And what isn't happening is Sunday services at some churches on December 25.
Today SWNID received a phone call from a member of the news staff at WMUB, NPR affiliate in Oxford, Ohio, asking for some sound bites on the subject of closed churches. Our reaction: "Isn't anything else going on?" Response: "Well, it is Monday, and Mondays are pretty slow."
Elections in Iraq ... revelations about domestic spying ... Bush makes a speech and holds a news conference ... Cheney goes to Iraq and Afghanistan ... the Bengals are going to the playoffs ... ongoing recovery from hurricanes in the US and Central America and from the tsunami in the Indian Ocean basin ... a pending appointment to the Supreme Court ... pending reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act ... Bush agrees with McCain on torture ... lots of proposals on immigration and border security ... but the big news is what isn't happening at the local megachurch.
Meanwhile the Akron Beacon-Journal has picked up a SWNID comment from the AP news wire. Like anyone in Akron has even heard of Cincinnati.
SWNID is fond of saying that the newsweeklies produce a semi-annual nod-to-God issue, that is, an issue at Christmas and another at Easter that purports to report on the state of affairs among Christians who observe the holiday. The usual stories are (a) scholarship challenges traditional beliefs; (b) nontraditional practices challenge traditional rituals. The effect is always that the dwindling numbers of orthodox are at once upset (SWNID was asked to comment on the observation that "traditional Christians" are "shocked" that megachurches aren't having services) and doomed to extinction.
There was an excellent article in the Christian Century (yes, I mean "excellent" in that venerable organ of mainline Protestant liberalism) several years ago on the very narrow range of stories that the media cover about religion. I seem to recall the author offering six distinct templates, but only six. At this point, I believe that I've only ever read two. We invite gentle readers to suggest others.
And someone with the inclination to consult the ATLA Database to find the original article in the Century will become eligible for a SWNID Superlative on December 31.
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