No Church On Christmas? Is This A Joke?

[Nunsense]

I put this in Debate Table because there may be people who agree with the article ...that's ot's okay to cut Christmas services because it falls on a Sunday. At first I thought this was only a Protestant problem, but further down the article it talks about Catholic churches doing it too. But at least it didn't say that any Catholic churches were cutting out ALL Sunday services... just cutting them down. Some of the Protestant churches are going to cut out the Sunday service on Christmas Day because people want to be home with their families! ???? What? We aren't talking about atheists here, we are talking about Christians!


[b][quote][/b]

[b] [b]No church on Christmas?[/b][/b]



[b][img]http://www.dispatch.com/content/graphics/2011/12/15/no-church-1.jpg?__scale=w:460,h:293,t:2[/img] [/b]
[b]Eric Albrecht | Dispatch [/b]
[b]McKinley Witt, 10, sings during a rehearsal of Angel Alert at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 2480 W. Dublin-Granville Rd.[/b]



[b]By [email="mheagney@dispatch.com"]Meredith Heagney [/email][/b]
The Columbus Dispatch Thursday December 15, 2011 6:41 AM



Churchgoers will have fewer options for celebrating Jesus’ birthday this year.
Because Christmas falls on a Sunday, many churches are scrapping their typical weekend schedule and offering fewer services on the Sunday itself. In most cases, a spate of Christmas Eve services is considered sufficient for the crowds.
At least one megachurch — Vineyard Church of Columbus — won’t have Sunday services at all but will have six services on Christmas Eve. The church expects about 10,000 people to attend.
Pastors say they know that a lot of people don’t want to go to church on Christmas Day. They’ve got family to see and meals to eat, and their kids might scream if separated from their new toys.
Still, many feel an obligation to offer something on Sunday, and some are trying to make services on Christmas Day as cozy as sitting by the fire at home.
At Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Perry Township, the Rev. Jim Wilson said he is encouraging worshippers to wear their pajamas and bathrobes to the 10 a.m. service.
Normally, the church has three Sunday morning services, and each has a distinct style: contemplative, traditional and contemporary. For Christmas, the church will offer just one service and blend all those styles, Wilson said. For example, the rock band from the contemporary service will play traditional carols.
Wilson said he will wear pajamas and preach from a rocking chair.
The message is, “Just extend your family celebration,” he said. “Come be at home with God.”
At Vineyard, the Rev. Rich Nathan isn’t holding a Christmas Day service in part to encourage family time, he said.
“ We’ve had a Saturday night service for years, so we don’t tie worshipping God to a particular day."
Catholic churches make holiday tweaks, too.
St. Elizabeth on the North Side and St. John Neumann in Sunbury are both going from two Sunday morning services to one, and adding two services to the regular Saturday night offering of one Mass. (St. John Neumann’s last Saturday Mass is really a Christmas Day Mass, because it begins at midnight.)
Any Mass after 4 p.m. on Saturday is considered the Sunday liturgy, so a Catholic’s obligation is met, said the Rev. Charles Cotton, pastor of St. Elizabeth.
The most popular service at his church is the children’s liturgy at 4p.m. on Christmas Eve, which will be attended by about 650 people, he said.
As Cotton is telling the kids the Nativity story, he creates the scene on his vestments using Velcro images of the characters.
At St. John Neumann, all the Christmas Masses typically feature a “special guest,” an adult dressed up as Mary, a shepherd or an angel, said Libby Muhoberac, office manager.
New Year’s Day is creating a smaller issue for churches, because it also falls on a Sunday. Some churches are offering fewer services; others plan to stick with their regular schedule.
But Christmas is the real endurance test for pastors, said the Rev. Amy Hampton, associate pastor at Worthington Presbyterian Church.
The church will have four Christmas Eve services and one on Christmas Day. She will attend all five and preach at two. She said the schedule is busy but manageable: “We’ll keep coffee on tap, probably."
Christmas won’t fall on a Sunday again until 2016. It last fell on a Sunday in 2005.

