English Churches Postpone Worship – “Make Jesus the Center Forward of your Life”

London, May 28 (idea) ­ Soccer and church will clash during the upcoming World Cup in East Asia. England’s opening match versus Sweden kicks off in Saitama (Japan) at Sunday worship prime time: 10.30 a.m.

As millions of Britons will be glued to the TV screens many churches are postponing their worship till after the match. The Anglican primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, has given his official approval.

Although an ardent follower of the round ball himself, Carey will not be able to watch the match; he is wanted at a Golden Jubilee celebration with Queen Elizabeth II. at Windsor Castle. Neither must the Archbishop pray for England’s victory; as leader of the Anglican world community he is obliged to remain strictly impartial.

The Prince of Wales has insisted that his football-mad sons, Prince Andrew and Prince William, accompany him to a Jubilee church service in Swansea. The final whistle of the soccer match in Japan is expected to be blown as the vicar blesses the congregation.

Unperturbed by the sports competition Catholic churches will hold Sunday mass at the usual times. Some Anglican priests are also adamant that the church should not bow before soccer.

The Rev Geoffrey Kirk of Lewisham told the London “Times” the very idea of moving the service rendered him almost speechless: “If we in the Church of England have actually generated a group of Christians who are so brain dead that they cannot even record the thing on a video and discharge their primary obligation on Sunday morning to got to church, then we might as well pack up and go home.”

Other clergy are trying to make the most of the situation. The Rev Harry Ross in Liverpool: “God must come first, but football is second.” Ross will place his churchwarden in front of the TV in the vestry and get him to signal if England score a goal during the service. That way he will keep the congregation up to date from the pulpit.

Other churches put up video screens and show the soccer match live before the worship service. The Rev John Hartley of Bradford will preach to the theme “Make Jesus the center forward of your life.” And he has written a special evangelistic soccer hymn: “Before I met the Savior Jesus, my life was full of holes: I couldn’t do the good I wanted, I couldn’t score the goals.”

END

Evangelical news agency idea. Wolfgang Polzer

e-mail: ­ Internet: http://www.idea.de Postal address: idea, PO Box 1820, 35528 Wetzlar, Germany

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