By The Rev. Bob Hammond
St. Stephen’s Anglican Church

Traditionally, September marked a new beginning, not quite in the way of a January 1st, but still, with the thought to changing family routines, in a way, a new set, of new years resolutions. September was the time when kids historically returned to school, it was the signal for the last of the year’s lengthy vacations, and it was for sports fans the beginning of football season. And, for many families it was also the time to think about Church life and Church attendance.

Our world, however, has changed and as September rolls around, many kids will have been in school for almost a month, work schedules are rarely impacted by the school year, and football season not only will be well on its way, but other sports’ seasons will be pushing into the arena. There will still be however, some people who will wonder about their Church life and Church attendance, and whether they should consider going to Church.

There is a story making the rounds, which I believe pretty well addresses the question; “Why Go To Church?” It is about a Church goer who wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all." This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote the following:
“I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

To be spiritually nourished, we each need a point of reference in making decisions for ourselves, our families and our community. There is a great deal of confusion in our society today because there is no universally accepted reference point. Consequently there are many different perspectives or points of references in our lives.

For Christians however, there is a constant point of reference, and that is Jesus Christ.
If you are looking for a reference point in your life, to be spiritually nourished, visit a local church, and consider returning home to God.