Churches Closed on Christmas

For some reason the local media is picking up on the fact that, as a Chicago Tribune version puts it:

Willow Creek Community Church, one of the largest churches in the Chicago area, will be closed on Sunday, Dec. 25--because it's Christmas.

... Instead, they will urge members to focus on family at home, rather than filling the pews.

"At first glance it does sound contrarian," said Rev. Gene Appel, senior pastor of Willow Creek. "We don't see it as not having church on Christmas. We see it as decentralizing the church on Christmas--hundreds of thousands of experiences going on around Christmas trees. The best way to honor the birth of Jesus is for families to have a more personal experience on that day."

It's not that the church does not value Christmas, the day set aside to commemorate the incarnation of God on Earth. Willow Creek is organizing almost a week of worship ending Christmas Eve...

But some religious scholars say letting people decide what is convenient for them on one of the holiest days on the Christian calendar is an example of American evangelical Christians' concessions run amok.

"This speaks to the dilapidated state of evangelical faith today," said David Wells, a professor of theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston. "That we would think that going to church is getting in the way of celebrating Christmas--that the family celebration shouldn't be impeded by having to go to church--it seems to me that our priorities are upside down."

Several other large evangelical churches in the U.S. have canceled Christmas Day services this year, including Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Mich., and Fellowship Church near Dallas.

A spokeswoman for Willow Creek said the church has never held services on Christmas Day, except for one late-morning service on Dec. 25, 1994, the last time the holiday fell on a Sunday. About 1,500 people attended, said Cally Parkinson.

First, the news coverage: a quibble, but typical. Christmas does not commemorate the "incarnation of God on earth." But I am glad the writer even tried to use the word incarnation. March 25 is the traditional commemoration of the Incarnation, when the Virgin Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Second, the explanation: If "the best way to honor the birth of Jesus" is for families to have "more personal experiences," then Catholics and Orthodox and all sorts of Lutheran, Anglican, and any other churches holding services on December 25 this year are doing what is second rate.

I am not surprised at this development, though, because many churches do not hold services on December 25 when it falls on a weekday. It was that way for me growing up in a Baptist church.

In WC's case, then, I think the real question has not been well framed. It's not a question of "not having church on Christmas" this year, really, but of cancelling their regular Sunday worship because a major holiday that they normally don't observe in church anyway conflicts with Sunday morning worship.

What I find ironic is the media portrayal of this as Christian churches not holding services on Christmas--at the same time the media has been covering stories about many Christians believing that there is a new campaign against Christmas, turning it increasingly into a seasonal holiday for families.

So I wonder: how much difference will there be between the average non-churchgoer's observance of Christmas at home and the home observances of those Christians who think it "best" not to attend church on Christmas?

Comments

[Chris Burgwald]

Mr. Kushiner,

I was surprised to read that no services if Christmas falls on a weekday is not a new or unusual phenomenon... I'm a Catholic from Minnesota, and I thought every church had Christmas services.

You learn something new every day!

[Rev. Michael Philliber]

I think Kushiner hit it smack-dab on the head! It's not just that WC isn't celebrating Christmas - it's that they have 'traditionally' (what a twist, eh?) denegrated the Lord's Day all along. They don't 'Worship' on Sunday - they reserve that for another day of the week (if I am remebering correctly). But it seems to me that kind of thinking is in keeping with all those churches which met at the Theater on Sunday to go & see Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ instead of assemblying around Word, Prayer & Sacrament. Thus the whole mind-set appears to be more wide-spread than WC. New Life Presbyterian Church (Midland Texas) will be Worshiping on Christmas day - in solidarity with the Church catholic. God rest ye merry, Gentlemen.

[Miss O'Hara]

In addition to displaying the sad state of evangelical churches (although I would like to point out that WC & Mars Hill are what I refer to as 'HappyFluffy' churches, with emphasis on people, not God), this is a tragedy in another vein: many, many Americans attend church only on Christmas and/or Easter. This is a lost opportunity for lost souls, is it not? There is at least a chance that some lost lamb could have been brought back into His arms through the now-cancelled Christmas Sunday service. How sad.

[Theodora Elizabeth]

Five or six years ago, when I was attending an ECUSA parish in the NW suburbs of Chicago (I'm Orthodox now), the rector related how he had called Willow Creek to inquire about the Christmas service. The person who answered the phone confirmed his hunch - it was nothing more than a "Christmas carol concert" with a bit of sermon.

I'll be in church on Christmas for about three hours.

'Nuff said.

[Philippa]

First of all, when this other guy become Senior Pastor at WC? I thought Hybels was the big kahuna.

