I see by your profile you live in BC. If you are in the downtown core, I know that St. Andrew's-Wesley at Burrard and Nelson, has Jazz Vespers at 4p.m. and have just introduced Sunday evening Taize Services and also a Praise Service, which is worship is mainly through song. The last two, I believe alternate, to check the church's website or phone.

Thanks, I do live in BC but not in the lower Mainland. Small time BC all the way.

Sunday shopping? Lots of people have to work on Sunday and not just in retail. I used to have to work shifts that went 4 days on and 4 days off. So for one month at a time it was not possible to attend church.

One congregation I attended had what we called the "Second Sunday Service". This started before I had kids and in the end my oldest was baptised at the second sunday service. The point was to experiment with worship styles and formats and introduce elements of other spiritual traditions into worship. It was very well attended, more so than the regular service. So there is a need for something non-traditional.

Also, sport programs make it really hard. It's pretty much assumed in some programs that Sunday morning is just not important to families. One of my kids wanted to play football this year. We said no, partly because the time committment was huge for an 11 year old, partly because he's a late in the year birthday and would have had to play with kids much much bigger than he is, partly because he would have had to give up everything else he was doing... but for me a big factor was that I would not be able to attend church for the whole football season.

I appreciate all the discussion and wonder if there's a link with all this in the discussion about small group ministries????? There's definitely no easy answer to all of this.

Seriously I think Sunday shopping was
the most abusive policy decision for
retail people and a major part of our
sick attitudes towards what is important
in family life. People are more valuable
than things - we have forgotten that.

The problem with political correctness
is nobody can have a rest day and also
nobody can celibrate their diversity. All
things human are reduced to zero and
this is good for business. A population so
conditioned will become more "nazi" in
their views: "Work will set you free".

I don't know what church you attend, and I don't attend myself, but I know the Sunday morning time challenge is one of the reasons (aside from a lot of questioning) that I don't go. I've gone myself a few times to a church I enjoy (although I don't follow their particular belief system) but I only go on the rare occasion that all the stars align - my husband is home to watch the kids (I won't take the kids to church), there is no scheduled sporting activity, I get up early enough, etc...It is normally an impossible (for me) time of the week to go. Now, I know if I really WANTED to go, I'd make the time, so I see the gap in my logic. The rare times I go is because this church has posted their topic on their website and I find it interesting enough to go, despite the Sunday am bad timing. But my personal "church" -- where I feel the most connected -- is in the book club I go to (where we start talking about books, but always, without fail, turn to topics of God, religion, and spirituality), when I'm spending time with my family (our lazy Sunday mornings), when I'm reading and thinking and spending some quiet time on my own. With young kids myself, I get my community involvement with school and community activities, so I fill the fellowship gap there. But that isn't what you asked, so to answer your question I would agree that the Sunday am isn't the best way of welcoming our demographic. It is really the only free time of the whole week to just chill with the family. Friday nights or Saturday nights would be good!

I don't know... sunday mornings aren't so bad. As a single woman, I like having fridays and saturdays free to spend with my friends, or if I'm lucky - go on a date! I think sunday evenings might work though. After dinner. Kind of a quiet time....

In the last congregation I was a part of (and the one I'm a part of now), we tried to be supportive of the 'oh no, not another morning!' reality. (And now that I'm a Dad, I really get it!)

We've started a 'Family Together Time'... a potluck supper, followed by a 20 minute child-focused worship service (usually put together by the kids and the minister together). Right now, its once a month... with the hope of moving to more.

Other suggestions would be happily considered!

As a family of five which drives 2 hours either to the east, 2 hours to the west or 2 hours north every weekend, we can't commit to being in church every Sunday morning. If only we could have an early evening service on the Sunday night or a mid-week evening option that could help us get better involved and our church would get even more donations from us in the offering plates.
I'm sure there are many families who are traveling to meet their blended family needs or even visiting family and friends of their own. Thankfully some of our service is on our church's website, but we miss out on the music and community spirit and the children miss their friends.

It is hard to get ready for church on Sunday. My husband and I have a four and two year old, and often I feel it would be easier to just stay home. My husband feels we need to reinforce our Christian lifestyle by going to Sunday School and church regularly (which I appreciate him for). I often think back to when I was a little girl growing up. My dad had so many 'good' reasons to miss Sunday School and church: "the road is too muddy", "the cows need extra hay to be brought in this morning", "we need to let the cattle out to pasture this morning", "the snow may pick up this morning", "it might get windy, and with that loose snow, we just may have a snowstorm by noon", "I worked so hard all week, I think we'll just stay home and listen to a church service on radio." These were a few of the many 'good' reasons we did not attend regularly. I feel I missed out on many opportunities to learn Bible stories and experience a community of believers. My attendance poster usually had only two to three stickers on it, while other children's had 12 to 15. In light of my past experience, I hope to provide our children with the spiritual community opportunities I missed growing up.

This is a big issue, and one that I'm very interested in trying to make some progress on. Part of the question, though, is what the other option is? When is the family service/potluck you mention? Does Sunday night work for people in general?

