I don’t think I made it to church once in June. Most weeks I had a good reason for missing church–my son’s lacrosse game or a business trip–but at least once I skipped to church to go for a run with a friend. Running can be a great way to get outside and appreciate the beautiful world that God created. Running can offer quiet time to pray. But at least for me, running is no substitute for going to church. Last weekend, when I was on my way to church again, I started to wonder,
Why do I go to church? Why should I go to church?
At church, I get to worship in a holy space that sets my mind on God.
At church, I get to have the Word read to me, and hear old stories in a new way.
At church, I get to listen to a sermon that challenges me and shifts my perspective.
At church, I get to partake in Holy Communion.
At church, I get to sing hymns and songs of praise.
At church, I get to worship with people from similar and different walks of life.
At church, I am welcomed, supported, and loved by my church family.
If you are religious but don’t go to worship services, what keeps you away?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
If you are ever out of town and can’t make your home church, check out New Life Christian Church online. They have services at 8, 9:30 & 11 am every Sunday at http://www.live.newlife4me.com
Sounds like you have a great church that you really enjoy.
I am religious, but rarely go to church. I guess I just feel better praying to God on my own and a bit awkward in a church. Maybe I have just gone to the wrong churches.
The right church makes a huge difference. Today I went to a different church (closer to home) that I am not as comfortable at, but it was still good to hear the readings and to hear a sermon from a different priest.
We don’t go to church very often anymore – I feel bad that we don’t but then I struggle with actually going (history!!).
I get that. I guess I am lucky that I belong to such a welcoming, non-judgmental supportive church. I think all churches should be that way, but then since churches are made up of imperfect humans, I guess churches are bound to be imperfect too. 🙂
I love that my kids are hungry for attending church. They had such a great time at VBS last month. 🙂
While I attended church weekly religiously (haha) from age 0 to 17.9 when I left for college, I got out of the habit. I started going in 2000 or so, when I got my first adult job, but by 2005, I had found a great running group that unfortunately met on Sunday mornings and so I pretty much stopped going, except when home visiting my folks or if we ran as a group on Saturday one week due to a race, holiday, whatever. But then at the end of March, some houseguest friends inspired us to start going, so we’ve gone pretty much every week since, though we actually skipped this past week for no good reason. I’d burnt dinner, so we ate late and the kitchen was a complete disaster (since I’d had to start over), and we were both tired. But we felt bad about it later that night and decided we wouldn’t make excuses again.
I’m glad you’re enjoying going to church again! I don’t usually feel guilty when I miss church, but I know I missed out.