Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The New Church

Thanksgiving is coming.  It's an interesting time - this will be my 10th Thanksgiving as a pastor, and I've seen the changes in attendance and the celebration even in my time here.  Less people show up to Church - less people even think about how odd it is that our Government established a day in which it said, "Don't work - instead, go and pray and give thanks."

Well, it didn't say where to go and pray and give thanks - so there's your separation of Church and State.  Go be religious somewhere.

Of course, the other thing I am seeing besides a change in the Church is a change in... shopping.

I remember Thanksgiving 2003 - my last before I was a pastor.  In Toledo, with my grandma - and my Aunt Barb and I braved the morning crowds on Black Friday - the great shopping day of the year.

Of course, getting up early on Black Friday isn't what it used to be.  I've been seeing several pleas of "Don't Shop on Thanksgiving: Everyone Deserves a Day Off".

First, as a Pastor-  Bwahahahahahahahaha!  Yeah, right!  I'm Lutheran - shoot, most of us even work Halloween!

Second, do we not see what has happened?  Oh, Thanksgiving is still a day go to and pray and give thanks.

The Consumers go and pray and give thanks.  Thank you for these great sales.

The Owners go and pray and give thanks.  Thank you for an extra day and may there be a robust December shopping spree.

Behold the new church - your Walmart, your Mall, your place to shop, to do your right worship and praise and thanksgiving by buying stuff (and remember, it's good for the economy too!)

No, people still go to Church on Thanksgiving.  It's just that they go to a new one.

Thus it is.

1 comment:

Myrtle said...

"The world is thus."
"No, thus have we made it."