Church of England attendence figures.

Apparently the Church of England have announced attendence figures for 2011. It shows that weekly attendence at services has stabilised at just over a million people per week, whilst there has been a modest rise in the number of baptisms, both Christenings and adult baptisms.The biggest surprise, though, was the number of people attending Christmas services compared with 2010 with a 14.5% increase.

'So the National Secularists and British Humanists can stick that in their pipes and smoke it.' says the blogger, archbishop-cranmer, affectionately referred to as 'his grace'.

See: http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com.es/

I must say I would be more impressed if the increases were seen at Easter, the principal festival of the christian calendar. That the dramatic increase in the figures occurs at Christmas might indicate that families see attending Church with its traditional carols more as an entertainment than a religious service. The lessons, even reflect stories known to the children from their re-enactment of the nativity stories at school.
The very timing of the Christmas services, falling so closely to the pagan celebration of the shortest day of the year, helps merge the two traditions with the affectionately held trimmings of christmas trees, mistletoe and full feasting merriment.

Isn't it the case that rather than show an increase in Christmas Christians we are just seeing the hijacking of religious festival by families, searching not for a reconnection with a spiritualist tradition but for a bit of Yule-tide jollity to celebrate the lengthening of the days and the anticipation of spring and regeneration. When the better weather is with us at Easter time these Christmas Christians are nowhere to be seen and the Church is once again preaching to the converted.