Secondly, whassup with this statement "We see it as decentralizing the church on Christmas..."? Huh? Decentralizng the church? Gimme a break. It's the decentralizing that's causing all the problems in my not-so-humble opinion.

I'll be in church Christmas morning. Thankyouverymuch.

[Rich Kirkpatrick]

We have worship services on Saturday--we can't fit everyone on Sunday. So, it is natural for us after having several worship services on Christmas Eve to not have on Sunday where we know our people are not bent on attending. In the evangelical church, the Word is the center, not holy days or traditions. So, this is why this is thought of differently than in liturgical churches. Think of this, in countries where it is not legal to worship, Sunday is not the time they worship. They also do not have cathedrals but the back ally. We are so spoiled here in America.

Let's not fight as believers over our differences in how we worship and presume that not valuing Sunday is a slap against another group. Let's as beleivers be for the incarnation of Christ.

[Scott Walker]

Rich says, "In the Evangelical church, the Word is the center..." I'm betting that what Rich means is that the Bible is the center. This is bibliolatry. This is a major reason why I am no longer an Evangelical. Christ is the center, Rich, or nothing is. (And yes, my brethren and I will be at church from about 11 PM on Saturday night to about 2AM on Sunday morning, with the feast to follow. Y'all come.) Christ is born! Glorify Him!

[David]

'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' John 1:1

[Scott Walker]

David, I'm familiar with John's Gospel. Having been an evangelical for years, I also am familiar with the lingo. There is a remote chance that our brother Rich was referring to the eternal Logos in his post, but the odds are he is speaking of the Bible. Why else is the pulpit the focal point of the evangelical church, rather than the altar? Don't take my word for it. Compare and contrast the very architecture of any Orthodox or Catholic church with any megachurch you care to name. (Sorry Lutherans and Anglicans and most Reformed! Didn't mean to leave you out of the Altar-centric confessions.) That being said, most of my (very) Evangelical family will be at church on Christmas morning, perhaps because their congregations are more interested in worship than they are in being seeker-friendly.

[Steve Nicoloso]

Hear hear, Scott. Ditto for me.

Rich, when you say,

Let's not fight as believers over our differences in how we worship...

I hear:

Our differences don't really matter

Well, if differences don't matter to you, but do matter to others, do they not then matter, in spite of whether they matter to you? Something may matter if it's not worth fighting for, but it surely matters more if it is worth fighting for. So then, why not fight? Fight, I say, for the thing that doesn't matter since whether it matters or not clearly matters to you! ;-)

In the evangelical church, the Word is the center, not holy days or traditions. So, this is why this is thought of differently than in liturgical churches.

First, every church has a "liturgy,", leitourgeo, i.e., literally "work of the people". So every church, at least in such churches where the "lay" people do anything at all in the worship service (which come to think of it is not entirely clear in some "Megachurches"), is "liturgical", properly understood. The only question that remains is the essence of diverse liturgies and/or how deformed they are. Classically, the Church and its liturgy consisted of Word + Sacrament. Low church (e.g., Evangelical and all the more Megachurch) protestantism has dropped Sacrament--most don't even use the word "sacrament" any more. This is exactly why (IMO, see my trackback to Ales Rarus above) some such churches are closed... a point you appear to concede. Now we can hardly fault low protestant churches for doing what comes naturally. What I find fault with is the dropping of Sacrament in the first place... An unbiblical, reactionary, and ahistorical ecclesiology is at fault.

[Juli]

That being said, most of my (very) Evangelical family will be at church on Christmas morning

That's great. Many Christians will gather for Christmas worship late on December 24, including liturgical Christians for whom the evening of the day belongs liturgically to the day that follows it ... isn't a Christmas Eve eucharist the first mass of Christmas? It's my understanding that vigil services on the eve and daybreak services on the feast itself (both at Christmas and at Easter) grew out of the same tradition. For Easter, the gathering began in the evening and ended after daybreak; I don't know that that was ever done for Nativity. I've been at early-morning "Julotta" services at churches shaped by Swedish tradition, and I've been at midnight (or late night) Christmas Eve services in other traditions. Both partake of the same joy in welcoming our Lord. Rich, I agree that we can and should be charitable in our responses to each other as Christians in different traditions, and that doesn't require being patronizing or papering over real differences or disagreements. Part of being charitable involves taking a hard look first at our own failings and making judgments only in the light of our own sense of falling short.

