[swat535]

> They really have Monday morning and Monday afternoon mass? Friday afternoon? This seems like a lot more activity than the Catholic churches that I know.

Yes! For Catholics, there are daily Masses (and the Priest performs them, even if no one shows up!) in addition there is all of the other services they perform: Baptisms, Confessions, etc.

Then there is pastoral administration tasks, writing Homilies, etc.. then you have many important months where additional work is required..

You also have all other programs that Church organizes, including charity works, various community groups, etc..

I can't speak for Protestants however, since I'm a Catholic but if there are any hanging around here, they can clarify.

[devilbunny]

Protestant churches will vary, but I grew up in the American South, where religion is at least ostensibly important (and a major cultural fixture in the past, though less so today). Usually one or two morning services and some kind of Bible study in the evening on Sunday, and Wednesday nights usually had Bible studies and a sort of mini-service.

Other nights featured smaller study groups, athletic activities (a lot of casual adult sports like softball are organized by churches), or special events like musical performances, choir practice, etc. And then there's the daily pastoral care (officiating funerals, visiting the sick, etc.). But in the absence of Eucharist as a frequent component of worship, and where confession and last rites aren't even considered sacraments, there's little fundamentally different between a well-run Bible study and a full service except the scale. The actual things done aren't really different.

Note: Episcopal services would be much more familiar in structure to a Catholic mass, and I believe Lutherans are similar (but, y'know, not a ton of Lutherans in the South, so I can't speak with any authority on the matter).