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Rev. Philip Heinze of Messiah Luther- an Church in Lakeshore Village feels pee le no longer have the same social pres- ‘re to attend church as they did years ago adding there had been a definite shift in religion since the 1950's and early '60's. A time he described as when people felt obliged to worship or at least associate One institution though which has the characteristic of maintaining tradition has also been changing with the times. The churches in Waterloo are not suf- fering from an inability to keep pace. As the city has grown in size, so have the congregations. But they have grown not only for the obvious reason of there be- ing more people, but for the church's ability to appeal to the individual. by Wendy Henna- Change, whether physical or social has been as evident in Waterloo over the past few years as it has been anywhere else in Canada. A site on University Avenue past Waterloo University is under considers tion for the building of a new church to replace the present All Saints An- glican Church on Hickory and Hazel Streets-Rev. Hayden of that church said the congregation has grown so that the present building is now at its' capacity, . St. Michael's church on University Avenue has grown by 150 families over Rev. Heinze thinks smaller congregations are better for the individual the past two years. than a large one where few know each other by name. Churches lean towards the individual :i' " were prosperous in the 50's, but early in the 1960’s building of new places of wor- ship was cut back and then in the early 1970's talk began concerning the closing of churches. The Lutheran Church in Lakeshore was only an idea in 1968. Rev. Heinze was sent out to the area which was still in early development stages to see if there was a need there for a Lutheran church. By November of that same year the church had been built and had a regular attending congregation of about 20 adults, which has since grown to 100, just about the capacity of the little church. with a congregation. Rev. Heinze likes the small congrega- tion and feels it is necessary to best keep the people feeling as if they are a part. He dislikes the idea of one man standing in front of a mass and preaching at them although he agrees it is sometimes the only possible way. Although he agreed he couldn't speak for all religions, Rev. Heime felt church heads were generally beginning to see the turn in the tide. "They see it," he said, “but it is a real gamble to start to serve people in a new and different way. Another church which is showing cow siderable growth is the Waterloo Pente- costal Tabernacle on King Street under the direction of pastor John C. Shrier. The congregation has grown over the past two years from approximately 150 families to somewhere in the area now of 250. The assistant pastor there, 'Rev. Trev- or Butt generally feels the success hinges on the fact people in the congregation are given a chance to participate in the services. To help stimulate the members, the regular Sunday morning service at- tenders are aided in the singing of their gospel songs by a 25 piece brass band. Then in the evening the younger people's interests are also considered with the provision of a rock band playing gospel music. “I see the present advertising cam- paigns underway by some denominations as a reflection of the reality of people not coming out. I personally don't think ad- vertising is the answer but that the church must address its message to the basic needs of the people. "This basic heed being security and helping them find out who they really As a result of this according to Rev. Heinze, the church will have fulfilled at least part of its role in the community by helping its residents to become more sensitive to the needs of others and in turn become assets to the community. Rev. Buttaold of how the church puts emphasis on the individual. "An outsider coming to the church for the first time doesn't really feel like he doesn't belong because immediately after the start of the service we shake hands. The service itself has life and vitality and the people have an opportunity to talk of their exper- iences. We try to make christian life as attractive as possible'because we feel it is the only life to live. " , There is no doubt that the Waterloo Pentecostal Church has found at least part of the secret of appealing to the in- dividual. They also apparently expect the popularity to continue and increase as they are now planning an addition costing roughly $275,000. River} the Catholic churches have under- gonéchanges to bring the individual into being more a part of the service. _ All this then, Rev. Butt feels has a di- rect result on the community. "We affect the community because those who have been converted live changed lives." The religious trend in Waterloo accord- ing to Father Layden of St. Michael's Parish on University Avenue is all "up- hill." He said St. Michael's alone had increased by at least 150 families and there is no indication in a dropping off of attendance either in St. Michael's or in any of the other Catholic churches in Waterloo to his knowledge. "There hasrbeen a whole renewal of attitudes in the church." Father Layden Wamloo Chmnidc. Wednesday. January ttr. 1973 5 If the fact such a large number of churches are able to exist is any indica- tion, faith is, still a large part of society today and is adapting to its present needs. Religion mav be struRElintt An other " parts of Canada or the United States but Rev. Trevor Butt is the assistant pastor at the Waterloo Pentecostal Tabernacle. The church has grown in the past two years to necessitate a building expansion which will be started this spring. "At one time the clergy was among the best educated men in the community. Now the congregation consists of many people with tremendous things to offer. , ' The opinions of these three men do of course represent only a very small por- tion of the clergy in Waterloo. Extremely small considering Waterloo residents support approximately 25 churches. it appears to be thriving in Waterloo. "if people don't come to church, there has to be a reason for it. By personal contact and parish visits we can get to realize what the reason is. “In the Catholic Church, the big chang- es have been the translation of the iitur- gy into English from Latin and has all been done to involve people more and increase participation. " Father Layden looks upon the change as being due to the change of mentalities. "Socially, 25 to 50 years ago people were passive, even in relating to government. Now the idea has turned to individuals and there is a different level of mentality in the people. said, "It is much more outgoing now and involves more social action. The trend here is to express religious conviction in action and increase the sense of doing Concerning attendance, Father Layden said "What any church tries to do is to present to its people the word of God. Our method of keeping people in the church is to make sure we are preaching the words of God and keeping contact wilhthepeople.