Many years ago our family had the opportunity to visit England. A friend let us stay in his countryside manor for several days at the beginning of our trip.

On Sunday we decided to go to church in the local village. It was an ornate building and was very, very old. We had heard that people had stopped attending church in large numbers in England, so we expected to join a small congregation for worship.

We drove through the small neighborhood and came upon the church. However, there were no cars there. We had looked up the time of the service and wondered if they had changed it. As we circled the church, wondering what to do, we saw a man walking down the street. My husband stopped the car and asked if he knew when the church met for worship. I’ll never forget the look on the man’s face. He was incredulous. He laughed and said, “You believe in God?” Paul said, “Yes, we do.” The man said, “Nobody believes in that anymore!” He walked away shaking his head and chuckling.

We all were so amazed at his cavalier attitude about God. It was so sad to see how people were turning away from God and his church in England.

For many years we have seen it happening here. But the pandemic seems to have increased those numbers, even after quarantining is virtually over. Not only is church attendance waning, but fewer people are saying they have faith in God.

In a nation experiencing so much chaos, God still has a plan. Part of it is for us to meet together and encourage one another. Serving him as a body of Christ is perhaps more needed than ever before.

Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us — “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another . . .”