Churches see attendance numbers rise

It has been said many times that our lives will be changed forever, since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on America. While security is perhaps the biggest change, for some, those changes also include newfound spiritual beliefs, and going to church for the first time in a long time.

Around the nation, churches have swelled as people have started attending religious service recently.

The increase has been seen in churches representing all religions. According to Web sites of several national organizations, the increase in attendance has ranged from 3 percent of the total congregations, up to 25 percent in some churches.

Locally, churches have had slight increases, which mirror the national trend, but nothing as drastic as a 25-percent increase.

"We certainly saw a pretty big increase in people coming to our church in the days after the attack," said Pam Drake of United Protestant Presbyterian Church, or the "Church of 1,000 Trees."

"We were amazed at the number of people looking for a place to worship right after the attacks. They were looking for a home. I think that was the case at churches everywhere, though, not just here," Drake added.

That initial sharp increase in attendance has waned a bit in the last five weeks, Drake said, but overall, the numbers at the church have increased.

"As time passes, our numbers are getting back to normal, where we were before the attacks happened. We have a few more people than we had before, but it is only a slight increase," Drake said. "The day we bombed Afghanistan (which was on a Sunday) we had one of our lowest turnouts ever. I think people stayed at home to watch the news and find out what was going on."

At Wasilla Christian Church, the sharpest increase in attendance came on the Friday following the attacks, on what was deemed a national day of prayer and mourning by President George W. Bush.

"We had a lot of people here that day who normally weren't here," said secretary Carol Taylor. "People poured in for the special service we had that day. We had a lot of new faces for the prayer service.

"Otherwise, we have seen a small increase in the congregation, but it hasn't been an overwhelming difference," Taylor said. "We average just over 200 people, and that's been the same now for a while."