Pr. Weedon noted that his parish has seen a steady decline in the number of people coming to Ascension service. I’ve seen the same at Immanuel. We had a mere 27 last Thursday, down from 40 the previous year. I haven’t gone back through my records, but I’m quite certain that five years ago we were getting more than 50. We’ll always have an Ascension mass on the actual day—I can’t fathom what drives pastors to move it—even if it dwindles to two or three people, but there definitely is a decline in the observance of sacred time. Good words from Pr. Weedon:

Is it really unthinkable that Christ’s people gather on a Thursday once a year?  I often think, though, what a blessing that the first Ascension was attended only by 11 men on the earthly side of the service, but it was overflowing joy as the countless hosts of Angels and Archangels trumpeted the enthronement of Mary’s Son as their King and welcomed home the human flesh to the throne it was first created for.  Maybe it has ever been so – heaven realizing the greatness of the day and earthlings mostly oblivious.  People loved by God, do not deprive yourselves if the unique joy of this splendid feast!

UPDATE (6/8/11): My colleague, Fr. McClean, speculated that our attendance may have been particularly down because we had a Baccalaureate Vespers the previous night, and that it’s hard to get people to come out two nights in a row. He’s probably right. It seemed like we had more at tonight’s Evening Prayer service than last week’s Ascension mass.