On April 8, Christians will fill churches as they observe Easter, considered the most holy day on the Christian calendar.
But, depending on the church, the pews may have significantly fewer worshipers in them on the Sundays that follow.
‘Typically, every church sees a rise in attendance around Easter and around Christmas,? says Les Altermatt, pastor of Lakeview Community Church in Goodrich. ‘Those are times when (Christians?) thoughts are turned toward God and they reflect on who he is.?
But during the last three years attendance is down at Lakeview, to the point where Altermatt says 50 people are in church on a good day.
‘I think churches go through cyclic movements,? he says. ‘They have periods where they are higher lower and it could be because of the economy, internal problems, and a lot just has to do with the times in which we live. Many people don’t consider the church or a relationship with God through Christ as being important in their lives.?
Joann Piccinini, 61, attends St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Lake Orion, but has noticed her fellow parishioners attendance is not as great as it used to be.
‘It’s down from years ago,? she says. ‘I think a lot has to do with poor publicity over priests, but it’s a combination of things. People have fallen away from moral values and going to church. Children need a religious background and foundation.?
Oakland University Religion Professor Gary Shepherd says that overall, he believes the rate of attendance in church is fairly stable, not up or down much during the past 20 years. But he believes the picture changes when church attendance is broken into categories.
‘If you’re looking at mainstream Protestant churches? Presbyterian or Congregational or Episcopalian? it’s down,? he said. ‘If you look at more evangelical churches, such as Assemblies of God, or even, and especially, mega churches, not connected to a denomination, attendance is probably dramatically up. In general, religious affiliation in established mainstream religion has been going down for years.?
Shepherd cites the failure of some churches to address the spiritual and emotional needs that many people have as a reason for the decline in both membership and participation, especially of younger generations that are bored, or don’t find the kind of spiritual engagement that is meaningful in mainstream religion.
He notes people often find an emotional connection in evangelical churches that place more emphasis on music and expression.
At Ortonville United Methodist Church, Pastor Tim Dibble says he has seen quite a shift in attendance in the past two years. The membership of the church is up to 235 from 205, and while he says the average church has 42-47 percent of their members attend on any given Sunday, OUMC has close to 65 percent of the members attending.
‘Up until a couple years ago, attendance and membership was waning,? says Dibble. ‘In some ways this church is bucking the trend. If the stats I’m getting from church publications is accurate, there are churches growing, but in the traditionally mainline denominations, overall attendance has declined, as has membership.?
Dibble says this is partly because churches needs to update how they share the message, which doesn’t change, but the way it is delievered needs to change with the culture and time.
At St. Anne Catholic Church, Rev. Fr. Bernie Mullen says church attendance has been fairly stable during the past four years. He has seen new members come in, but old members leave, particularly with a poor local economy as workers transfer out of state.
‘It’s hard to see people in difficult times,? Mullen said. ‘In times of crisis, people generally seek out God in personal ways as well as some identification with a church.?
Mullen notes that attendance increases during difficult times and he noticed large increases in church attendance after Sept. 11 and following the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami that devastated Asia.
Roughly 800 households are members of St. Anne Church, and average attendance on a regular basis is a little over 200 families, says Mullen.
‘We’d like to see people here all the time, but it doesn’t bother me (when attendance is lower),? says Mullen. ‘The spirit of God is with people. People have connectedness with God in various ways, not just with church.?
Altermatt has an alternate view.
‘We can maintain with 50 members, but we really need growth,? he said. ‘Certain projects may have to be cut, if finances continue to go downward. The bottom line in any church is it takes money to operate and when you get really small numbers, it does become a struggle. Fortunately, ours has held up, but who knows??