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They had been watching it dwindle for some time and were becoming worried about it. That led to a brief but in-depth conversation about that problem, because it seems to be happening in all our churches, regardless of denomination. We talked about various reasons for this and I shared with her my experiences as a child when Sundays meant church, dinner at Grandma’s and going for a ride in the car with my family. Life in those days revolved around the family and our church and its activities, and Sunday was truly a day that was “set aside” for those things. There wasn’t any competing with shopping as “Blue Laws” were in effect, and there weren’t any malls. Stores in those days operated Monday through Saturday, and that was enough. There weren’t very many organized sports for kids, and those that existed usually took place after school during the week or on Saturday mornings. My parents never had to “organize” their time on the weekends to make sure I and my three siblings got to our activities, because our activities usually were baking cinnamon rolls for Saturday morning breakfast and then playing outside all day with the kids in our neighborhood. Life was much more simple, and you didn’t have to think about setting priorities because of all the things that were competing for your time and attention. The competition was pretty lean, and that really was OK. It gave you time to turn your attention to the things that really mattered. And the things that really matter are sometimes the things that we don’t usually think about; they’re the things that we take for granted. That is, until something happens and we’re hit with a good dose of reality.
This brings me to a story I would like to share with you about someone I have gotten to know over the last several years, although I have never met her personally. Her name is Kristie, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 34 years old. After a mastectomy and chemotherapy were completed, brain metastasis was diagnosed. She had gamma knife surgery on her brain lesion, and after whole brain radiation, a second, inoperable brain lesion was detected. She began a new chemo regime that wasn’t effective and then went into clinical trial with a not yet approved chemo medication. During this new treatment her brain lesion began swelling and putting pressure on her brain. This continued tumor growth removed her from clinical trial, but advances in the gamma knife procedure she previously had undergone allowed her doctors to remove the inoperable tumor they had been forced to leave earlier. New lesions developed, but gamma knife surgery once again removed them. At this time she continues with Herceptin treatments and steroids. A PET scan in May showed no recurrence of cancer in her brain, although now she suffers from radiation necrosis and the intense headaches that produces, weight gain from the steroids, and she loses her vision sometimes for hours at a time. She has been in treatment for almost five years, in which time she has had 257 needles (she’s kept count). You may ask what this has to do with what I’ve been talking about. I think that is best answered in Kristie’s own words, taken from her blog:
“On an awesome note – Ted and I have not been able to stay at church and hear the sermons because the lights and loud music in the sanctuary would make me lose my vision for a few hours every Sunday. So we were going to our Sunday School class and then going home. Today our Pastor started a new series that I really wanted to hear so we tried something new. There is a spot in our church, out of the sanctuary, that has a TV with the service on it. There are two recliners and a couch. Ted turned the recliner and backed it out of the sun and I wore my sunglasses, and do YOU KNOW WHAT? I got to hear the whole thing, I got to sing along with the worship team, even though I was singing alone, and it was awesome! I didn’t lose my vision at all and I am so excited for next week. It’s kind of lonely out One night after Evening Prayer a couple of weeks ago I decided to drop in on my mother who lives not far from the church. She had had a particularly upsetting day. Someone had side-swiped her car while she was waiting at a traffic light as she and my great-aunt were returning from shopping, and then just kept on going, not bothering to stop and make sure that she and my aunt were alright, let alone exchange insurance information. I decided to stop at the Frozen Rainbow in Port Ewen first to pick up a vanilla and chocolate twist ice cream for her that I hoped might cheer her up. As I stood waiting in line, a woman who was behind me struck up a conversation by making a comment about the dress I was wearing and asking if I was coming from work. I explained who I was and that I had just finished with our Evening Prayer service. The fact that I was taking part in a church service on a Thursday night interested her, and she went on to tell me that she was a member of the Methodist Church in Marbletown. She told me that although she wasn’t an “every Sunday” churchgoer, she had recently been to a meeting at her church where they were seeking ideas on how to boost the attendance at Sunday worship. They had been watching it dwindle for some time and were becoming worried about it. That led to a brief but in-depth conversation about that problem, because it seems to be happening in all our churches, regardless of denomination. We talked about various reasons for this and I shared with her my experiences as a child when Sundays meant church, dinner at Grandma’s and going for a ride in the car with my family. Life in those days revolved around the family and our church and its activities, and Sunday was truly a day that was “set aside” for those things. There wasn’t any competing with shopping as “Blue Laws” were in effect, and there weren’t any malls. Stores in those days operated Monday through Saturday, and that was enough. There weren’t very many organized sports for kids, and those that existed usually took place after school during the week or on Saturday mornings. My parents never had to “organize” their time on the weekends to make sure I and my three siblings got to our activities, because our activities usually were baking cinnamon rolls for Saturday morning breakfast and then playing outside all day with the kids in our neighborhood. Life was much more simple, and you didn’t have to think about setting priorities because of all the things that were competing for your time and attention. The competition was pretty lean, and that really was OK. It gave you time to turn your attention to the things that really mattered. And the things that really matter are sometimes the things that we don’t usually think about; they’re the things that we take for granted. That is, until something happens and we’re hit with a good dose of reality.
