Do They Know It’s Holy Week?

No. No they don’t.

I’m talking about the average human walking around in the United States today.

I volunteer for a secular organization and they scheduled a required training for Holy Week. It’s tonight to be specific. It’s Tuesday of Holy Week. Did I mention that this was intentionally scheduled for this week?

Why would any organization schedule a required, two hour event on Holy Week? It’s because they don’t know, don’t care, don’t track that it’s a wildly busy week for church people. Because they are not church people.

A cursory search of events happening in my city this week (when Church World will be washing feet, remembering The Last Supper, hearing the Last Seven Words, and waking up before dawn expecting an empty tomb) include:

• All week: The North Carolina Association for Middle Level Education Conference
• Tuesday: A showing of the documentary The Donut King followed by a panel discussion on refugees who succeed in the USA
• Wednesday: A Small Business Speed Networking Event
• Thursday: A National Conference on Academic Bullying
• Friday: Trap Bingo (apparently this is very popular)
• Saturday: A Freaknik (freaky + picnic) featuring Boston Richey and the Bubba Man Tour
• Sunday: Beginner Sword Fighting Workshop featuring Historical European Martial Arts Instructor Jessica Blair at 11:00 am

Do they know it’s Holy Week? Nope. Do they care? Nope.

We who live semi-cloistered lives in the Church (I’m talking pastors, church administrators, church musicians, church educators, church nerds) sometimes forget that our culture is increasingly secular. We know this on paper. Lots of people write about it.

I shared last year that when HH and I went out to brunch after worship on Easter, it was clear that we were the only people who had celebrated the Resurrection. I could tell, not because of clothing choices (not many Easter sundresses and bow ties) but because it was clear that people had just roused themselves out of bed and/or the day drinking had started.

We no longer live in a culture of Christendom, at least where I live even though I am technically living in The Bible Belt. This reality is important to remember when we have meetings about “getting people to come to church.” If the average person has the choice between participating in a freaknik or a Holy Saturday Vigil, most will go with the freaknik . . . or a nap.

One more time for the love of God: Thriving congregations are the ones addressing what breaks God’s heart in their community in the name of Jesus Christ.

Some of us believe that Jesus is the One who washed the feet of sinners, died for his friends and rose from the dead giving us hope forever, and we are part of a congregation in response to those truths. Increasingly, more and more of our neighbors do not believe such things. Or perhaps they believe in the quiet of their homes, in their favorite coffee shops, or at a sword fighting workshop.