THE LOW SUNDAY BLUES
Almong preachers, the Sundays after Christmas are the beginning of the LOW SEASON in the church year.
What I mean by that is, attendance at Sunday services will droop and the material offering will slouch.
The deepest part of winter is a tough time for preachers because they begin to worry their jobs may be in jeopardy or the bills for the new sanctified roof on the church won't be paid.
Between Christmas and Easter all preachers have a dark night of the soul. They toss and turn in bed wondering what they did wrong. Perhaps, they think, the church council should not have been encouraged to ask questions when a crisis situation happens.
The youth group should have been told last year the car wash raised only $11.29. Perhaps the elementary children should have been told that Mildred Z. Blatant, the FORMER church treasurer, took all the money for camp tuition and spent it on a new sidewalk past her house.
Woe is the preacher - if the holy leadership had only taken more time with the quilting club, there wouldn't have been so much gossip oozing from under the door of the sewing room.
Oh, the troubles a preacher faces in the bleak midwinter! These are ancient problems for preachers. For generations the clergy have carried the burden of worry through the most dreary of the glacial months. And no parishoner seeks to share the burden. So this message is for the dour and stern clergy who are in their dens this morning wringing their hands in travail as the LOW SEASON begins.
First, allow me to speak for your parishioners who have attended many Christmas services, have sung a slew of Christmas carols, have prayed to a baby for material rewards (God knows we need them) and have given the church a generous portion of their income to insure forgiveness for our sins of selfishness. Thanks a lot, dear preacher, for showing up at all those services.
And thanks for trying to preach a decent sermon at worship times. Except for the one at Christmas Eve candlelight, they were all pretty good. The best was the Christmas greeting you gave everyone as we left church at midnight. That was worth a couple of sermons.
Second, don't you think it's about time you thanked God for all the loyal people who come to church Sunday after Sunday and listen to you for an hour? Have you ever wondered what they get out of hearing you - strength for a new day, courage to face their burdens, solace in a world of grief, or is it just blather that drives them forward?
Third, rather than worrying yourself sick, don't you think it would be a good idea to pray for a new crop of stalwart members who could carry the congregation forward into a new mission? How long has it been since you organized an effort to contact potential members or forced yourself to hit the bricks in an effort to meet new neighbors and promising friends for the church?
If you look at the past months and see a barrenness, you may have to face your growing laziness in the next few months. Have you given up trying to make this congregation grow, or are you now willing to make another attempt at helping the church bloom into an exciting organism, alive and bringing new life?
After a season of excitement, such as Christmas, there is always a sag in human feelings. The truth is, preacher person, you will never escape that droop that comes to you every year after the great holiday. But there is much you can do, to find a promising mission for the new year.
How will you begin?
Clark D. Morphew
Posted 12-26-01