Ask anyone who sticks around town for the summer and they’ll tell you that Fountain Hills gets pretty quiet from June through August.

Part-time residents head to cooler climates to avoid the extreme desert heat while many local families like to pack their bags and hit the road to visit family or squeeze in a vacation.

Schools close, local clubs frequently go on hiatus and everyone seems to take a more laid-back pace around town.

That trend is mirrored in local churches, where congregations shrink and regular activities are rearranged or put on hold until the flock returns.

According to Trinity Lutheran Church Pastor Tom Daly, his congregation is definitely impacted by the summer slump.

“We experience about a 50 percent drop in the church,” Daly said. “Obviously, without the number of people, there aren’t the number of activities, volunteers or things like that. The ministry continues, but at a slower pace.”

Daly said Trinity still continues its work with organizations like Extended Hands Food Bank, they still get involved with inner-city organizations to provide relief for the homeless and activities like wellness visits proceed as normal, the church just doesn’t have the volunteer base to do as much as it would during peak season.

Despite the drop in congregation, Daly said that the church’s mission remains the same during the summer.

“It doesn’t change our focus,” he continued. “A worship service is still a worship service whether you have 100 or 200. The study of God’s word still takes place whether there’s 60 people in class or 20.

“So, in that sense, it doesn’t change what we do too much. But it does allow a little more time to plan, reflect and think whereas, when you’re in season, that time is rare because you’re usually running pillar to post and person to person.”

Daly said the congregation comes and goes in waves throughout the year. He said a group comes back in September, another comes back near the end of October and another waits until after Thanksgiving.

“We’re at our peak the first week of January and you notice the first real exodus during March.

Similar to the congregation growing through the winter, it continues to shrink gradually each spring as the temperatures rise, with the last group getting out of town around mid-May.

Church of the Ascension’s Rev. John McDonough reported a similar annual ebb and flow.

“Our attendance is down for about three months,” McDonough said. “About 25 to 30 percent of the congregation is gone, so our weekly attendance drops.”

McDonough said Ascension’s peak season of January through March sees the numbers at around 1,500 a week and, as of now, they’re around 700.

As such, programs tend to throttle back a bit during the slower months. The men’s spirituality group typically drops its June meeting, for instance.

The annual Vacation Bible School keeps many staff members busy due to preparation and execution of the program, but groups like the Sunday evening Faith on Tap and Lifelong Learning may drop a meeting or two during the summer.

McDonough said the church’s outreach, however, still moves full steam ahead.

“Places like Andre House, where we have crews go down twice a month, they’re usually looking for more people in the summer,” McDonough said. “I find myself going oftentimes during June, July and August.”

McDonough said there are congregation members that leave for a month, some that leave for three months and still others that leave for half of the year.

“By October we’re back in full programming,” he added. “January, February and March are when we really have big crowds, because that’s when everybody is here.”

While a full congregation has its benefits, McDonough said church staff makes the best of the slower summer months.

“Number one, we all get to take a breather,” he said. “It’s a good time to brainstorm and plan each year.”

It’s also a good time to take care of the physical church, as Ascension this summer is having new pews installed, some restrooms are being refurbished and some lighting is being retrofitted.

“I’m from Michigan. All parishes, all congrigations – not just Catholic – go into a summer hiatus of some length,” McDonough said. “That’s when you do your planning and your strategizing…Summer is [also] a good time to get through any maintenance or capital improvements.”