Here are two quotes which I wrote down but do not have the source. A little opportunity to exercise your thinking and observation power.
- “Church attendance in Canada is not decreasing but is decentralizing.”
- “What we do in circles during the week is better than sitting in rows on Sunday.”
My hesitation is based in some of my own observations.
I am finding it increasingly difficult to define church attendance. If we include a virtual gathering (church, as a term, was originally about assembling) then we are moving past the physical facility. Is that decentralizing? And let’s not forget that church and Christian have become separated in our society. Do we really believe in the communion of the saints, or is church just a social gathering (in whatever form)?
Circles during the week is a way of saying that we interact. We don’t just attend.
And yet . . . my Sundays were never about just sitting around for a performance. The entrance way, the parking lot, even the washroom were places of discussion and encouragement. After the “rows” came “dinner” and “fellowship”. The church assembled on Sunday in so many other ways than just sitting.