Is Church Cancelled for the snow?
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2026 Blog #3
January 19, 2026
Is Church Cancelled for the snow?
It snowed here in North Jersey over the weekend. By mid-western or New York State standards, it was barely a flurry, but here in North Jersey, even one flake of snow is a traumatic event.
If snow is predicted North Jersey residents go into a state of panic. Very quickly, the hint or rumor of snow becomes the largest news story on the media. From the number of times that weather maps are shown, one would think that no other news was happening. The constant talk of snow simply adds to the heightened anxiety that many from New Jersey feel.
There is panic buying days before the “storm” even if only a dusting of snow is predicted. The panic-buying lines at the stores begin early and last a long time. No one here is willing to face a snowflake without adequate supplies of milk, bread, eggs and toilet paper. Some people stock up as if they are expecting to be homebound for weeks or months even if it is just a flurry is predicted.
Likewise, the lines at the gas stations are also long. No one wants to face so much as a quarter inch of snow without a full tank of gas. Even people who are planning to stay home until the snow ends will fill up their tanks. I really don’t know the function of having a full tank of gas in a car that will be sitting in a garage.
Snow, or even the rumor of snow, is serious business in North Jersey. In this realm I am not in the mainstream of NJ thought. I don’t panic or get anxious when snow comes. Although a North Jersey native, my years of college in Michigan and my time residing in New York state gave me a different perspective on winter and snow.
I was disappointed on Saturday as well as Sunday as the light snow was falling and churches in our area had already started cancelling worship. I simply do not understand cancelling church. I don’t expect hospitals or emergency rooms to shut down for snow. They are crucial to health and life. Are religious communities not as important as hospitals? We hold the word of our creator. Don’t we hold the words of eternal life?
Do we in the faith community minimize ourselves and our own importance when we choose to shut down for weather? What can be more important than hearing the word of our creator? Don’t we realize how important our message is? Are we unaware that we are God’s mouthpieces on earth? Our importance for our communities and the world should never be underestimated.
When anyone asks me if we should cancel church for weather, my response is, “we don’t cancel until hospitals close.” People of faith, let us never miscalculate our importance. When we stop being who we are, negative consequences are felt. If we stop being who we are, how much worse will this world become?
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