Although the tradition of keeping the Sabbath remains strong with many people, local governments are whittling away at so-called blue laws.
By SHARON TUBBS
Published April 7, 2003
On Sundays, John Junstrom goes to church in the morning, then posts himself on a Tampa Bay street corner or at a spring festival in the park. There, he hands out religious tracts and talks about Jesus. When he gets hungry, he pulls from his sack lunch a homemade sandwich and drink.
Any other day, Junstrom might go to Olive Garden or Smokey Bones BBQ to eat. But not Sunday - the Lord's day. Cooks and waiters shouldn't have to serve him on the Sabbath, he says.
Not so long ago, the nation saw things much the same way. Restaurants, grocery stores and movie theaters were closed, downtowns were dead and games off-limits. Wives cooked hearty meals on Saturday night to avoid kitchen work on Sunday. "Blue laws" restricted certain activities, such as liquor sales.
Nowadays people go to baseball games, concerts and plays on Sunday. Many of them are churchgoers who stop by the mall or Red Lobster after the benediction.
And nationwide, governments are whittling away at blue laws - perhaps the last stronghold of Sunday's superiority. In recent years, officials in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Florida have debated restrictions on alcohol sales that have been on the books for decades.
But some people have been greatly vexed by the demise of America's "day of rest." In 1998, Pope John Paul II encouraged Catholics to spend Sunday celebrating Mass, resting and doing works of mercy and charity.
"This rather traditional way of keeping Sunday holy has perhaps become more difficult for many people; but the Church shows her faith in the strength of the Risen Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit by making it known that, today more than ever, she is unwilling to settle for minimalism and mediocrity at the level of faith," his statement read.
Junstrom sums up his stance by quoting Exodus: "Remember the Sabbath, and keep it holy."
Whether Sunday should be regarded as the Sabbath is highly debatable among religious groups. Jews observe the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, as was the custom in the Hebrew Scriptures. Seventh-Day Adventists say the Bible describes the Sabbath as the "seventh day," Saturday, and should be observed then. But Catholics and most Protestant Christians observe the Sabbath on Sunday - the day of Jesus' resurrection.
Despite the debate, Christians have tried to preserve Sunday's sanctity for more than a thousand years, dating back to the Roman Emperor Constantine in 321 A.D. In America, laws to regulate public and private conduct, especially those associated with Sunday activity, were called blue laws because they were printed on blue paper. Blue laws emerged in the 17th century in the New Haven colony. But enforcement fell by the wayside after the American Revolution, then re-emerged during Prohibition in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Lord's Day Alliance formed in 1888 to protect the rights of Christian workers who wanted to have Sundays off. The Alliance strived to keep Sundays free of secularism and opposed the opening of state fairs and military air carnivals scheduled on Sundays, fearing that the leisure might take away from church attendance.
In 1893, an attempt to open the Chicago World's Fair on a Sunday drew mass protests, according to Alexis McCrossen, author of the 2000 book Holy Day, Holiday: The American Sunday.
As business, commerce and urban living expanded over the years, people started working more - even on Sunday. Social reformers had begun to promote Sunday as a cultural day when people were free to go to museums and libraries, McCrossen wrote. What people defined as "rest" on the Lord's day began to change.
When Bishop Preston Leonard was growing up, his mother and grandparents took him to a Baptist church on Sunday in their farming community of Monticello, northeast of Tallahassee. He couldn't play baseball or go fishing that day. And the grownups couldn't do any field work.
If they did, "You were considered an infidel," said Leonard, pastor of Christ Gospel Church of St. Petersburg. "You didn't plow your crop on Sunday. You may go out to the watermelon patch and get one watermelon, but not a whole truckload."
Today, Leonard believes Christians should go to church on Sunday and should take time in their week for proper rest. But the 69-year-old has taken a position different from that of his youth.
"I believe that God wanted us to live every day the same," he said.
