Why Bother To Attend Worship Services?

"I never go to church" (substitute synagogue or temple here) was boasting an inactive member of the church. "Yes I noticed" replied the minister. "Well I don't attend services, because the place is full of hypocrites." "Don't let that bother you, and keep you away" said the minister, "there is always room for one more!"

There are always excuses and reasons why people fail to go to church, synagogue or temple.

Here are a few statistics: 

The graph show steadily declining attendance in churches, while this graph does not show participation in synagogues or other temples this trend is being lamented by all religious institutions equally.

According to Wikipedia the majority of Americans (76%) consider themselves Christians, other non-Christian religions (including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and others) correspond to about 4% of the population and 15% say that they do not have any religious affiliation.

The American Religious Identification Survey indicates that religious belief varies across the country: 59% of Americans living in Western states report a belief in God, but this number is much higher 86% in the South (known as the "Bible Belt"). Many Americans, Christians and non Christians, see religious institutions as lacking connection with the 21st century. They think that religious services do not feel their needs. This perspective should elicit some introspection from religious leaders.

So why take the time and make the effort to go to church or synagogue? Can we be religious without participation in a religious institution? Being a Christian, or a Jew, is not only an ideology, it is a way of being, a way of life. It is to live concretely and not only a conviction without consequence. To be a Christian is to promote Love, Forgiveness, Service in the world, and to be a Jew, if one reads the prophet Micah, is "To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God".

Going to Church or Synagogue is another matter, and one can think that it is secondary, that it is not really important to participate in the rituals of one's religion. That what count is in fact to hear the call of God to work and to service, that, many argue, takes precedence over participation in the established religious rites.

It does not mean that one can dispense with all participation. Religious practices are made up of the means by which one can remember the presence of God, to take time and not get engulfed in the materialistic world we live in, or by the daily tribulations (dare I say grind) that obsess so many of us.

One could ask if it is possible to learn to play the piano without taking lessons. Yes of course, it is possible, it is not that easy, and it is certainly not the most efficient way to do it. It is difficult to learn alone, to accomplish it you must be able to see your own weaknesses and find a way to eliminate them. Practicing your religion is useful for your progression, to learn, to keep the momentum, to confront new ideas, to reflect in new ways, and to find renewed motivation when it is lacking. Let's face it we all have a tendency to forget about God, to put our spiritual life in the background, and to occupy ourselves with materialistic concerns. To attend a place of worship is like a reminder.

It is good to have a spiritual discipline, to practice one's religion to try to make God more present in a life that is more conducive to forget than to remember. In fact it is when we don't feel like going to worship that we should, just to spur the will to go again, it is the one who wants to go every week who does not really need to go, in order to find the feeling that God is there for him/her. It is when we don't want to go that we must go urgently, just like when one asks what to do when one does not want to pray the answer should be "pray".

It is not going to services that engages a person in religious life, but because engaged religious people congregate and assemble in a place of worship, they help each other and act together. One of the first duty of a religious organization is to transmit the tenet of this religion to all members but in particular to the younger generations. We can transmit some of that to our children at home, but an external source provides another objective way for children to position themselves, independently of their parents, in the family's faith.

It is also important to belong to a community, that is welcoming and where we feel that we are not alone, that we have brothers and sisters, a place where we can take each other's burdens for a while. A place of worship is where solidarity is never questioned and true brotherhood exists. It is good to share one's faith, one's way of life and to remember that we are not the only Christian, the only Jew, the only Moslem, the only Buddhist to live with a relationship with our God, but others share our beliefs and our views of life.

Lawrence worship places, churches, temples, synagogues, all willing to accept new members and welcoming any of you in their midst. We at Lawrence Voices hope this article will encourage you to look for a place of worship, if you have not gone in a while. Please visit our listings and take the first steps.