Making the choice to attend a church

Some time ago the Truro Daily News did a reader survey on how many of its readers attended church on a regular basis. If I remember correctly it was about 62 per cent of the respondents who did not attend church at all.

Of course we don’t really know how many people that works out to, the age group, if they were serious, or it they were being mischievous. No doubt the survey caused some area clergy to shake their heads and wonder what the world is coming to. In fact one pastor took keyboard in hand and wrote a column to express his concerns about that very same subject, asking for feedback on what local churches could do to help fill the pew.

While stopping by the Salvation Army Thrift Store the other day, I happened to notice a pamphlet called “Faith and Friends” with a headline “Why Go To Church.” Why church, the author asks – with tongue in cheek, I presume: “I like to sleep in; there’s football on; the lake is beckoning.”

The author says he has been hurt and disappointed in church, but he still goes each Sunday. He goes to church to hear from God, he says. He goes to encourage and be encouraged. “I love the music – not always,” he admits.

This is a great read for someone who has the same concerns as some of our local clergy, or someone like me who has attended Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian and Salvation Army churches over the past 70-odd years.

Ken Kennedy,

Truro