[RIch Kirkpatrick]

For a more complete record of my views on this subject: http://richkirkpatrick.typepad.com/rich_kirkpatricks_weblog/2005/12/the_artificial_.html or http://www.richkirkpatrick.com

Differences do matter, but not all the differences we have as Christians need a fight when they are not "essential", creedal doctrine. (If you want to pick a fight, then disagree about the virgin birth, for instance). The incarnation of Christ is much more important than how I worship--whether as Orthodox on January 6 or Christmas Eve Saturday or at the Christ-Mass. It should not be a "war." History proves the futility of believers against believers. God loves our diverse cultures and our expressions of true worship.

I would hope that I am humble enough to not bash other traditions and celebrate their goodnes as I examine my own heart in this matter. For me to say what the evangelical church believes is just that--a statement, not an argument meant to say "I am better" or "I know it all."

What amazes and saddens me is how brittle the tone is about this subject. It is not very Christ-like, unfortunately. I believe that God is bigger than my interpretations and that of others as well. So, indeed, a bit of charity is in order for us all.

Merry Christmas!

[Leigh Gregg]

Yes, we should worship everyday, all day long. Yes, it is difficult to justify keeping all those volunteers away from their families on Christmas Day. Yes, it would be wonderful if the families who are NOT attending church on Christmas Sunday had their own "family worship". As yet, I have not heard that any of these non-Christmas worshipping congregations are providing members or visitors with resources to assist with the planning of Christmas Day family worship.

With the internet, these mega-churches or any church for that matter has the capacity to provide Christmas worship resources ("liturgy") for use on Christmas Day, even when it does not fall on a Sunday.

I can think of no better place to be on Christmas Day than with my family at church, where we are with our extended Christian family. I serve two churches with an average of 8 and 12 in worship each Sunday. We will most likely have half of that on Christmas Day, but we will be there. It will be a glorious day for everyone. I pray that all who claim Christ as Lord and Savior will keep in mind the reason why we are in church on any given Sunday or other day of the week as they open gifts and sing carols around the tree.

[Steve Nicoloso]

Ack, this discussion is still going on...

Differences do matter, but not all the differences we have as Christians need a fight when they are not "essential", creedal doctrine.

Rich, what you seem to be missing is that just because you deem something "non-essential" doesn't mean that others do. What is at stake here is the nature of "the church", which we all (please God) at least claim to believe is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. Now let's say that one of us believes that the church on the basis of the creed (and Scripture) uniquely offers (to the exclusion of all other objective or earthly means) grace, normatively necessary for salvation, by the sacraments. Ergo souls are potentially at stake on the question of whether churches close for Christmas (and probably moreso on the question of why they close). Now let's say the other does not believe this. One of us says it is an essential question, one says it is not. Whether it is an essential question is therefore an essential question. So you can't very well go around trying to be a peacemaker when the way of making peace is only imposing (or at least tacitly assuming) one's own view on whether certain questions are essential or not. That is not charity. That is not Christlike.

[Elena Luquette]

I am 21 years old. I have only recently started going to church again over the past several months. I have full intentions of attending church on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I understand that family is very important this time of year. But Christmas is about the birth of Christ, our Savior. I don't understand why people wouldn't want to go to church on this very holy day. It's not about opening presents together or even eating together. It's about celebrating Christ together. So, come Christmas Sunday, I will be at church. Singing and praising and thanking God for the wonderful gift he gave to all of us.
I'm far from being a pro at this whole thing. I don't have as much experience as the rest of you. I'm not saying that I have any kind of authority on the matter. I just think that people should at least have the option of going to church on the day our Lord was born. But, if the church doors are closed, that makes it kind of difficult.

[Carolyn Hipkins]

In reply to Elena:

Amen sister! Couldn't have said it better myself. I am a United Methodist pastor and at my church we will be having service on Christmas Day.

Blessings on you Elena.

[Loretta Luquette]

My daughter, Elena, with her newly renewed faith has inspired me to renew my own on an almost daily basis. I'm proud to say that she is the child leading me to the Lord and that if I can make it to Houston in time I'll be right beside her on Christmas Morn.

[Rene]

Darn If You Do, Darn If You Don't, To Each It's own. My family will be at church Sunday 12/25 at 7:30 AM until 12:30 PM

[T Robertson, Pastor]

I pastor a smaller church about 250 - 300 active members, and while I understand what my brothers are saying about not having service on Christmas, I don't agree with them. Therefore, instead of closing down for the Sunday Christmas Service our church normally have family week, which I guess could be said to be the same thing in reverse. Three or four times a year we have family week, which is a week when we don't have any weekly programs at the church. It's normally around special Holidays. The main purpose for Family week is to encourage those who are apart of the ministry to spend whatever time they would normally spend at the church - spend it with their families. In addition, closing Sunday Service on a day set aside to recognize the birth of Christ, in my eyes, is almost as bad as being closed on Easter Sunday.