So we cancelled all activities yesterday, as did the majority of churches in the Charlotte region.
All of which gets me thinking about preachers and weather. I never dreamed when I entered ministry in 1990 that I’d waste so much emotional energy worrying about weather on Sundays.
But I have.
What kind of weather do we want on Sundays?
Weather that’s not too good — because if it’s too nice, people will go to the beach or the mountains.
Weather that’s not too bad either — because if it’s raining or storming or that dreaded “wintry mix” they’ll stay home instead of venturing out.
The worst is weather that’s threatening but not so bad you have to cancel. That way, you have services but about 50% of the people come. We’ve had one Sunday like that per year for the last few years. If you’ve got your best stuff prepared, you want the most people possible to experience it.
So the best weather for a preacher is about 50 degrees, overcast-but-no-precipitation, and not workable for either the sunning on the beach or hiking in the mountains. In other words, like we have in Charlotte a lot between December and February.
This past Saturday evening, when the roads were covered with ice and the forecast for Sunday morning was nine degrees, it was actually a pretty easy call. It wasn’t safe for anyone, as proven by all the folks who spun out on the little road our house is on.
So what’s the forecast for next Sunday? 50 degrees, cloudy, and dry.
I hope.