Local Churches Get in Spirit of Hype, Fun of the Big Game

Orange County churches that worship on Sundays will face an annual problem tomorrow as America celebrates the Super Bowl: how to compete with chips, beer and football?

For many churches, the answer is to go with the flow: Many are sponsoring tailgate parties and other get-togethers at game time.

Praise Chapel, at 1200 Alvarez Ave. in Orange, for example, is beginning festivities at 3 p.m., 15 minutes before the showdown between Denver and Atlanta begins. The church is planning a party in the parking lot, contests, door prizes and--of course--football on a big-screen television. A “super service” will follow the game.

Many other churches are using the Super Bowl to raise money for the needy: In an event dubbed Souper Bowl, thousands of congregations across the nation are accepting $1 bills and cans of soup to be given to charity.

Among churches in Orange County participating in the event is St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, which plans to send donations to the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa. Last year, 8,600 churches nationwide raised more than $1.7 million during the Souper Bowl.

Even if they make no special arrangements, churches are aware that many parishioners will be sneaking looks at their watches if Sunday services run late.

The Rev. Kent Fromer of Laguna Beach United Methodist, for one, is thankful his church began offering 8:30 a.m. services back in September.

“Attendance will be down some, but since we’re having services in the morning,” Fromer quipped, “we’ll get them in and out.”