Part of my reality is that my churches are quite small (I have two), and so splitting the Congregation woulld be a big problem.

What day would work best??
Honestly - I'm often planning things and working on worship issues -

Would Saturday night be better? Reason being - already a busy, run-around day, then to just end it off with worship, and home by 7 or so. Then Sunday is free.

Sunday evening has often been suggested, but I know many are enjoying the last bit of recuperation before starting anothe work week.

Friday nights - family friendly, but people are tired, kids are tired

Wednesdays - still some energy

I'm just giving a starting point for some solutions - We're planning an alternate service for January, to start 1/month for now - this is a big topic for me

In the past, its been on a Sunday... that's what we're going to start with, here. (Though I'd happily move it, if people would like... I'm pretty wiped by Sunday at 17h30!)

We found that a big part of making it successful was having someone who was willing to phone families who had started to come a week or 10 days before, to remind them that Family Time was going to be on X sunday.

The other one I've done, which was kind of cool, but I couldn't interest other leadership, was leading a 20 minute Sunday morning worship at the arena. That was a lot of fun!

We start our travels Friday, just after school lets out, through to Sunday about mid-afternoon. I know we have to take in account that children often need nap time. What about a service before supper time - a 4 or 5pm service? Those who go to the cottage in the summer may also be able to get back in time for a service then.

(I'd much prefer a Sunday service as Sunday has always been known as a church day. With upcoming extracurricular activities, even a mid-week service could be hard to get to.)

"I'd much prefer a Sunday service as Sunday has always been known as a church day. "

You're not from a small town, are you? Sunday is kid's hockey day! :D

I know exactly what you mean by "not another thing" regarding Sunday worship. There are lots of Sundays I would rather pull the covers back over my head & tell my husband he can look after the children. What gets me out the door most weeks, in a word, GUILT.

Because, there are other people depending on me to help lead our worship time. Because my children LOVE Circle Church. Because I love Circle Church & when we don't go, we wish we had.

We've tried informally asking our families if they'd like to try another day, or time or.... but it always comes down to "but Sunday is church day".

The major problem I have is not with the time, it is with the traditional format. I don't find that style of worship engaging, nor full-filling, especially with 2 small children running about. So, to cope with that, we're experimenting in the basement with some other formats. Is it working? Sure. Do I miss the community of the other adults & adult themed worship? Sure. Is there a compromise?

Maybe you've found it?

Church? I thought Sunday is for shopping?

A lot of people think that Sunday is for shopping, which unfortunately means that a lot of retail workers have to work on Sunday mornings. Been there, done that, don't miss it, and hope I never have to go back. But, when I was there I really appreciated a Saturday evening service, which allowed me to actually get to church on a regular basis for those four years.

Sundays are a challenge for us too - until recently my husband had to work (in tourism industry) every weekend, and I was faced with two young children and a baby to contend with - trying to get out the door was rarely a peaceful event! Having a church with a "family friendly" attitude has really helped. We might only get to one Sunday morning service a month, but we also try to participate in the Sunday school events - a bowling night one month (early Friday evening), parlour games and giggles another ... it keeps our kids feeling connected to their spiritual family, and that's worth all the scheduling hassles.

It's tough for us to get up and going on Sunday's for all the reasons mentioned. Our church is wonderful, but again, most of the people are 50+...heck, 60+. There is Sunday school and a youth group, but no nursery so it's really a drag to spend Sunday morning trying to keep a 1 year old quietly occupied while trying to listen to the sermon. I find whoever is holding the child, doesn't really get to focus on what is being said, which really is the whole point and meaning for us.

I know the churches in our area have discussed having worship in the evenings, which can work, although even Sunday afternoons would work better for us, around nap time. lol

So what happened to it being a priviledge to be able to attend church? There are people that gather in the utmost secret, for fear of imprisonment or worse. (think China for example) It sounds like many think it's a huge burden, but it is something not to be taken for granted.

It's all about priorities, I have 5 children, and there has never been a time in my life when it was too hard for me to get all of us ready and off to church on time. It's always been a priority, and I've always thought it was worth getting out of my bed on time for.

And really, say that your church time would be moved to the evening, or a different time of day, the same people would still be missing. Either it's important to you or it isn't.

I am grateful that my family is free to go to church if we so choose to.

momwithfive, your answer is encouraging. I agree completely.

If one is a Christian, then one should be a supportive member of a religious community. If you don't go to church because you "don't get anything out of it," you misunderstand the nature of it. What you get out of it should be less than what you bring to it. We live in a broken world in need of healing and as Christians, we are asked to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Sunday service is just us getting together in community to worship and to encourage each other in church work, work which is ongoing, 24/7. No holidays. Sorry.

At the same time, I appreciate that the actual service in many churches does not speak to people. If you a member of Christian church and you don't like the service, then change it. Talk to people. Create alternatives. Think of how you might be able to engage others. But above all, do this in a faithful way. Keep the candle burning. If you don't, eventually there will be no church for you to ignore.

