Mass attendance (and money in the collection basket) tends to drop off during the summer months, as people head off for vacation. And a Catholic paper out in Oregon decided to report on this phenomenon, and how parishes cope:

Vacation and other summer activities cut into Mass attendance and collections at many Oregon Catholic parishes. At the same time, most Catholics who travel say they make an effort to attend Mass while on the road; churches on the Oregon coast, for example, report a spike in worshipers during the summer.

In a small phone survey conducted by the Sentinel, two thirds of local Catholics said they attend Mass as frequently in the summer as during the rest of the year. They said they make the effort, even when on trips, because they have made Mass a habit that is important to them.

The third of those surveyed who said they attend less frequently explained that camping trips, changed work patterns, summer sports events and unfamiliar settings keep them from Sunday Mass.

Inland, at Shepherd of the Valley Parish in Central Point, attendance drops about 20 percent, says Father Mike Walker, the pastor. But when Father Walker served in Coos Bay, summer meant bigger crowds.

At St. Francis of Assisi in Roy, the summer downturn is slight, usually caused by traveling families. But, says Father Mike Hemming, many farmers in the rural area cannot travel in summer because they are tending crops. Those farm families remain weekly Mass goers in the summer. But Father Hemming served in Keizer and other churches and noted lighter summer attendance while people went to their cabins at the coast or in the woods.

St. Mary by the Sea Parish at Rockaway Beach calls its summertime Mass collections “the winter survival fund.” Attendance soars at the little maritime-themed church just a few hundred yards from the ocean.

“What impresses me is the number of visitors who come to Mass, even daily Mass,” says Jesuit Father Jack Morris, the pastor of Star of the Sea. “Many people walking the beach see the cross.”

Some resorts, of course, do see a boom in church attendance, owing to the seasonal tides of summertime visitors.

But wherever you go this summer, and whatever you do, don’t forget God. You can be sure, He won’t be forgetting you.