[url="http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/12/15/no-church-on-christmas.html"]http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/12/15/no-church-on-christmas.html[/url]
[/quote]

[Papist]

I believe most parishes have on average 4 Christmas Eve masses. And my experience is that most people attend on Christmas Eve, especially A&Eers. I think b/c of what is stated in the article, that people don't want the hassle of having their Christmas Day morning interrupted with going to mass. I stopped going to mass on Christmas Eve along time ago b/c it is insanely crowded due to all the A&Eers. On Christmas Day it is much less busy/crowded/hectic/etc, room in the pews are abundant, noise is at a minimum, etc. It is over all just better to be able to enter into the mass.

[Nunsense]

[quote name='Papist' timestamp='1324397324' post='2354416']
I believe most parishes have on average 4 Christmas Eve masses. And my experience is that most people attend on Christmas Eve, especially A&Eers. I think b/c of what is stated in the article, that people don't want the hassle of having their Christmas Day morning interrupted with going to mass. I stopped going to mass on Christmas Eve along time ago b/c it is insanely crowded due to all the A&Eers. On Christmas Day it is much less busy/crowded/hectic/etc, room in the pews are abundant, noise is at a minimum, etc. It is over all just better to be able to enter into the mass.
[/quote]

I don't mind people attending on Saturday Evening, but to cancel all Sunday services for convenience sake seems wrong. I usually attend Midnight Mass and a Sunday Mass. Christmas is about Christ for me, not food, not presents, not even family, although I understand that these things are a way of celebrating. If we follow this line of thinking, why not cancel every Sunday service so we can spend the weekends with our families too? Just my opinion.

[Jaime]

My Church will have one service on Sunday instead of three. They will be adding two on Saturday instead of having one so I guess it balances out. Personally I don't have a problem with the schedule changing due to it being a Holy Day. First, Christmas and Easter are treated differently than standard Sunday masses. They usually are longer and have more celebration to them. This would logistically make it difficult for my church to do an 8:30 mass and turn around and do one an hour and a half later

[dominicansoul]

the parish I play the organ for is cutting out one Mass. There is only one priest, and he usually has three Masses one hour after another every Sunday..., so, on Christmas, he is only offering two Masses and adding two on Christmas Eve. The Schedule is as follows: "Vigil Mass" Christmas Eve night, "Mass at Midnight" at midnight, "Mass at Dawn" at 8 a.m. and "Mass during the Day" at 10 a.m., which follows the Missal perfectly...

[Nunsense]

[quote name='jaime' timestamp='1324397854' post='2354423']
My Church will have one service on Sunday instead of three. They will be adding two on Saturday instead of having one so I guess it balances out. Personally I don't have a problem with the schedule changing due to it being a Holy Day. First, Christmas and Easter are treated differently than standard Sunday masses. They usually are longer and have more celebration to them. This would logistically make it difficult for my church to do an 8:30 mass and turn around and do one an hour and a half later
[/quote]

I think the Catholics are okay because they always have at least one Mass. I can't imagine them having none, no matter what the day. It's the idea of NO service on Christmas Day that astonishes me! Our parish priest will do two evening Masses in two different towns and then three Sunday Masses in three different towns. His Christmas will be very busy indeed.

[dominicansoul]

yeah, that is pretty messed up to have NO Mass on Christmas day!

[Lil Red]

[quote name='jaime' timestamp='1324397854' post='2354423']
My Church will have one service on Sunday instead of three. They will be adding two on Saturday instead of having one so I guess it balances out. Personally I don't have a problem with the schedule changing due to it being a Holy Day. First, Christmas and Easter are treated differently than standard Sunday masses. They usually are longer and have more celebration to them. This would logistically make it difficult for my church to do an 8:30 mass and turn around and do one an hour and a half later
[/quote]
yeah, most parishes here have 3 Christmas Eve Masses and 1 Christmas Day Mass. but no midnight Mass anywhere this year

[Lisa]

[quote name='Lil Red' timestamp='1324398721' post='2354437']
but no midnight Mass anywhere this year
[/quote]

That's a major bummer. There's just something so beautiful about Midnight Mass. I know the vigil readings can technically be moved up to the midnight ones, but it's just not the same.

