by Kenneth Gregory Smith

Created on: August 01, 2009   Last Updated: August 03, 2009

Why get up on a Sunday morning and attend church when there are so many other options? Well, let's consider that church is one of the few places where each stage of life from birth to death is represented, celebrated and supported in the midst of a caring community.

Church's celebrate births in the form of infant baptism or infant dedication (depending on the particular denominational beliefs). These are beautiful ceremonies that help welcome a new human being into the world. Not only is the new life welcomed, but church members pledge to pray for and to assist the parents in the raising of the child.

Churches offer Sunday school and other programs for young children. Young people learn about God and theology, and they form positive friendships. They get exposed to caring adults. (Speaking of this day and age, many churches now require anyone who volunteers with children to pass a background check and receive training regarding child abuse prevention.).

Churches offer youth groups for adolescents. Teenagers, who is this day and age get exposed to all kinds of things in the media and at their schools, have an opportunity to partake in a wholesome atmosphere on Sunday or Wednesday nights. Many churches offer summer camping and mission trips for youth.

Weddings, of course, take place in churches. Marriage is celebrated as a life-long commitment. The pastor blesses the couple and charges them to love each other "in sickness and in health and for better or worse." Many churches offer pre-marital counseling and marital enrichment classes.

Churches are involved in the final stage of life- death. During church funerals, the deceased person is remembered and their life is celebrated. The pastoral staff walks alongside the grieving family. Prior to the death, the pastoral staff has usually visited the dying person in a hospital or at their home.

Churches also do tremendous community work, everything from feeding the hungry to tutoring students to visiting the elderly in nursing homes. Where would our society be without the contribution of churches?

Churches are a place of celebration, comfort, and support. But most of all, churches are the place where people of faith come together to worship God. It is very difficult if not impossible for a person of faith to carry out their faith in isolation. The loving God is worshipped every week without fail in a church.

No church is perfect. There is an old saying, "if you find a perfect church, as soon as you join it it will become imperfect!"

So go to the church of your choice this week. Worship God. Celebrate each stage of life. Be comforted in times of trouble.

Learn more about this author, Kenneth Gregory Smith.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.