Why I don't go to church on Father's Day

[antof9]

I don't think I've been to church on Father's Day since 1998. Regular readers of this blog know my dad passed away in December of 1998, and frankly, I haven't felt much like being in church (on Father's Day) since.

In a recent conversation with my husband, I was trying to articulate why I don't want to go to church on Father's Day. I've been

Comments

[appleshoelace]

*hugs*

Father's Day isn't a religious occasion in the UK. Church services on Father's Day aren't about Father's Day at all - although it may be mentioned in passing, just as things that are topical in the news are mentioned in passing. Same on Mothering Sunday. Church services tend to be about God and the Bible and the Christian life.

I didn't go to church today, because I was working in an elderly care home - and for some reason, the care home decided to make a great occasion out of Father's Day, and the residents all had a three course meal for lunch, with aperitifs. It seemed quite bizarre to me - the residents are mostly women, and they were saying 'What's the occasion?' and when we said 'Father's Day', they said 'But we're not fathers!' Still it was nice to have a reason for celebration and to have something a bit different from their normal routine.

[pootski]

Father's Day and Mother's Day aren't religious occasions in the US either - I guess it depends on the family. I've never really heard of anyone going to church specifically on those days (unless they go to church every Sunday). But I think with some families it is more of a religious tradition. In general, I think we probably do things like you do in the U.K.

[pootski]

I see someone else here talking about making a point of going to church on Father's Day, so it must be common in some (regions? religions? families?) in the U.S.

Incidentally, today (Monday) is the 15th anniversary of my father's death. But I wasn't nearly as close to him, though he was as good of a divorced-and-living-an-hour-away dad as he could be.

[antof9]

I realized I should have noted (because many people commented on it) that I don't think it's a religious occasion either. It is, however, usually commented on or spoken about in our normal church services. Thus, since I normally go on other Sundays, I was saying why I don't go on this one :)

I'm sorry about your dad. It makes me think we're old to not have our dads anymore, regardless of how present they were when they were actually on earth.

[amyleaton]

(((((hugs)))))

[antof9]

thanks, friend :)

[antof9]

extra-appreciated :)

[alrescate]

Loving you.

[antof9]

Thanks for doing that :)

[antof9]

Thanks, my friend. And honestly, it's much better than it used to be. This new way of observing it is actually making it much nicer!

Thanks for the hugs :)