I recall a time, early in my ministry, when the local ministerial association decided to try to communicate with the local youth football league officials. Although most games were played on Sunday afternoon, most coaches required the players to be there mid-morning. We were treated with contempt by the league reps, and were made to feel as if we were somehow unpatriotic. And this was in an area that was still somewhat traditional about Sunday morning being a special time.
These days, hardly a Sunday goes by when some charity is not sponsoring a walk or run on Sunday morning. My family attended a church a few years back where services were canceled one Sunday each summer so that members could work the barbecue/fundraiser at the local church-related retirement home. My religious life activities almost always take a back seat to athletic events, field trips and other activities that have taken over the Sunday morning slot.
I look at the passage from Matthew where Jesus tells the religious and secular folks that their loyalty to God is a personal decision, and that they must render to God and Caesar what they think each one deserves. American Christian institutions have done so much to accommodate themselves to the schedules of their members that I do not think this passage carries much weight these days. I coordinated the CROP Walks for hunger in the county where I served my first parish. We held our walks on Sunday afternoons. I participated in an MS Walk on a Saturday in another town later in my career. It's a sign of the times when we make folks choose between community worship and community service. There has to be a way to preserve the importance and complimentarity of both.
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