Is Fresno a Christian City?
I'd better get used to days like yesterday. We spent several hours at the opening-day festivities for the River Park Little Baseball Association. This is a massive production with over 900 kids. Their parents & family members come to watch the teams parade in. There are games, activities & catered tri-tip sandwiches to follow. This is CLEARLY a big deal. Sports here seem to be big in general.
I had volunteered to help the caterers serve the food -- it's a fundraiser -- and wound up putting pieces of smoked tri-tip meat on buttered rolls. Great stuff! At any rate, I was talking with another "dad" as we fixed the food and squirted the barbecue sauce. Our conversation eventually turned to our jobs which led into talking about church. As is so often the case when I have these conversations, he and his family go to one of the many community-type churches in the northeast part of Fresno/Clovis.
I know the Central Valley is sometimes known as the "Bible Belt" of California. I can already see why some would think this. But it makes me wonder. Are people here really that religious? Is church a big part of most Fresnans' life? Something tells me this can't possibly be true. In Morgantown, WV, where we used to live, we estimated that 15% of the population attended church on a weekly basis. In Prague where we lived before that, it was more like 5%. But even in Abilene, TX, the heart of conservative America, we knew that far fewer than 50% of the population attended weekly Christian services. And that was 20 years ago!
I'm only getting to know Fresno. We'll see...
I had volunteered to help the caterers serve the food -- it's a fundraiser -- and wound up putting pieces of smoked tri-tip meat on buttered rolls. Great stuff! At any rate, I was talking with another "dad" as we fixed the food and squirted the barbecue sauce. Our conversation eventually turned to our jobs which led into talking about church. As is so often the case when I have these conversations, he and his family go to one of the many community-type churches in the northeast part of Fresno/Clovis.
I know the Central Valley is sometimes known as the "Bible Belt" of California. I can already see why some would think this. But it makes me wonder. Are people here really that religious? Is church a big part of most Fresnans' life? Something tells me this can't possibly be true. In Morgantown, WV, where we used to live, we estimated that 15% of the population attended church on a weekly basis. In Prague where we lived before that, it was more like 5%. But even in Abilene, TX, the heart of conservative America, we knew that far fewer than 50% of the population attended weekly Christian services. And that was 20 years ago!
I'm only getting to know Fresno. We'll see...
Comments
I'm glad you're blogging, for however long you decide to do so. Especially now as the church looks to the future and works together to form a cohesive vision.
We will be out of town on Sunday and we're sad to miss out. I'm anxious to hear about what is said. For my part, I'd love to see College unite with other churches in the community in service and worship. In particular, I think there is a great opportunity right now to band together with our brothers and sisters at University Presbyterian (right around the corner) and with the Woodward Park C of C. I feel like God has put these pieces together for a reason. What we do with them is up to us.
The Adult Ed program will get a shot in the arm with your arrival as well. I'd like to see us continue to offer classes that will invite entry from various shepherding groups.
These are indeed exciting times!