I had a conversation with Tim Cribdon yesterday which tickled my fancy. Tim talked about his time with the youth group (coffee with Christ) during the day and the interesting topic they wrestled through. Of course it was about our preparations for Advent. Thinking of the millions of people in the West that trooped to the theaters during the week to watch the new Harry Porter movie, Tim had the kids wondering what it would look like if Christians created such hype and interest around the coming of Christ.
Sometimes the clouds seem to gather to precipitate same thoughts in us. Therefore Fr. Lorry in a pep talk to the music ministry of our parish later in the day had all of us thinking along those same lines. How is it (he wondered) that Canadians in Montreal this day will fill a ninety thousand capacity stadium in a -19’ temperature, while heated 150-200 capacity Anglican churches will consider themselves lucky to be half full at any of their services?
Being an ardent football (soccer) fan, this is an issue I’ve found myself struggling with for a long time. Watching English Premiership (thanks to television) is my major weekend leisure. If a game is not on television, I follow it up on the internet. Part of the hobby for me is to follow the number of people that fill stadia across England Saturdays and Sundays to watch football games, come rain or shine, come heat or cold. At the same time, churches are getting emptier and emptier and closing down. What is turning people away from the church? Why don’t they come on Sunday morning?
A good way of looking at this problem is for us to play our own kind of game-the blame game. This seems to be the preferred way. “They have lost interest in things of God” or any of the many reasons we adduce. Wake up children of God! Recriminations won’t lead us any further than where we are. It is time to “examine ourselves to see if we are holding to our faith.” (2 Cor. 13: 5). It is time we look at our branding. It is time to look into ways of generating Harry Porter Movie-like interest around the church and create football (real or American) fans level interest around what we do in church on Sunday morning.
Each year the Church invites us to remind ourselves of God’s plan of salvation for us sinners. Each day throughout Advent we are presented with yet another prophet providing further insights into the Messiah who will be sent by God to take away our sins and to restore our friendship with God.
Advent is rightfully called a “new beginning” since God’s plan of salvation is lived out yet anew year after year. Our challenge is to find suitable and appealing ways of offering this now beginning. “Lo He comes with clouds descending.” How can we make it a real new beginning? How can we generate the interest and create the hype?
