Summer Vacation

For 6 years I've been an acolyte at my church. I truly love this ministry but I suppose the one sticking place comes in Summer. Every time I serve on the altar, I'm relying on the rest of the acolytes signed up that day to show up. During autumn, winter, and spring this is not a big problem. If one acolyte doesn't show, (typically little kids) there are more to pull from in the congregation. Summer is the one case where that isn't true.

Attendance in church across all ages drops considerably during the summer months. To compensate, some churches drop entire services, combining them with another morning service to keep the pews full. Now of course, I'm not pointing fingers. I too love to go off and vacation during the summer. And here in Washington, summer is truly the only time that one really can unless you travel out of state.

I can't help but wonder how many vacationers actually make it to a Sunday service. I know that in most cases, I have not.

But why? Is there not another church in your denomination nearby? Maybe you're backwoods camping and trying to get away from civilization and be recaptured by God in His Cathedral. Maybe it is simply that you do not want to go to anything but your church.
How does this change the life-time member into a tedious newcomer?

Tell me what you think in the comments below.


Robert