This brings me to a story I would like to share with you about someone I have gotten to know over the last several years, although I have never met her personally. Her name is Kristie, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 34 years old. After a mastectomy and chemotherapy were completed, brain metastasis was diagnosed. She had gamma knife surgery on her brain lesion, and after whole brain radiation, a second, inoperable brain lesion was detected. She began a new chemo regime that wasn’t effective and then went into clinical trial with a not yet approved chemo medication. During this new treatment her brain lesion began swelling and putting pressure on her brain. This continued tumor growth removed her from clinical trial, but advances in the gamma knife procedure she previously had undergone allowed her doctors to remove the inoperable tumor they had been forced to leave earlier. New lesions developed, but gamma knife surgery once again removed them. At this time she continues with Herceptin treatments and steroids. A PET scan in May showed no recurrence of cancer in her brain, although now she suffers from radiation necrosis and the intense headaches that produces, weight gain from the steroids, and she loses her vision sometimes for hours at a time. She has been in treatment for almost five years, in which time she has had 257 needles (she’s kept count). You may ask what this has to do with what I’ve been talking about. I think that is best answered in Kristie’s own words, taken from her blog:
“On an awesome note – Ted and I have not been able to stay at church and hear the sermons because the lights and loud music in the sanctuary would make me lose my vision for a few hours every Sunday. So we were going to our Sunday School class and then going home. Today our Pastor started a new series that I really wanted to hear so we tried something new. There is a spot in our church, out of the sanctuary, that has a TV with the service on it. There are two recliners and a couch. Ted turned the recliner and backed it out of the sun and I wore my sunglasses, and do YOU KNOW WHAT? I got to hear the whole thing, I got to sing along with the worship team, even though I was singing alone, and it was awesome! I didn’t lose my vision at all and I am so excited for next week. It’s kind of lonely out there, but I am so excited it worked! Our Pastor was my youth Pastor and I know he’s praying for me and he inspires me when I am down. I learn so much from him and now our kids can stay for their service too. Of course they were happy to go home early and get extra play time, but I want them to have extra God time. Please thank the Lord for this amazing blessing. Next time you are sitting in church, don’t take it for granted. I did for so long until it was taken away, but it’s back, even if it’s a recliner in a hallway corner. Love to you all – thanks for praying for me!”
These words, from an amazingly faith-filled woman who continues to suffer in ways we cannot even imagine, and yet seeks and even asks us to thank and praise God for whatever blessing comes her way in the midst of all this, are humbling. They remind me of how much I take for granted each day. Of how much I am blessed. Of how much I have to be thankful for. Of how important that “God-time” is for all of us – a chance to thank and worship and praise God for all that he has done for us. Yes, life IS more complicated now, work sometimes DOES get in theway, and there ARE many things competing for our time and attention. But compared to what we have received from God, what does a little over an hour of our time each week really mean in the scheme of things? We waste more than that amount of time every day on ridiculous things that have no meaning.
I know we will never be able to “go back” to the way things were, but I can’t help thinking that maybe it’s time to work on getting our priorities in order. Maybe by hitting the “pause” button every Sunday we can put that “God-time” back into our lives where it belongs. Maybe, we might even find that it is just what we need to slow down our fast forward lives. And maybe, just maybe, dwindling attendance at worship would become less of an issue.
Have a blessed, relaxing summer! |
