Don Aines Hagerstown Herald-Mail: Numbers going to church
steady, but churches seek more
Numbers going to church steady, but churches seek more
Don Aines Hagerstown Herald-Mail Saturday, September 19,
2015 8:30 pm
It might seem as though America is a less religious nation
than in years past, but the numbers have remained remarkably steady over the
decades. About four in 10 Americans report attending church weekly, a figure
that's changed little from year to year, according to a Gallup poll conducted
in 2012.
On the occasion of Pope Francis' upcoming visit to the
United States, The Herald-Mail spoke to local clergy and religious leaders
about the state of religion in Washington County and found them working to
build their congregations amid generational shifts in how people relate to
religious institutions.
Washington County is about as religious as the rest of the
country, according to a 2010 profile the Association of Religion Data Archives
(ARDA), which found about 38 percent of county residents said they attended
religious services regularly.
[…] Read more here: http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/local/numbers-going-to-church-steady-but-churches-seek-more/article_a2846613-6473-518c-91e8-5372295624f9.html
Faith in the future
The Rev. Sarah Dorrance, pastor of Middletown United
Methodist Church in Middeltown, Md., noted 20 percent of Americans and 30
percent of people under 30 are "none," or people with no religious or
denominational affiliation.
"Those numbers are growing by 20 percent year after
year," she said.
Following that trajectory, it will not be too far into the
future when America is like Europe, a continent where about 5 percent of the
people still regularly attend church, she said.
"I have a heart for Millennials," Dorrance said of
this generation of young adults, adding that they are the generation "most
absent from all of our churches."
Like Metzner, she said churches have to ask the question,
"How can we serve you?" to bring people into the faith life and into
church.
"Worship is not necessarily the first point of
entry," Dorrance said.
Churches like hers try to build "on-ramps," ways
to get people involved in church. Many young people are interested in serving
their communities, and churches working alongside them can be one of those
on-ramps, she said.
If churches reach out with excitement, rather than despair,
they can bring people closer to God, she said.
"The message is still the same, the way the message is
delivered does change," Dorrance said. "Jesus is still as relevant in
our lives as he was 2,000 years ago."
Labels: Relgion
Middletown United Methodist, Religion,
Religion
Shrinking Church, Religion
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