Letter: Sunday football cup final is a reminder that respect for the Lord’s Day has all but evaporated

(Scroll down for another letter about Sunday football)

For the second consecutive year, the League Cup final has been staged in Windsor Park on a Sunday afternoon, and it has been hailed as a major success. In a discussion on Good Morning Ulster on BBC Radio Ulster last Friday (March 10), the commentators seemed supportive of the idea of Sunday sport, and one said that local football was “catching up” with GAA who have staged Sunday fixtures for many years. If I was seeking an example to follow, the GAA and its traditions would not be at the top of my list!

The Bible makes it clear that the Lord’s Day is a day to be set apart for the worship of God. It should not be a day for holding any sporting or social events. The growing popularity of Sunday football is a further reminder that respect for the Lord’s Day has all but evaporated in Ulster. The Belfast marathon is now firmly a Sunday event, with resultant inconvenience to churches. This year’s Irish Cup Final will be played on a Sunday for the first time, on the basis that Saturday would clash with the king’s coronation. It could surely have been held on the bank holiday Monday.

While we recognise that society is becoming increasingly secular, it is particularly sad to note the extent to which those from the loyalist community have repudiated their rich evangelical Protestant heritage. The Protestant churches and the various Protestant loyal orders have a solemn and urgent responsibility to speak out on this important issue of Lord’s Day observance, and to call the people back to the Bible and to the God of their fathers.

Wallace Thompson, Secretary, Evangelical Protestant Society, Belfast

Letter: Recent football cup final was example of the desecration of the Sabbath