Take restrictions on alcohol. "So far as I'm concerned, I'm anti-alcohol Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. . . . Just to say, don't sell it on Sunday, to me that's sort of hypocritical," Leonard said. "You don't specify a day and say it's wrong to do this today, but it's okay to do it tomorrow."
Laws vary by city and county governments, but as things stand locally, you can't buy alcohol in stores or restaurants before 1 p.m. in most parts of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Citrus counties. In St. Petersburg, you can buy beer and wine after 1 p.m., but hard liquor sales are illegal all day.
St. Petersburg city councilman John Bryan brought the law to the forefront last month when he proposed relaxing the alcohol regulations to lure tourists and restaurant patrons. The council will organize a committee to discuss the issue and get feedback from the community before scheduling a final vote. Already council members have made exceptions to the law. During the Grand Prix auto race in February, they allowed vendors to sell alcohol within the fenced-off race area before 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Several years ago in Hernando County, officials loosened their Sunday alcohol restrictions, making it no different than any other day, said Lt. Joe Paez with the Sheriff's Office. Seven days a week, alcohol sales are restricted in unincorporated Hernando only between 2 and 6 a.m.
Even the Lord's Day Alliance has softened its once prohibitive stance regarding various activities, according to executive director Tim Norton. The organization "has recognized that you cannot legislate spiritual principles," Norton said. "Even Christ said, "I came to fulfill the law, not to establish the law.' "
The Alliance has supported small groups that fought to maintain alcohol restrictions or rallied to move sports tournaments to other days of the week. But the organization's focus is now on spiritual well-being, Norton said.
He still believes people should take a day to rest, but says that day doesn't have to be Sunday. Norton sees no problem with Christians working on Sunday. "How do you tell a doctor, a nurse, a physician that they can't work?"
Some Christians hold out hope for a Lord's Day revival.
"Sunday is a day which is at the very heart of the Christian life," the pope wrote in 1998. "From the beginning of my Pontificate, I have not ceased to repeat: "Do not be afraid! Open, open wide the doors to Christ!' In the same way, today I would strongly urge everyone to rediscover Sunday: Do not be afraid to give your time to Christ!"
In 1999, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) conducted a survey to gauge members' thoughts on "Sabbath keeping." The survey found that 89 percent of pastors and 67 percent of members who returned the surveys disagreed with the statement: "the idea of keeping or practicing Sabbath is out of date."
A small number of business owners whose competitors are open seven days a week still close on Sunday. Perhaps the most well-known is Chick-fil-A restaurants.
"Admittedly, closing all of our restaurants every Sunday makes us a rarity in this day and age," reads a page on the restaurant's Web site. "Our founder, Truett Cathy, wanted to ensure that every Chick-fil-A employee and restaurant operator had an opportunity to worship, spend time with family and friends or just plain rest from the work week. Made sense then, still makes sense now."
Hobby Lobby, an arts and crafts chain with 299 stores nationwide, including a store in Pensacola, closes on Sunday for the same reasons.
The Rev. Gustave Victor, president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, is a major opponent of loosening restrictions on alcohol sales in St. Petersburg. As for his Sundays, Victor "generally gives the day to the Lord." He doesn't go to the movies on Sunday and mostly relaxes and worships God.
Junstrom says he lives his Christianity every day. During the week, he keeps the radio tuned to the gospel station inside his shop, CJ's Microwave Repair Specialists in Tampa. And on Sundays, he shuts down in obedience to God.
Most people shouldn't have to work, but he makes an exception for police, doctors and some others whose jobs can be deemed as "mercy work" or necessary, he said.
"I still remember being a little boy, growing up in the '60s when nothing was open," Junstrom said. Back then, Junstrom was not a believer and didn't understand the significance of Sunday. Now, he says he does.
"Honor God, delight in the day he has given," Junstrom said, "not doing our own ways or our pleasure."
[Last modified April 4, 2003, 14:48:31]
Floridian headlines
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
