Churches focus on faith to begin new year

Some area residents will ring in the new year in their places of worship.

Gloria and Michael Fite, pastors at All Nations Worship Ministries, said New Year’s Eve is the perfect time to thank God for the blessings of the past year and honor him in advance for good things to come in the next year.

That’s why the church annually has a praise and worship on New Year’s Eve. The service is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. and continue until midnight at the church on Wiselyn Drive in Radcliff.

The service especially is important to some area families this year because they had tough times recently, Gloria Fite said.

She said beginning the new year by focusing on God fills her with hope and expectation.

“In spite of everything, we’re still here,” she said.

Dean Sears, business manager for St. Christopher Catholic Church on South Wilson Road in Radcliff, said Jan. 1 doesn’t have the same type of symbolism in the Catholic faith because the liturgical year begins the first Sunday of Advent.

The time of year leading up to Christmas, which ends for Catholics on Jan. 6, can be a transformative time and include a resurgence of faith, he said.

Still, Jan. 1 is an important day in the faith because it is the feast day called Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Sears said.

The church has scheduled vigil Masses at 5 and 11 p.m. Monday.

The 11 p.m. Mass is planned to be preceded at 10 p.m. by Eucharistic adoration. It is expected to last until the feast day begins at midnight and be immediately followed by breakfast at the church.

Tuesday Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m.

There sometimes is an increase in church attendance during the Christmas and New Year season. That might be because guests visit from out of town, Sears said.

“It looks like we’re only seeing people once a year, but that’s because they’re only here once a year,” he said.

The Rev. Chuck Walker of St. James Catholic Church on West Dixie Avenue in Elizabethtown said his church sees increased attendance during Advent.

“It’s just like gym memberships,” he said.

Walker thinks some area residents decide to start the new year by focusing on God.

“I like New Year’s resolutions, and sometimes we keep them and sometimes we don’t,” he said. “They’re like anything else.”

The feast day is important in the Catholic faith because of Mary’s importance as Jesus’ mother and first disciple, Walker said.

“While in the Christmas season, we want to honor Mary because of her sacrifice and her ‘yes’ to God, and we want to recognize that and try to imitate that,” he said.

St. James plans to have Masses at 5 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Amber Coulter can be reached at (270) 505-1746 or acoulter@thenewsenterprise.com.