Anyone who wants to better understand the tension between the liturgical year and church calendar one the one hand and the observance of secular and national holidays on the other would do well to read The Hallmark Cycle by Tom Steagald at Theolog: the Blog of The Christian Century (a magazine.) Tom Steagald does a good job of explaining the reservations pastors often have, while some of his commentators point out the oftentimes legitimate concerns of many laity. This is thorny issue, and one about which I am a lot less certain now than I was when I was younger.
Father’s day is a good example for my purposes, because it’s ostensibly a day in which I am included among the honorees. And yet I find myself wishing we could keep the focus of worship exclusively upon God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Yet, I have also come to better understand how important the observance is among many of those who will be in attendance. Our compromise, the recognition of and prayer for fathers followed by turning to focus God during the rest of the worship service, is probably not completely satisfying to anyone and yet, hopefully it is acceptable to all.
Final Note: I am mindful that what one commentator on the article wrote about Mother’s Day could be equally applied to both Mother’s and Father’s days:
Hey, Tom,
I agree wholeheartedly. Mothers’ Day is miserable for those whose mothers have recently died, who have abusive mothers, and for the infertile who desperately want to be mothers.
This is where I am thankful for the excellent liturgy of the Book of Worship which takes such factors into consideration.