Don't let football rule your Church Calendar

The colors of the altar vestments change during the liturgical year. The change denotes a new season in the church. From August through the end of the year, we see orange as a primary color in our world. The trees turn orange in the fall. In Tennessee, people (and often their possessions) begin "turning orange." But when the vestments on our altar change, they are never orange.

I believe God understands what the words "It's football time in Tennessee" symbolize for us. I know He wants us to be entertained and have fun. I imagine God enjoys a good, close football game, too. I also believe He wants us to show good sportsmanship and to allow His light in us to shine.

Yet I have noticed that whenever we plan events at the church, our first response is not to consult with our Father in prayer, but to pull out the University of Tennessee football schedule. I realize our aim is to plan activities that everyone can attend; we expect that for an activity to be successful we need lots of people there. I also realize that, as we strive to minister to the unchurched, we want to schedule activities to accommodate our guests.

Now I am starting to question if this practice is a good one. Shouldn't we let God determine our activities instead of the SEC?

I am concerned about the message we are sending to our children. At our church, the children and youth have worked for months on a special Christmas program. The date has been on the calendar for many months. Yet we feel we must change the date because of a football game. We want to have good attendance for the performance because the young people have worked long and hard. But why do we feel people would choose football over our children? Are we in effect saying to our children, "You aren't as important to me as seeing this football game," when we could easily videotape the game and watch it later? Is the real-time experience that crucial?

What about the message we are sending to our Father? He knows what's in our hearts. He knows and understands the human tendency to rationalize. Are we in effect saying to Him, "A football game is more important than being with your people and celebrating with you"? I imagine God's heart breaks because He wants to spend time with us.

What better witness than to say to a friend, "Can you use my football tickets? There's something great happening at my church that night and I just have to be a part of it." Where is this church that is more exciting than football? Can it be ours?

As this year comes to an end and we plan for 2002, I encourage you to consult with God when you plan church events. Don't let orange rule our year; it's not even a vestment color. We Christians need to make the hard choices before we can expect others to do the same.

Nancy Mason Reddy is a member of Ebenezer UMC, Knoxville District. Reprinted with permission, www.ebenezer-umc.org/vestments.htm.

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