A Great Awakening at Twin Falls Churches

I felt like a sardine at 8:30 Easter Mass.  St. Edward the Confessor Church in Twin Falls had an overflow crowd, and the same at 10:30.  The latter attendees mingled with the early crowd as we left.  Sure, you can argue that we see people at Easter and Christmas, and they often don’t show up the other 50 weeks of the year.  But this was different.  Past Easters have been crowded, but not like this.

This Isn't the Ordinary Easter Rush

On the drive home, I stopped at Albertsons to do some shopping.  I saw my friend, Ted Wasko, doing the same.  Ted has been a parishioner at St. Edward's much longer than I, and he commented that the size of the crowd was unusual, even for Easter.  What’s going on here?

My friend, Dave McDowell, is a deacon at a Roman Catholic Church in a small town in North Carolina.  A place with a population of 1,100.  His church (his brother is the pastor) is a small building.  They had 19 people officially join the parish at the Easter Vigil.  A friend in Idaho Falls joined the Roman Church two years ago.  She wrote me on Saturday and explained that two of her children have followed her.  One over the weekend.

It's Not Just the Catholic Faith

I wouldn’t yet say we’re on the cusp of another Great Awakening, but pastors I know from other denominations are sharing similar stories, and all of them are seeing young families, something we assumed was no longer possible.  This morning, I saw a post at a conservative website, and it offered a wide sociological view.

Is there a downside?  Catholic Churches need more masses, or more space.  And they need more priests.