I often feel the same way as kjoy. We are such a busy family and sometimes on Sunday mornings I just want to stay home and have a "lazy morning". You know, stay in your pajamas, make pancakes and maybe get our teeth brushed by noon. Our church, too, is small and is comprised mostly of the 50++ group. Some Sundays my two kids are the only ones in Sunday school. That being said though, our minister is inspiring and thought provoking and our Sunday school director is dedicated and original. From September - April we get up and go because it's refreshing and healing and the extra sleep we might have gained is not worth missing out on what we get at church. May through August is another story though. Camping season, summer holidays at the cottage and my personal favorite- road race season (pretty much all sunday am races) keeps us away from Church. Come September we are all eager to get back into our Spiritual routine and see our church family again.

There is no sunday sabbath in the bible. Ask your priest to show you where the sabbath changed from sunset to sunset Friday, to midnight to midnight sunday. Your priest will not be able to do this which is why you are confused.

The reason I tend to prefer Sunday mornings is because it is (usually/often/sometimes...) the only time when I'm not working. Although our society is trying to fill up every moment with activities, I still try and keep Sunday mornings for church. I personally am no longer getting anything from the liturgy, however our Sunday School spends its time reinforcing the values that we as a congregation have identified as being important to us and I want this reinforcement for my 3 children. Therefore I don't enroll my children in activities that require regular Sunday am participation.

Cathi

Lots of churches are trying different days/times. If that's what you're after, just look, because I'm sure you'll find it. I can tell you our church tried Wednesday evenings in the summer to attract the cottage crowd, but we never had much of a response.

I think if you find a church that you really like, you'll enjoy going - whether it's Sunday or otherwise.

I can tell you in a previous town I switched churches because of demographics. It makes a difference.

Shop around. Some churches have two services - one early and one later. Some have lots of young families and some have older crowds. None is better than another, but they all have different strengths.

And yes, sometimes it would be easier to not go, but I am ALWAYS glad when I make the effort. I see the relationship my kids have with God and it's worth it!

I've always been envious of the Catholic church offering mass all over the weekend - Saturday night, a couple of different time slots on Sunday. Only problem is, as a minister in the United Church, that schedule would be the end of me. And I'd never see my kids. We too are moving our contemp service to a once a month evening slot on Saturday - I'm intrigued of the 4:00/5:00 time slot that some of you have spoken about. Thank you for your experiences - they're really helpful.

Me and kid would prefer either early Saturday evening (5ish) or Sundays at 11 or 12 or 1.

While I was a child, one of three brothers, the whole family went to church every weekend. The day prior was "the preparation day". Mother, bless her heart, baked bread, boiled potatoes, made cinammon buns, etc. so that most of the food prep was done the day before. Breakfast before church was prepared cereals rather than the usual porridge (which I hated). As we got older, we kids did the breakfast dishes while mom got herself ready (it took her longer than us kids and dad, but she looked better too).

Our church had a Bible study for all ages at 9:30 and then a service for all ages at 11 which we kids had to sit through. When we were little we had colouring books or picture books to keep us occupied.

I realize that was some years ago. My parents made church attendance a priority - I had to miss a lot of things because of it but don't regret it. I guess if enough parents opted for church over football and baseball, practice and game schedules might change. Sometimes I think we Christians roll over and play dead without much of a fight. Just because everyone else is shopping or sporting doesn't mean we have to. I believe the Bible indicates that we Christians will be a peculiar people, different from the majority.

Why is that Church isn't a priority anymore? Not that I've been much of a churchgoer in my adulthood but I do wonder what it is about our generation that we stopped going to church when a lot of us were brought up in the church. I remember as a child/youth it seemed everyone I knew went to church of one denomination or another. That's just what everyone did on Sunday morning. We would get together later to hang out, go skating or whatever but getting up and going to church wasn't putting us out.

Also, I grew up in Nova Scotia, who just in the last month (I think), has changed the laws to allow Sunday shopping. I'm curious to see if that impacts the church numbers at all.

Lets not forget that a lot of people work on the weekends, including Sundays and Saturdays. Different shifts, take their toll as well. For many many families it's absolutely necessary now, as opposed to when some of you were children to have two incomes (and in many cases, three or four) simply to live, so much of the weekend is spent catching up with food shopping, household chores, etc. And frankly, a lot of people including children are exhausted. I have a friend who is a SAHM, but who has several p/t jobs to make ends meet, she has difficulty getting three young children out the door when she's working the Saturday night shift. My husband who works a good 12 hours a day and at least 6 hours on the weekend does get up for church, but he would also love to stay in bed too.

Respectfully, I think while it's nice to insist to everyone that if only they made time and church their priority, they should be able to come, it's also important to think about what is blocking people from coming to church relevant to this day and age. The whole, my mother/I/My Sister did it with 17 kids and walked uphill both ways in the snow isn't really going to bring people back to church, it's more likely to send them away.