Does Anyone Attend Church Any More? by Rambling Raven
By Raven • Jul 20th, 2009 • Category: Rambling Raven •
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Does Anyone Attend Church Any More? by Rambling Raven
For the second time this month I attended a friend’s church as a guess. I usually receive a few invitations a year, by friends or family members. I don’t claim to be of any particular faith, although I do consider myself a very spiritual person. Therefore, I am always open-minded when it comes to visiting churches. The churches I attended this month were very different. One was a little church with a small, close-knit congregation. It was located in a neighborhood that was noticeably a working class one. Since it was an early Sunday morning there weren’t many people on the streets. Yet, I could tell that once church was over, the porches and streets would be full of folk just milling about. The church service was the quintessential Baptist service; it was long, full of music and preaching.
The second church I attended was one with a relatively large congregation. The church was newly constructed and located in a middle-class community. Many of the members were professionals. The church boasted about having a membership of roughly 500 members. The service was a little more subdued than the first church I attended but nonetheless the service was also long, full of animated preaching and plenty of music from the choir.
Although the two churches were clearly attended by people from different backgrounds there was one thing I noticed they had in common. Both were attended by little old ladies, children, and middle-aged women. The men at both churches tended to be older gentlemen who were there with their families. The young people, especially the men, were conspicuously missing. At both churches, I could almost count on my fingers the number of men and people 30 and under who were there.
The black community is in a terrible crisis. There are so many issues that plague us. The church use to be the backbone of the community where often the social, political and religious merged. The preacher would often incorporate social issue within his sermons. He would creatively let the flock know that what was going on in the streets and the households weren’t always in line with the teachings of the faith.
Now it seems as if the preachers are just preaching to the choir. While church is going on in many of our communities the street corners are filled with young men who are engaged in illegal activities. Growing up I use to see young women in church with their children; I noticed that they were missing as well. There seemed to be this huge generational gap at the churches I attended. There, in attendance were the old, those few who seemed to be getting back to the church in their middle ages, and the very young children who probably were there with a grandparent. I believe that there is something very wrong with a community where there is a church on nearly every corner yet the communities in which they serve are in dire straits.
So what is going on? Are our churches no longer the true social force that they once were? Why is it that black churches collectively take in nearly a billion dollars a year from their congregations, yet our communities and families are faced with so many ills? Are the ministers content with preaching to the faithful and no longer care to reach out to those who need guidance the most? How do we reinstate a sense of morality and community when so many within the community don’t bother to cross the threshold of the very place that should foster those values?
In essence, what part should the black church play within the communities it serves?
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Raven is an educator with a B.A. in Psychology and a M.A. in Education. She has been an avid reader since childhood. Her favorite genres are mystery, suspense, and horror, although she will give any genre a try. She is a life long resident of Chicago. Her love of books opened her mind to people, places and events far beyond her Chicago home. Reading helped to shape her world and her opinion of the events that took place within it. No matter what demands her career requires of her, she has always found time to read and write in a journal. Along with reading and journaling, she loves to watch the sunset, and discuss hot topics with family and friends. She loves baseball, horror movies, mysteries, listening to music from every corner of the world and expressing her view of the latest books with the women of APOOO.
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I attend church faithfully and we have an abundance of men and young people with vibrant singles and men involved ministries. At our most recent annual all male roundup over 1600 men attended. Our church is about the word bt we are also community actve and involved.
:: pittershawn the heathen sittin’ in the corner, waiting, interested to see what folks say about this one ::
pittershawn´s last blog ..miseducation…
Angelia, kudos to your church. In my life time I have witnessed more women in church than men. I wonder if it is regional. I think it is rare to find many men who attend church in huge cities, especially the inner city.
Pittershawn, I am waiting in the corna with ya. LOL
I don’t know what made us work so weill because our church is definitely in a large city and definitely and unequivocally in the urban…smack dab…in the heart, I may be expository teaching…it may be the many programs, it may be outreach efforts, it may be that we have business development ministries…don’t know, don’t care it works…
angelia
Angelia´s last blog ..WORD POWER
LOL at Pittershawn and Raven…I’m in the corna with both of you…hehe. I think part of my issue might be that I wasn’t really raised in a traditional church setting/environment…one parent was Catholic…the other was Baptist…when I became a teenager I decided to go the Catholic route since the service was only 45-60 minutes…later went non-denominational and really enjoyed it…but that church was in Los Angeles and have been looking for something similar for the last 30 years…and while I’ve come close…in other cities (Winston Salem, Chicago, Houston to some extend) I haven’t been able to find a predominantly black church like that in this area. Additionally…I have a hard time following folks who have a lot of mess going on…I don’t do drama in the church so when I see it becoming full-blown I’m gone because I’m not there to deal with it…and it’s interesting I can do group organizations (ie sorority) but when it comes to the church I have different expectations…actually higher expectations of the members and the pastors…but I’m not asking anyone to do anything that I’m not willing to do…unfortunately I see too many folks who get caught up and lost in the doctrines but don’t know the meaning of Love Thy Neighbor…as Christ so loved the church. I will be the first to say that I have flaws…but at the same time I ain’t trying to push my ‘religion’ on no one else either…so until I can find a church home where I feel comfortable wanting to be their 24/7 rather than Bedside Baptist…lol..I guess I won’t be attending one on a regular basis.
I (a Catholic, non practicing) have been truly searching for a church where I feel at home or comfortable. One church I was interested in teaches that the only way to pray for folk is if they are saved. I do not believe that. Another I am still interested in I need to visit a bit more, cause when you have church members not really friendly with each other then I need to investigate more.
In both I like the pastors, the first church married my hubby & I. He even had counseling sessions with us. I thought that was truly nice. The second church..I like the pastor a whole lot. He is down to earth, and told me when I am doing photography in the church to please be comfortable. I took pictures of a program there sponsered by the Minister of Praise Dance, and when I asked the Minister I knew if she could see if the Minister of Praise Dance could get the pictues I took, she replied “I don’t deal with her like that”. Red flags went up immediately.
I know I am going to church for me, not them, but I want to feel peace. I don’t want undercurrents disturbing me. I hope I said that correctly.
Rosa I understand perfectly what you stated…and that “I don’t deal with her like that” statement was pretty foul but behavior like that is common in so many churches…sigh.
There is not enough space or time to deal with the black church. Some work with young ministries and social programs. Others are struggling.
Dera´s last blog ..Memory Monday- Going South