What Happened to Sunday?

“People are going to behave however the social norms permit, and beyond that.”-Max Cannon

That quote from Max Cannon speaks volumes. I know that I am still seen as a young adult. I am in my early thirties and I have ( I hope) a long life ahead. In my almost 33 years, I have seen societal norms change, priorities shift, and moral compass arrows point in weird directions. As someone who has had the opportunity to live in different parts of our country, there have been eye-opening realizations that the culture of our own country is determined by the area one lives in. I am originally from Cumberland, Maryland but left at a young age. I spent most of my elementary years in the deep south, Tennessee and Georgia. When I was going into 4th grade, we relocated to Connecticut where I spent 18 months living there. Half-way through 5th grade we moved to WI where I spent a majority of my life before relocating back home to Keyser, WV.

You might be wondering how this has anything to do with Sunday’s. When I lived in the deep south, the importance of Sunday as a recognized sabbath day (no, Sunday is not specifically listed in the Bible and there is not a technically “correct Sabbath day) was respected. When sports or any kind, park & rec or sports through school, attempted to have practices on church nights, the churches came together and fought the school boards to prevent it from happening. There was this need to prioritize time for church over worldly items. I remember my mom and dad getting me up for church on Sunday morning. I went to Sunday School and then to service. We had fellowship time and then went to lunch. We were back in church Sunday evening and were also at church on Wednesday night. On Friday evenings, I went with my parents to their prayer group and sat in another room. Church came before sports, girl scouts, boy scouts, hunting, fishing, etc. Church was the priority.

When I moved to Wisconsin, my parents held onto those priorities and made sure that my brother and I knew that church would be first. I was a jock, played any sport I was able to. I remember having practices or games on Sunday’s and that didn’t sit well with my parents. My mom and dad made it clear to coaches that I can come to practices and games, but I won’t arrive until right after church. There were times I got frustrated at my parents, not because I disagreed with why they made that call, but because I was the one that took the grief from my teammates who looked at me like I didn’t care enough about the team. This only intensified the older I got, especially in high school where sports are taken more seriously.

For many years I wondered why some of my teammates who were part of other Christ-following communities didn’t have the same priorities as I did. I never held it against them, I just couldn’t figure out why I was so different from everyone else. The longer I lived in Wisconsin, the more apparent the culture differences were when it came to prioritizing Sunday and other faith-filled nights.

Sports were not only allowed to happen on Sundays or Wednesday nights, but it was the priority over church. Pastors would have folks in the congregations comes up to them and tell them: “Better keep the sermon short this week, Packers play at noon.” There were some pastors that even wore Stoles with their Robes that were Packer printed. Drinking is a big part of the culture, where alcohol is more common than not at most gatherings including high school graduations. Again, the idea of a party or celebration would often overshadow church on Sundays. If there were parties on Saturday nights or Sunday afternoons, that morning attendance would be down. I won’t sit here and type that I am not guilty of participating in items, but it didn’t come before my commitments to the church.

I had late nights with proms on Saturday and I would be at church teaching Sunday School the following morning. Yes, I had a rough part of my adulthood where I stepped away from the church building, but my faith remained strong and I made sure my commitments were upheld even when I participated in other things.

Moving back to Keyser, to my roots around here, I was hoping that I would finally be rid of the lack of prioritizing God. I was shocked that it is still happening. I see elementary and middle school recreational sports hosting tournaments that are weekend long, taking families out of church because sports are the priority. I see high school sports clubs’ postseason tournaments on Sunday’s taking high schoolers and families out of church. I see clubs, or outings, or exhaustion being the reason folks are not in church on Sunday. It isn’t that being involved in certain activities is completely wrong. I just have to wonder where the priorities are. What happened to Sunday being a priority? What happened to stores being closed and family time being the focus? What happened to taking Sunday as giving that time to God because after all, he has blessed us with so much?

I hear the older generations in the church express sadness that the universal churches are dying, numbers are shrinking, it is no longer a priority. The same folks that make these comments are the same ones that congratulate those that go and compete on Sunday’s and don’t come to church. It isn’t that we should not encourage and not cheer on our church family when they are participating in situations. We need to decide how and when to speak up and encourage focusing on priorities, instilling them in our youngest so as they grow up they aren’t trying to survive in a world that is full of enabling behaviors that don’t grow us spiritually. In Sunday School I have mentioned how I can’t understand why the churches don’t come together and work to stop this. I have received responses of: “It wouldn’t go anywhere.” “The churches would have to be willing to work together without needing to have one being in charge over another.” “ It isn’t worth the hassle.” “Times have changed.” Times may have changed BUT that is because we have let it happen.

For almost 33 years, I have watched as the world takes from the Christ-Following community. I have watched “moments of silence” being taken out of schools in the morning because “children shouldn’t be pressured or be forced to participate in a moment of silence so others can have time to pray.” I have watched nights that have long been part of church ministry being dismissed and diminished. I have watched the universal church’s name be smeared for their hatred, condescending examples within small groups that have given the rest of us a bad name. I have watched others mock folks for their faith and belittle them, including myself (folks from in the church and out of the church). I have watched others get angry because Christ-followers may not think like them which apparently gives them the right to make them feel like dirt beneath their feet. It is okay for others both in and out of the church to say that folks in the Christ-following community should conform to worldly ideas, but the minute a Christ-follower tries to provide a new perspective it is game over!

What happened to Sundays? This post isn’t to shame anyone, because I know there will be some that read this thinking, “She is using our story to write and shame us for things we do.” That is never my goal. My goal is to always remind myself, and encourage others, to make sure that in all that we do, we give God the time and respect he deserves. We are blessed with more than we realize. God sacrificed more for us than we are willing to consider sacrificing for him. What happened to Sunday?