Weather Cancels Church – Now What Do We Do?

Where I live, the weather is going to bite us several times a year, and some of those times will fall on weekends. The congregation I serve draws people from a wide area, and many of them live in rural areas on country roads that seldom see a snow plow. Consequently, whenever there is significant snow on a Saturday or early Sunday, we have to cancel our worship services.

When that happens, some family’s wonder what to do. Sure, they sleep in a little, but if the weather prevents getting out of the house Sunday can seem like a long day – and there are those rare people who say “It just doesn’t feel like Sunday if I don’t go to church…”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So here are some helpful hints to help your weather those Sundays…

• Make time for Worship. Put on some Christian music on the radio or computer. If you don’t have any on your mp3 player, K-Love is a great radio option, and Pandora, AllWorship, and IHeartRadio, are online options.
• Get into the Word. Gather the family around and read from God’s Word, the Bible. If your children are younger, read from a Bible story book. If you’re looking for deeper teaching, find a preacher on TV. Discernment is key here, there’s a lot of weird and aberrant teaching on television. Look for Dr. Charles Stanley or his son Andy, James Merritt, Bill Purvis, Bob Coy, Greg Laurie, Ron Philips, or the late Adrian Rogers. Any of them will provide a biblical message with life application you can trust.
• Remember to give. A church’s services may be cancelled, but the financial needs and obligations continue. Use your church’s online giving portal, or drop a check in the mail on Monday morning. At the very least, add this week’s giving to next week’s when church meets again.
• Have some fun family time. Rather than everyone retreating to their own bedroom to stare at a screen of some sort, work a puzzle or play some board games. Watch some home movies or videos. Bake some cookies or brownies together. Roast some marshmallows in the fireplace or by the woodstove – you can even use an eye on the stove! (Adult supervision required and use caution!)
• Tackle that project. This one is near the end on purpose, because it may seem like work to some people. But a Sunday without many other options might be a good time to clean out that closet, make those minor repairs, or even write a letter to a friend.

And sure, why not…

• Take a nap. Knock out some of your sleep debt by catching some zzz’s.