We are entering truly unprecedented times for people of faith. Churches, synagogues, and mosques around the world have suspended regular worship services for an indefinite period of time. This coming weekend may represent the fewest people engaging in corporate worship in the last two millennia. This is uncharted waters for those in church leadership. Many Read more
A phenomenon is impacting churches. Maybe your church is an anomaly. But most churches—regardless of size and denominational affiliation—are experiencing a decrease in attendance frequency. Attendance frequency measures how often a person comes to church. For example, an “active” member was once considered someone who came twice, or even three times a week. Today an Read more
A Church of England synod has decided to put aside a centuries-old requirement for every church in every benefice to celebrate the weekly Sunday services. The synod says the rules will be amended to say morning and evening prayer need only be held at “at least one church within a benefice, which might include multiple Read more
The Wellington City Council has voted to introduce weekend parking fees in the city. Previously there were two hours of free weekend parking in the CBD. Now the parking fee will be $2.50 per hour. The parish priest of St Mary of the Angels, Fr Conroy SM, told CathNews that the new charges will have a significant impact on those attending Read more
Why do some people go to church and others stay away? A new Pew Research Center study offers a survey of 4,729 Americans telling us precisely why they do (or don’t) attend religious services. Read more
Church attendance influences the likelihood of congregations to donate to religious institutions, a report from Giving USA has found. It also influences how generous the donations are. The report says “Most strikingly, those attending religious services once a month or more make an average annual religious contribution of $1,848, while those attending religious services less Read more
The latest in a long line of studies, now numbering in the hundreds, if not thousands, shows that church attendance is good for your health. Published in May by researchers from Vanderbilt University, the study found that middle-aged adults who attended religious services at least once in the past year were half as likely to die prematurely Read more
Baby boomers do not lack in spirituality, according to Right Reverend Ray Coster, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand. He says they just expressed it in different ways. He said while baby boomers and their children were the ones most likely not to belong to a church because they struggled with the Read more
Because of declining church attendances and financial difficulties, hundreds of Catholic and Protestant churches in Germany are closing. One estimate is that 15,000 of the 45,000 churches in the country will soon be no longer needed. “These buildings are simply too opulent, too empty and too expensive to maintain, something akin to an aging grandmother Read more
Some mainstream New Zealand churches are struggling to keep their heads above the communion wine but other religions are thriving, building new churches, mosques and temples and gathering devoted worshippers in their thousands. Banks of lights pulsate in waves of colour, and cameras project images on to three monstrous screens. And there is plenty of Read more