Churches closed on Christmas!

Sierra Times ^ | 12/16/2005 | Jeff Adams

[Madeleine Ward]

Oh please.

My family is a big enough group of believers for me, and more than enough for Jesus.

[gingerky]

And those who don't have families?

[svcw]

I would disagree.
My church is having a Christmas Eve service and "pot luck" and no service on Christmas Day. Hardly the degradation the Evangelical Church.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Why is it that Christmas has a fixed date, Dec. 25th, and Easter does not? If the first Christmas has a date that doesn't change, wouldn't it make sense to have a similar date for Easter?

[AuH2ORepublican]

I guess that since Easter (i) has to fall on a Sunday and (ii) has to fall around Passover, the early Church had to make it a movable feast. Since the Annunciation and Christmas do not need to fall on a particular day of the week and have nothing to do with the Jewish calendar, the early Church was able to designate March 25 and December 25 as set holidays.

[Madeleine Ward]

There is always someone somewhere who will pray with you on Christmas day.

But I feel really sorry for any Christian who is so helpless that he or she can't just pick up a Bible, read, sing some Christmas Carols.

Very, very sad.

If you think your church should be open, then voice your opinion to your minister.

[MEGoody]

I suppose the reasons vary. I know that some are not having services on Sunday because they are having a late service on Christmas Eve. It's their own decision. If you happen to go to a church that chose not to have services on Christmas Day, there are plenty out there that are holding services. Go visiting!

[MamaB]

We do not celebrate 3 months earlier. Our church will have a Christmas Eve service and a Christmas Day service. I have only been able to attend the Christmas Eve service once since we go out of town for the holidays but it was very special with the parents and children in attendance.

[MEGoody]

The Catholic church, and by extension most Protestant groups, have presumed to assume a liberty we don't have.

1 Corinthians 6:12 says "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not beneficial: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."

Christians have liberty in all things. (Note that liberty is not the same as license, but thats a discussion that could easily take up a whole thread of its own.)

The questions Christians have to ask ourselves are: Is what we want to do beneficial? Is this thing we want to do drawing us away from serving the Lord?

Celebrating Christmas is wonderful for my family and me. It is beneficial in that it brings us a great deal of joy, and gives us an opportunity to set aside time specifically to ponder what He sacrificed merely by choosing to be born a tiny babe rather than coming as a warrior on a white horse. Certainly, rather than pulling us away from the Lord, this celebration draws us nearer.

[Hackle]

Does it mater to anyone that Christ's apostles, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, met on the first weekday to commemorate our Lord's death...

Actually, they met on Sundays to commemorate our Lord's resurrection.

[MikefromOhio]

my church in Springfield is having service Sunday morning.

The wife and I will be out of town with her parents though so we won't be there.

[I got the rope]

My condolences for the loss of your Pastor...he was a great man.

I'm sure going to miss him.

[HairOfTheDog]

The wife and I will be out of town with her parents though so we won't be there.

Like a lot of families who will be together on Christmas morning... I think it's probably supply and demand... many many folk go to Christmas eve or midnight services, leaving the church pretty empty on Christmas morning. I think the pastors and other church volunteers who put in a lot of time Christmas eve for big congregations, might also rather be home with family than presiding over an empty church.

[CobraJet]

Thank you. Yes, it was a huge loss for all of us. I attended his funeral. It was sad, but uplifting at the same time. He will have a wonderful Christmas with the Lord.

[I got the rope]

True...but the Bible says not to forsake the assembling of ourselves.

Hebrews 10:25

[Quick1]

These closings on Sunday are the second time in 11 years this has conflict has occured. That's what happens when Men concoct a holiday because Men think it's a good idea, and "violate the command of God with your traditions." And yet there will be many who will argue "it's for a good cause."

Blame the Romans in this case. They liked to make Christian holidays that would conicide with pagan ones, to help the pagans convert to Christianity. In this case, they made Christmas the same time as the Winter Solstice.

[I got the rope]

I remember Pastor Rogers giving a sermon about the importance of believers going to church and being with other believers.

Fits right in with this topic.

I believe the sermon was titled :

Dealing with Doubt

[RWCon]

Can't expect preachers to work on Christmas. When are they
going to demand their Sundays off?

[gingerky]

Oh, my church will have a Christmas Day service, as well as a Christmas Eve Communion Service (a Methodist church). I also have a family to spend the day with. So, I wasn't thinking about myself.

[Heartofsong83]

If the church is closed on Christmas Day, leave them and join another one. Permanently.

I know around where I am, of the 46 churches in my area, 11 are having a full slate of services, 29 are scaling back and 6 (mostly liberal Unitarian churches) are cancelling all services on Christmas Day.