Monday, April 25, 2011

Disasters turn people back to church

International and Australian disasters are behind strong Easter church attendances across the country as people look to religion for comfort and a sense of community, church leaders say.

There had been concerns the extra-long Easter and Anzac Day holiday weekend could result in a fall in church attendances, but church leaders said the opposite proved to be the case, as numbers were up at different denominational services throughout Australia.

This year's disasters in Australia, New Zealand and Japan were partly behind that, the church leaders said.
Dean Peter Catt of St John's Anglican Cathedral in Brisbane, where numbers were reported to be up by 50 per cent, said many were turning to religion after experiencing a strong sense of community during Queensland's summer of disasters.

Parishes like Ipswich and Grantham, where flooding was particularly devastating in January, had recorded higher-than-normal attendance figures, Dr Catt said.

"As to why they were there? I guess all the natural disasters and some of the other stuff that's happening in the world has got people asking questions about ultimate meaning and the like," he told said.

"I guess that could be the reason, but people were not talking about that as being the reason they were there.

"I think there might just be a heightened sense of community that's probably a by-product of all the stuff they've faced."

The Uniting Church reported similar record attendance.

Reverend Stewart Cameron, the lead minister for one of the church's largest congregations, said attendance numbers were well up across the board.

Rev Cameron said attendance levels at his own church - the New Life Uniting Church at Robina on the Gold Coast - were up by at least 10 per cent.

That was partly because Gold Coast holidaymakers had come along to services, he said.

"I also think the uncertainty of the last six months with what's happened here in Queensland and New Zealand and Japan and everything else, I think that's part of it as well," he said.

"So many people are looking for a message of hope, and Easter's about that."

The Catholic archdiocese of Brisbane also reported strong numbers, with about 1200 at St 
Stephen's Cathedral's mid-morning service in Brisbane.

Young families in particular had turned to religion this Easter, Western Australia's Anglican Archbishop Roger Herft said.

"We had a huge turnout, there was no sitting room anywhere," Archbishop Herft said.

"The ushers commented to me that they had never seen so many young couples and young families at a service."

While church numbers had been in decline in recent years, Archbishop Herft said he was happy to see more people returning to their faith this year.

"I think a lot of young couples are saying, 'We missed out on an important story and we don't want our kids to miss out on it,' so they are bringing their children to church," he said.

At the Catholic mass at Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral, about 10,000 worshippers turned out for the three Easter Sunday services.

And the city's St Andrew's Anglican Cathedral was standing room only.

Hundreds of poor and homeless people also gathered for an Easter Sunday roast lunch and church service at Sydney charity The Exodus Foundation.

"In church, we had double the numbers we usually have and it looks like a huge turnout," the foundation's founder, the Reverend Bill Crews, said.