[Papist]

[quote name='nunsense' timestamp='1324397847' post='2354422']
I don't mind people attending on Saturday Evening, but to cancel all Sunday services for convenience sake seems wrong. I usually attend Midnight Mass and a Sunday Mass. Christmas is about Christ for me, not food, not presents, not even family, although I understand that these things are a way of celebrating. If we follow this line of thinking, why not cancel every Sunday service so we can spend the weekends with our families too? Just my opinion.
[/quote]

Breathe slowly....in through the nose and out through the mouth.

I fully agree with you. To not have a Sunday mass and Christmas Day mass is beyond my comprehension and is an outrage. However, I do understand not the full Sunday schedule masses.

[Archaeology cat]

I grew up Baptist. If Christmas fell on a Sunday, like this year, services were cancelled.

[Nunsense]

[quote name='Papist' timestamp='1324399289' post='2354445']
Breathe slowly....in through the nose and out through the mouth.[/quote]

You are projecting a little here I am not hyperventilating about it - just astonished.

[quote]
I fully agree with you. To not have a Sunday mass and Christmas Day mass is beyond my comprehension and is an outrage. However, I do understand not the full Sunday schedule masses.
[/quote]

I am happy with just one Mass on the day, the priests have a lot to do, but to have none doesn't make any sense at all. And the Catholics aren't cancelling all Masses after all, that seems to be a Protestant thing, but I still can't understand the logic behind it.

[Papist]

Makes me think of them Sola Scriptura folk. I wish I could ask where in the Bible does it say not to remember and keep the Sabbath Day Holy.

[Papist]

[quote name='nunsense' timestamp='1324399570' post='2354448']
You are projecting a little here I am not hyperventilating about it - just astonished.
[/quote]

Sorry. It just seemed like you were getting all worked up. [img]http://www.pic4ever.com/images/hanghead.gif[/img]

[i<3franciscans]

Wow. That is crazy. We always go to Mass on Christmas Eve...

People are simply forgetting the reason for the season, that's it.

[Basilisa Marie]

Well, for a lot of Protestants and Non-denoms, church is really just a big social gathering where people talk about Jesus. So if that's all it is, it makes sense to cut some services in favor of "family time."

My parish just adds midnight mass to the mix, but that's because we've got enough people that want to go to the usual mass times to keep them, plus sometimes a priest from the University of Portland (there's a bunch of retired priests that act as local subs) will come and do one of them. I'm sure we'd cut one of the Christmas day masses if not enough people were going. But we have a LOT of Christmas Day twice-a-years, for some reason.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Basilisa Marie

[Clare~Therese]

My parish has Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Masses. My family and I usually go with my grandparents and other relatives to their parish. It's a family tradition kind of thing for us to go on Christmas Eve all together.

[MithLuin]

A usual weekend schedule of masses at a Catholic parish will have most of the masses offered on Sunday morning, and others smattered on Sat. evening or Sun. evening, even.

When Christmas falls on a Sunday, the emphasis flip-flops - most of the masses will be Christmas eve, with a smattering of Christmas day and Midnight mass, even. So, yes, some of the 'normal' Sunday morning masses will likely be cancelled....but the same number (or more) masses will be offered throughout the weekend. I have no complaints about that, and feel that all parishes are allowed to have a special schedule for Christmas. If *no* mass were offered on Christmas day, that would be wrong, of course, but that's not what anyone is saying is happening.

For the Catholic churches, I hasten to clarify.

For many Protestant denominations, attending services is optional, so missing a week here or there is no big deal. So, yes, they can cancel Christmas Sunday to let the pastor have a day off and spend time with his or her family. I don't get it, but then...there are a lot of assumptions about liturgy that will likely differ with mine.

[CatherineM]

I think we have a discussion about this every Christmas because there are Protestant churches that do this every year.

[Nunsense]

[quote name='CatherineM' timestamp='1324444997' post='2354865']
I think we have a discussion about this every Christmas because there are Protestant churches that do this every year.
[/quote]

I must have missed them. I've been in convents the past few Christmases!

AndI guess since Protestants don't have Mass, it isn't the same for them. I still don't get it - one of the most important days on the Christian calendar and they don't have a service on that day. Nevermind.