All age worship
The Sunday service was a really positive one. Elizabeth combined a lot of different elements to make a service that was accessible to all. It was a pleasure to attend, lasted 65 minutes and helped me to worship God. I couldn't really ask for anything more!
I heard a lot of positive things afterwards but Elizabeth had been told by James that a couple of ex St Marys people had said that things were a lot different these days. Why on earth would you want to keep things the same as they always had been? To be a special and exclusive club? Thinking about it logically for anybody desiring traditional and set in the past, you'd only have needed to attend the service from two weeks ago. And yet the young mum from skating felt the need to leave before the end of the service and didn't seem to have engaged with it. What's the point in that?
Let's be an inclusive church of all ages and faiths (or lack of them) to help enlighten them in their journey towards a deeper understanding of God, themselves and their spiritual journey.
Here endeth the sermon...
posted by Helsalata @ 9:48 pm
3 comments
3 Comments:
I was talking to a lady one week over Easter who's stopped coming since the merger due to all the 'new blood' and her friend is upset that she's no longer a deacon, and it's noisy before the service and there's all this 'new blood'. Interestingly, she then got upset about something and my sister and I gave her a hug. As we hugged her she said, 'I'd never have got this at the old St Mary's, thank you so much'.
That all spoke a lot to me. It said that people from the other church were upset by everything too. It saddened me that she didn't want 'new blood' in the church, but it upset me even more to think that a previous attitude there may have been to not show comfort to people.
I have lots to think about
I was quite insistant that inclusivity and all age actually means inclusive to the elderly as well as babies, toddlers and children. But the trouble is, MOSTLY, the church is shaped by older people. It's done the way it is because "it works". "We tried it like that before and it didn't work" so they carve a nice comfortable little rut and get upset when people try to change it.
What you did was important because you were inclusive and actually church family and hugs are more important I think than how long the service is and whether drums are being played.
It must be very scary and frustrating for some people. They came and settled at St Marys because they knew what they were going to get service wise and liked what they got on the whole. I think the key is to keep these people involved if they are made to feel that their input is important but if they're not interested then to let them go. There are traditional churches that can cater for their needs.
yeah, I think I hadn't appreciated before that the 'older' people would be upset too. I thought that everyone would be excited that new life was coming in and that the church would be moving forward etc. I guess a little naive view really.
We don't all, always like change.
I think I understand a little better now
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