can attract someone back to a pew who wants to be part of that.
I don’t know if I’m weird, but I actually like being at church. For me, that’s the Catholic Mass. I move around from Sleepy Eye to Leavenworth to New Ulm. I’m stealthy in that way.
I was sitting at Mass a while ago, and my mind was wandering. That’s common for me. Focus was never my long suit. Pam says I have ADHD; she might be right. What were we talking about? Oh yeah. Church.
Anyway, I was thinking about why I liked being there. Then it hit me, how about a Top Ten list. The Top Ten Reasons for Going to Church! Thank you, David Letterman. Only my list isn’t really the Top Ten. That would include our salvation and knowing our Creator. So, this is Ten Other Reasons for Going to Church.
- That’s a big one. For most of us, singing is what we do with the radio on in the car. Maybe the occasional Happy Birthday or Take Me Out to the Ballgame. But in church, we get to join our voices with others in a de facto choir. Sometimes it’s majestic. How often do you get to be majestic in a typical week?
You don’t have to be a good singer. Just join right in and add to the volume if not the quality. Tom Larson is a really good singer. He has led singing at St. Mary’s for years. After Mass, I tell him how good we sound together. I think it’s mostly Tom.
- Go for the art. Most churches have glorious statues, wall paintings, and wood carvings. There’s something uplifting about being surrounded by beautiful things. It’s not like going to your uncle’s place with the painting of dogs playing poker over the fireplace. If you’re lucky, the sun will shine through the stained glass on to your forehead some morning, and you can be part of the artwork.
- You get to see some of your neighbors that you only drive past and wave at. The people-watching can be great. If you’re a regular, you watch kids grow up and people get old. That can be a reminder that you’re getting old, so maybe that’s not so great.
- You get some exercise. Especially if you’re Catholic. At a typical Mass you genuflect, kneel, sit, stand, sit, stand, kneel, sit, stand, sit, stand, bow, kneel, stand, kneel, walk, kneel, sit, stand, genuflect. I’m tired just typing that. If there’s not donuts afterwards in the church basement, that counts as a workout. My Protestant friends don’t get as many calisthenics. But they at least have to get up off the couch to go to church.
- You have to be quiet and listen. That was a useful tool when we had kids, letting them know there were such times. This can be a time to reflect, a time to quiet the noise in your head, or just a time to shut up for once. We all need that. In Psalms, we are told, “Be still and know that I am God.” Once a week that’s not a bad idea.
- Face it, you know your parents want you there. This is true whether they are living or have passed. When I headed off to college, my dad told me to “Get your rear end to church.” Only there might have been a shorter, coarser word used than “rear end.” Regardless, getting one’s posterior into a pew is still a good admonition, no matter our age.
- It’s an excuse to get out of the house. I tell people, I don’t get off the farm much, church on Sunday and town for supplies a couple times a year. That might be a slight exaggeration, but church is still a good reason to set your routine aside for an hour a week. Plus, you can check the neighbor’s crops on the way to town.
- You get to dress up. You don’t have to look like a slob all the time, you know. Those clothes in the closet you have for funerals and weddings? You aren’t going to wear them to go to the parts store, but you can sure wear them on Sundays. Maybe even show you have a little good taste. You might surprise fellow parishioners that you don’t look half bad when you clean up.
- There’s going to be a sermon. If you don’t let your mind wander too much, you can learn something. Your priest or minister thinks about this stuff all week. They went to seminary for this. They might have something to say if you give it a listen. You get extra points if you ask him or her about a certain line when you see them in the back of church later. That will prove you were listening. Surprise them.
- Finally, there’s that keeping holy the Sabbath thing. By keeping holy the Sabbath, God did not mean Bloody Mary’s with brunch, before settling on the couch to watch the Vikings game. They didn’t even have football when the Ten Commandments were given to humankind. There was baseball, “In the big inning,” but no football. (Old joke, but I’m an old guy.)
There’s my list. Feel free to add your own reasons. The important thing is getting your you-know-what in a pew. See you at church.