Why Don't You Go To Church?

Through my years I’ve heard various answers to this question.  I’m going to try to alleviate some of your trepidations and see if possibly I can help you out.

Number one – maybe you like the freedom to sleep in on Sunday mornings and not have to feel pressured to put on clothes and stick to any schedule.  The answer to that—it’s obvious:  find a church that has services on Saturday night.  Part two of the answer:  Calvary Presbyterian Church in Enumclaw has services every Saturday night at 7:00.  It usually lasts only about 70 minutes, so if you are the type who likes to go out and relax a bit on Saturday night, you still have plenty of time for that. 

Number two – perhaps your reasoning is that you’re uncomfortable with the old-fashioned rituals, creeds, and hymns.  And maybe uncomfortable isn’t the right word—maybe you’re unfamiliar and don’t want to look obvious when everyone else is picking up the blue book, you pick up the red book and feel foolish.  Again, Saturday night service at Calvary is the answer.  All of the words to the songs are projected on a big screen; you never have to crack a book if you don’t want to.

And as far as the creeds and rituals, there’s nothing wrong with them, but if they aren’t your style, you’ll fit right in on Saturday night at Calvary.  There is a bit of structure to the service—usually there are three or four modern praise songs at the beginning, then some prayer time led by one of the pastors, followed by an informative speech (OK, truth is, it’s a sermon), and we finish the night with another praise song or two.  But it’s all very casual and friendly!

OK, back to your excuses.  Perhaps you don’t feel like you have the right clothes to wear.  Again, Saturday night at Calvary is casual—that means you can wear anything you want.  Nobody dresses formally or wears a suit, but you could if you wanted to.  Again, everyone is very friendly and laid back, so you won’t feel uncomfortable if your jeans have holes in them (of course, that’s stylish now).  Or if you’ve worked all day and haven’t had a chance to clean up yet—feel free to come as you are. 

What else…did I mention that the people are friendly?  And not that overly-solicitous friendly stuff.  I know I’ve been to churches before that as soon as they see a new face they descend upon you and extend the welcome so exuberantly that you are scared off.  Nobody at Calvary will do that, but you will be welcomed in a gentler, smiling fashion. 

Until I started going to Calvary Presbyterian Church in Enumclaw, I’d never been to a Presbyterian church before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  In jest, the Presby’s are called the frozen chosen—we aren’t the most over-the-top exuberant and overly-bubbly people for the most part.  Some of the praise songs we sing should by all rights be clapped along to, but that’s a little more demonstrative than most Presby’s feel comfortable with, so the clapping soon fades away.  But if you are the type who loves to clap and sing loud you might be just the right one to help the rest of us come out of our shells!  (I mean no offense to anyone from my church who may be reading this, but I think you’ll admit—I’m right!)

Oh, and there’s the family aspect of Saturday night church at Calvary.  As soon as the praise and worship songs are finished, we have the short prayer time, and then the children are welcome to go with the children’s church teachers.  They have a biblical lesson, play a game, make a craft…in short, they get to learn about Jesus by having fun.

So have I hit upon your excuse yet?  Maybe it’s just more basic--you aren’t sure of your faith.  Again, nobody’s going to judge you or expect you to have it all together and answer any pop quizzes.  Come and find out for yourself.   In a way it’s like those old commercials for Life cereal—try it, you’ll like it. 

Easter is coming soon.  This is the season of Lent…the 40 days celebrated prior to Easter.  I challenge you to come to Calvary and check us out.  I take that back—I invite you to come.  Maybe that’s what you’ve been waiting on—an invitation.  Look me up—my husband and I usually sit about ¾ of the way back on the left side; please join us. 

And don’t wait until Easter weekend, come this next Saturday night.  See you at 7:00.  The address is 1725 Porter Street, Enumclaw WA.  Vacation Bible School will be at the end of June but it’d be great if you were already hooked up with our church before then so your kids could start learning about the love of Jesus now—don’t wait for June.  Don’t wait for Easter.  Come this Saturday night.

Oh, by the way, there is service on Sunday too.  It’s a much more traditional service, but the people are equally friendly.  If that’s more your style, 9:30 is the time, Calvary Presbyterian Church is the place.