Church attendance

[Troubledwords]

How busy is it when you go to Church? Are you someone that goes to a Church that's struggling to get parishioners or is it a busy, struggling to find a seat type?

We were linked with a church in a neighbouring village that has recently shut down due to 6 regular attenders. Now they all sit together in a wee huddle and don't really interact with the rest of us. I wonder if this is how it will be when we eventually close down and the big town church will have little pockets of people who used to belong to others stiiting together.

I have three churches. The village ones have around 10 in the congregation. We are in a really pretty part of the world so up to a third of the houses are second homes or air bnb. The largest village has a regular congregation of 30-40. At Remembrance and Christmas we might be 200.

It is really hard to find priests to work in rural communities. I'm lucky in that I only have 4 churches. Some of my neighbours have 8 or more. During the summer there were only two full times priests in our area with vacancies and clergy off sick. We rely on retireds and lay people.

I suspect the two smallest churches will shut in the next ten years. The biggest one may last a bit longer unless the roof goes.

One of mine is already mostly closed. We call them festival churches in that they only open for major festivals.

Pretty full so around 200. Mass attendance over five weekend masses is around 2000 I think.

Weekdays around 60-100

We have around 80 on a Sunday.

Which isn't bad considering less than 5 years ago we were a small band of 20 joining a congregation of 6 for a church-graft. And we had Covid restrictions just a month after we started.

They are all kids of people in the church so we didn't attract them as such but manage to maintain them. They split off 2 out of 3 weeks per month when we're all together. During these times, they play games then have a shorter/ more interactive sermon done by younger people. The teen leaders are in their 20s so they are closer in age. They also have social times 1 Sat evening per month so it helps that they genuinely have friends and look forward to seeing them. In the summer they have a week long camp together.

We used to have 3 rows of children for Sunday School back in the days but I'm afraid they're just not interested these days. When I was a school teacher we used to do RME and virtually none of the children had any idea of bible stories,

The Romanian Orthodox one in the city centre is very busy and hardly contains everyone, but we go to a Russian one which shares the space with a CofE church and there's only a handful of us, including the priest and his family. I'm better off in a quieter one to be honest.

What I'm dreading is that, when our church joins up with the other one, it will become all happy clappy. I would have to leave.

I agree with you. And I am young. Hate all the modern showy stuff.
I don’t want formal and incense like in the cathedral, but just traditional, nice hymns, prayers, quiet time…

Oh me too. Seems it's not " fashionable" though. It's putting me off going to church; I don't have the energy for it.

My church has about 10-20 and maybe double that on high days. I prefer traditional high Church of England services and it’s a bit modern for me. Screen with the words to hymns and the service, vicar with a mic.

It is joined with a bigger church which is packed to standing capacity only on high days so assume it’s probably a lot busier through the year too. It’s just that bit further away and down a hill which I’d have to get back up again, which being disabled is off putting,

The way our church keeps everyone happy is that we have a quieter more traditional service at 9am and then a more modern "clappier" one at 11. Everyone has coffee or tea in between the services so people can all still mix. No Sunday school at the earlier service but kids would still be welcome.

Tbh I really think churches need a mix of a bit of all ages and all types of worship to suit a mix of different people and to get something which is sustainable. After all, we are all created differently and none of those differentlys is any less like God.

@ThomasPatrickKeatingsDegas
I would really hope that if the church is that big then someone would be able to arrange for you to have a regular lift to get there?

I love the clappy stuff but also really appreciate a quiet contemplative service, especially now I am getting older. My mum's church did some lovely ones where there was a very set pattern of singing/chanting and praying. They were only about half an hour long but it I really stuck with me. Will have to try and see if I can remember what it was called.

When I'm in London I go to a very traditional Anglo-CatholIc church. I love the ceremony and serenity.
Our church wouldn't have the numbers to support a more traditional service and a more modern one so I guess it will all depend on the minister's preference.

At least nowadays you can watch a church service online.

I haven't been to church for a couple of weeks as I has a bit of surgery.
It is interesting to note that none of the church leaders have been in touch. I'm finding pastoral care somewhat missing.

We set up cell groups in the parish partly for this reason. It's a large parish and people are sometimes away for various reasons (plus a lot of the older people spend 2-3 months at a time back in their countries of origin). So it can take a while for the priests and staff to notice an absence and chase it up. Cell groups work well for the people in them, but a lot of people don't join one. So we still lose contact with a lot of people, sadly. We would always visit and call if we knew for sure that someone had been ill/had surgery though.

A friend of mine had something similar happen to her, and I do think it's one of the reasons she no longer goes to church often.

@FuzzyPuffling I'm curious how that works from your perspective

I would feel under pressure a bit if they noticed but if you told them and they didn't check then that's different

I hope you are recovering well

interested in this thread as I previously belonged to church for community

i moved and the church here seems a bit full on so not sure about joining. Previous church didn't actually care if you were religious, which I'm not.

Several people in the leadership team knew, including the Rector's wife ( as she asked if I would sing with her to lead worship).

A couple of church friends have been very supportive, so I don't feel ignored, but I would have appreciated even a text of enquiry.

You can't pride yourself on being " family" if you can't be bothered!

@FuzzyPuffling oh that is a bit off putting. In the current world I do wonder if they feel they would be overstepping if they asked how you were but if you have each other's numbers etc that seems poor.

Now I would prefer this. ^ My Church (sadly) is quite boring now. I would like a vibrant 'happy clappy' Church. This was how it was when the other Reverend was there that I mentioned. It's so dull now, and LOADS of people have left.

God presumably knows when the school applications go in for September.

English Secondaries - 31 October, most faith schools will accept forms signed by or letters from churches after the official deadline up till the beginning of December.

English Primaries - 15 January, most faith schools will accept forms signed by or letters from churches up till half term.

NI - Mid February, so could go until March.

Wales - 29 November, Primary 31 Jan.

It's really strange just how many families find God around six months before the deadlines. Guess he must move in Mysterious Ways.