It’s that time of year. “What time of year?” ask the Baptists. (I couldn’t resist that joke, too easy.) It’s Lent, or, according to Wikipedia:
“…the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer—through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial—for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus…”
So which events does your church observe? Here’s what you had to say:
The most popular holiday of the season is Easter. Nearly a third of churches are observing and marketing some sort of Easter service. Honestly, I would have expected this number to be much higher.
Just shy of that, one in five churches are doing something for Good Friday–a drama, a candlelight service, a memorial, etc. But they’re letting people know they should join them on the Friday before Easter to remember the death of Christ. And in a surprisingly strong showing, another fifth of your churches market their Palm Sunday service.
Next up? Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday. 11% of churches are advertising each of these events. We’d love to hear how you’re telling people about the less-famous Lent observances. Is it just intra-church marketing? Or are you going out of your way to let the whole community know of these events?
Oh yeah, and the rest of you. 6% don’t observe or market your Lenten festivities, while 2% only observe Mardi Gras. So let’s hear it, how did you celebrate Mardi Gras? Or do you want to fess up for being a smart aleck?
It’s about that time, so this week we want to know: Daylight Savings Time goes into effect this weekend. How will it impact your services?
Geoff in CT
March 10, 2010
Mardi Gras? That’s Shrove Tuesday! We have Evensong and a Pancake Supper for the whole parish. And yes, Mardi Gras beads, too …..
Nathan Williams
March 10, 2010
“Honestly, I would have expected this number to be much higher.”
This number is so low because of the way your poll program interprets the “select all that apply” poll results. Notice that your results add up to 100%. This means that 31% of the options chosen were Easter, not that 31% of your respondents included Easter among their handful of responses. Interpreted correctly, the total of all results should be far more than 100%.
Robert Gidley
March 10, 2010
For Ash Wednesday, we advertised it in the service bulletin, the weekly e-mail, and the monthly newsletter. We also posted it on the reader board outside the church for the preceding week.
Same for Maundy Thursday (except for the reader board, Easter will have that spot), but we also included it in our Easter newspaper advertisement. We’re a non-liturgical UCC church.
Natalie
March 10, 2010
I work at a Roman Catholic Church. Let me tell you , Catholics are crazy about Ash Wednesday. Huge crowds turn up whether we advertise or not. Now if we could only get those people to stick around the rest of the year.
James Mitchell
March 10, 2010
One of the most meaningful services of the year we celebrate is the Maundy Thursday service. It is ‘marketed’ to the congregation exactly what it is, a remembrance of the Last Supper. A time to share communion with each other just as Jesus would have with His disciples in preparation for the events to come. A nice evening service, one of the most looked forward to non-traditional Sunday services in our Baptist church.