In the past few weeks, things have started up again. Students are back in school, fall programming has begun, and calendars are filling up with regular commitments.
Lazy summer weekends are returning to the routine of autumn’s classes and gym visits and, well, routine. Routine is good – it helps keep us organized and more productive and generally healthy.
The fall new-routine trend is also coming to church-land. September brings with it a re-start of church programming – Sunday School, Bible study groups, social activities. So what about folks for whom ‘church’ has fallen out of their routine?
I heard this week someone who said they had taken a church ‘vacation’ over the summer, and they weren’t sure if they wanted to go back or not. They were enjoying simply staying in bed on Sunday mornings. I can appreciate that – there are Sundays when all of us would prefer to have a lie-in. But church is worth getting up for – worshiping in community is an activity that is worth (in my opinion) including in the routine.
My routine is fairly set, throughout the week. Between worship services, bible studies, care home visits – it’s a full week. There’s considerable flex as life happens, but the major things remain in place. There’s also the routine leading up to the busy-ness. My Saturday nights, for example, gets me ready for the week ahead: I watch the hockey game, enjoy a hot cup of black tea, and go to bed on clean sheets. (Yes, hockey’s back; my team played their first pre-season game last night. Bliss.)
So I challenge us – as we are still setting up our autumn routines, to be sure to include church. And some form of daily prayer. And some form of Bible study. It may take a while to get into the habit, but it will benefit us in the long run. Just like our morning routine is set, so too can we make time for God in the mix.
Maybe we can invite someone else to join us in establishing God and church into their routine as well – maybe through some programme (Back to Church and Messy Church have been successful for me); maybe we do something unscripted in a one-on-one basis. Whatever it is, NOW is the time to set our own routines. It’s a busy time; it’s always a busy time. Let’s make sure we include what’s truly important into our routine, to make sure it’s not left out.
How does church fit into your routine?
By Teresa Janelle September 16, 2013 - 10:05 am
Yup! For now, twice on Sunday…it takes a while to bus to the churches I’ve chosen in my new city, but it restores me and connects me to my community and what’s important in life, so I make it a priority.
By Laura Marie Piotrowicz September 16, 2013 - 1:02 pm
That’s fantastic! Good to hear transit isn’t being used as an excuse 🙂
Very glad to hear soul restoration and community connections are side effects of worship. Blessed!
By Talia Johnson September 16, 2013 - 9:28 am
When we reflect on our routines and what we spend our time on it also reveals to us what we truly consider to be important enough to be intentional about. I think often people take their faith for granted and don’t think about the need to nurture and feed their relationship with God. She reaches out to us, are we reaching out to her?
By Laura Marie Piotrowicz September 16, 2013 - 1:03 pm
Intentionality is definitely key. How we choose to spend our time/energy/money identifies our priorities… may we all articulate our relationship with God as our top priority!
By Flo Gwinn September 16, 2013 - 11:05 pm
Yes , big part of my life!!
By Heather Rose Russell September 19, 2013 - 9:06 am
It’s not Sunday if I don’t get to church. For some, Sunday is not Sunday if you don’t have “Sunday dinner” (i.e. salt meat, vegetables, roast beef or chicken, all the fixins), but it’s not Sunday for me if I don’t get to church.