Vacation from church, week2

I think my Sunday morning vacation began on Saturday night  I met some friends at a nearby restaurant at 8 and we ate and  talked until 12:30.  Of course, that meant that Saturday night was a very short night.  I need to remember that I was the one that wanted a dog that would get me out of bed in the morning!

Overall, this Sunday was much less organized than last Sunday.  I enjoyed a nice lunch with the family, and Celie and I journeyed to the Long Center for free ASO concert that was cancelled due to a threat of stormy weather. The rest of the time, I read, slept, and thought about what Sabbath really means.

My whole life, Sabbath, really Sunday,  has meant going to church on Sunday morning and training union, choir, worship services, and now, Cantamos rehearsals (during the "school year" anyway) on Sunday evening.    Most churches have dropped the Sunday evening worship time unless it has replaced am worship.  Many don't attend worship at all, anytime.

I've polled friends and workmates that I know don't attend church on Sunday and asked them what they do instead.  For many, Saturday is the recreational day (Sabbath?),  and Sunday is the chore at home, catch up on projects at work, or finish homework day.

Thinking about Sabbath led me to interesting websites.  Did you know that Take Back Your Time Day is October 24?  This is the day that Americans and Canadians will have worked as many hours as Europeans work by the end of the year.  At one time, Massachusetts Council of Churches created "Take Back Your Time/Choose 4 Windows of Time." The aim of the project was to "re-create balance between work and leisure" and encourage members of MCC congregations to choose four windows of time for rest and relaxation between Labor Day and Take Back Your Time Day.

The website:  Practicing our Faith, gave me more good questions to ask rather than giving me answers.

Though we may yearn for Sabbath rest, what obstacles keep us from it? Pressures to work and spend? Organized sports? The fact that Sundays are no longer protected by custom and law? Trying to overcome a reputation of Sabbath-keeping as sapping joy from the day? 

No answer yet, really, but I do have more vacation days to think about it.