I remember cross-country trips in the late 1950s, when traveling by car was a much more intimate experience of America. The main highways often turned into the main street of each town or city you passed through. Even if you didn’t get out of the car, you still had plenty of time to look around as you plodded from one stoplight to the next. When you did stop to eat, you had to find a local diner and take your chances. Each meal was a little different, with some regional variety thrown in. Interstate highways changed all that. The roads are all the same and so are the food and motels. You can go from coast to coast very quickly, but at the road, you haven’t experienced much. That’s what sociologist George Ritzer calls “McDonaldlization,” the tendency for all aspects of modern society to adapt the values of fast food businesses: efficiency, predictability, calculability and control. Even churches have succumbed to this trend. We’ve seen the growth of megachurches that incorporate all these same values. Worship services are efficient and predictable, calculated to produce the same desired result among consumer-oriented congregations. Going against this trend is a new book titled “Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus” by C. Christoper Smith and John Pattison. The book proposes a “Slow Church Movement” akin to the “Slow Food Movement” that is trying to put the brakes on fast food culture and globablization, and to give greater priority to local traditions and local producers. “Slow Church” seeks to correct the abuses of the “Church Growth Movement” that characterized much of church thinking for the past 50 or 60 years. Churches adopted marketing prin- February 2015 Sports Cont’d from Page 22 Registration April 10-15: $75 Super Sprint; $85 Sprint. ciples to spur attendance, catering to instant gratification with high-energy worship services and programs targeted at particular groups of people. In doing so, churches often lost their sense of place. At some megachurches, people would drive miles and miles to attend on Sunday, but otherwise gave no thought to the actual neighborhood in which a church was located. “Slow Church” advocates that churches should embrace their neighborhoods rather than be drive-through spiritual filling stations. That also means getting rid of the “bigger is better” mentality that saturates so much of our society, including churches. “Fast” churches focus on attracting people, and count themselves successful by how many show up each Sunday. “Slow” churches concentrate on cultivating disciples and community, and realize that success can never be measured by the numbers. The authors of “Slow Church” also emphasize that a church must be part of the ecology and economy of its larger surrounding community, from neighborhood to nation and beyond. That doesn’t mean absorbing the culture of its surroundings, but more often, serving as a faithful counterpoint to the fast-food values that so often prevail in our world. “Slow Church” is published by IVP Books (prices vary; it’s $10.99 at christianbook.com). Randy Limbird is editor of El Paso Scene. Comments? Send to [email protected] Mission Valley Duathlon — Race El Paso’s USAT-sanctioned 5K run/20K bike/5K run at 7 a.m. Sunday, June 21, at Tigua Recreation & Wellness Center. Information: 229-5656. Online registration at raceelpaso.com. Registration through April 30: $55 individual; $75 two-person relay; $110 three-person relay. Registration May 1-31: $60 individual; $80 two-person relay; $115 three-person relay Registration June 1-20: $65 individual; $85 two-person relay; $120 three-person relay. Eagle in the Sun Triathlon — Registration is under way for El Paso’s only USA Triathlon-sanctioned multi-sport race, with a 400m swim, 12 mile bike ride, and 5K run, is 7 a.m. to noon Sunday, Sept. 6, starting at the SISD Aquatic Center and ending at the SAC (Socorro Activities Center). Information: 229-5656. Online registration at raceelpaso.com/eagle-in-the-sun. Registration through June 30: $65 individual; $90 two-person relay; $120 three-person relay. Registration July 1-31: $70 individual; $100 two-person relay; $135 three-person relay Registration Aug. 1-Sept. 2: $75 individual; $110 two-person relay; $150 three-person relay. Running clubs: • Run El Paso maintains information on local races at runelpaso.com. • El Paso Triathlon Club is open to everyone interested in triathlons and similar events, including the Southwest Challenge Series. Information on training programs, get-togethers: elpasotriclub.org. Challenge series: southwestchallengeseries.com. • The Border Jumper Hash House Harriers meet at various locations. Information: bjhash.com. • The El Paso Hash House Harriers have one or more runs a week. Information: 252-5646. Meet-up spots listed at elpasohash.com. El Paso Scene Winter sports Public Ice Skating — Skating offered 7 to 10 p.m. Fridays, noon to 3 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 3 p.m. Sundays at the Sierra Providence Event Center next to the Coliseum, 4100 Paisano. All ages welcome. Admission (includes skate rental): $8 ($6 military). Spectator admission is free. Information: 479-PUCK (7825) or elpasohockey.org. Ski Apache — Ruidoso’s 750-acre ski and snowboarding area, now in its 51st season, has 11 lifts and 55 trails on the slopes of Sierra Blanca, with a base elevation of 9,600. The ski area, if weather permits, remains open through March. The 24-hour Ski Apache Snow Report number is (575) 257-9001. Information: (575) 464-3600 or skiapache.com. All-day lift tickets are $67 ($60 age 60-69; $58 age 13-17; $47 12 and younger; $56 military and $42 for military child; free for ages 70 and older. (Prices slightly higher on peak days). Season passes: $305-$700. Call or check website or multiple-day or half-day skiing prices. Gondola Rides are $17 ($11 age 6-12; free for five and younger) Rental packages available. Ski Cloudcroft — The southernmost ski area in the United States is two miles east of Cloudcroft on U.S. 82. Information/snow conditions: (575) 682-2333, skicloudcroft.net or on facebook. Lift tickets: $35 ($25 age 12 and younger for full day 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; $28 ($20 age 12 and younger) for half day 1 to 4 p.m. Ski, and snowboard rentals available, and beginner ski school packages offered. Tubing available for $20 per day; $14 half day (weekends only). Page 23