It's Sunday morning
Monday, May 17, 2010 at 11:15AM The Worship Task Group continued our conversation with a discussion of Vine Street’s Sunday morning schedule. The current schedule is
- 8:30am worship in chapel
- 9:30am Christian education for children and adults
- 10:45am worship in sanctuary
- Coffee & fellowship in the columbarium/reception area before and after the 10:45am service
We recommend that we continue to follow the basic order of events, but start earlier in order to allow an earlier start time for the current 10:45am service. A new schedule could look something like this
- 8:00am worship in chapel (45 minutes)
- 9:00am Christian education for children and adults (45 minutes)
- 10:00am worship in sanctuary (55-75 minutes)
We consider it crucial that we move ahead with plans for transforming the fellowship hall into a welcome area (see Journey story) where guests can be greeted, information can be shared in a variety of ways, friends can hang out, and good coffee is available from 7:45 till noon (we pay a barista and help offset the cost by charging for the coffee). The current entrance to the fellowship hall from the parking lot would become the main point of entry on Sunday morning.
We highly recommend hiring teachers for the children’s Sunday School to allow parents to participate in groups on Sunday morning. This may be a good opportunity for students in general, and students of early childhood development/education in particular.
We urge members and leadership to continue to greet guests on Sunday morning and help them find their way around our complicated campus.
We suggest roping off sections of the sanctuary, both to enhance the sense of being part of a community on the part of the congregants, and to make serving communion with trays less awkward.
We are very aware that changes in schedule are difficult to make; we suggest that we use the summer to introduce the changes and invite feedback from congregants, guests, and staff.
worship, worship task group
Reader Comments (5)
I like these ideas. I think it's will be good to 'try-it-out' during the summer months.
Some years ago a member of Vine Street told me that I was "such a negative person": so, I make these comments with some reluctance.
On a positive note I wholeheartedly support roping off portions of the sanctuary. This will automatically give us the smaller sanctuary that is more appropriate for us now on most Sundays. People who like to sit near the back can still sit near the back of the open portion
I do have a problem with the schedule as outlined. Thinking that I might be out of step, I did an informal Internet survey of Nashville churches to see how they schedule Sunday school relative to worship. It soon became apparent that most churches have a schedule that allows for one hour of Sunday school followed by fifteen to thirty minutes until the worship service. I think that there are serious problems with having Sunday school at 9 and worship at 10. First, Vine Streeters are not known for their punctuality. Perhaps they could be retrained. Even so, most classes do not begin at the appointed time. Little people need time to get settled. Older people like to have a little visiting time. Since fifteen minutes is a reasonable time between classes and worship, the proposed schedule would result in Sunday school classes of about forty-five minutes. Once allowance is made for late comers, who may be the majority, and for getting down to business, there might be thirty minutes of class time. I do not think that thirty minutes is sufficient. A simple fix would be to start the second worship service at 10:15.
While doing my survey I noticed that the less traditional nondenominational churches tend not to have Sunday school at all. They have children's program during worship time and small groups for adults at various times. I am noting this, not necessarily advocating it.
Last week I had occasion to be both at an outpatient surgery center and at a law firm. In each case, coffee was available to patients' escorts or to clients. Surely if medical and legal offices can give people free coffee, churches can do so.
My first experience as a Sunday school teacher was as an assistant in a preschool class when I was 15. Since then I have taught grades K through 6 in both Sunday school and VBS and have served as VBS superintendent. The proposal to pay Sunday school teachers left me nearly speechless [and some reading this may wish that it had left me speechless]. Over the years I have met many dedicated Sunday school teachers who would not have accepted payment and who might have been insulted to be offered any. Yes, Sunday school teachers miss adult groups during that time. I believe that some of them would not be in an adult group even if they weren't teaching. [That was certainly the case for me many years ago.] Teachers can limit the number of years that they teach. Teachers don't have to be parents. Adult groups can be offered at other times as indeed they sometimes are. I wonder what kind of message we are sending when we charge for a cup of coffee and pay people to teach God's word. [Yes, I know that we pay staff members; that strikes me as a different category entirely.] I would argue that people of any age and state can profit from class time, and that people we pay would also be missing adult groups. Although the cost of paying teachers might be very small, it strikes me as a strange proposal for a congregation that faces a huge deficit and is struggling to find the funds to hire an associate minister.
I am shocked. Rope off parts of the sanctuary, hire a person to serve coffee and charge for it, hire Sunday school teachers? I believe visitors as well as members should have the right to sit anywhere in the sanctuary that indivitual chooses, summer or not. Perhaps we should not look at making things more intimate, but work on making our services more condusive to peaceful and meaningful worship to attract more visitors that will come back for a return visit. Being a deacon is an honor, and those who serve should do so even when crowds are slim. Perhaps intinction should be an option for summer. Part of being a Christian is showing hospitality and good will to others. I do not believe that it looks very hospitable to charge for coffee on Sunday mornings, no matter who is doing the serving. Part of our commitment to our babies when they are dedicated or children when they are baptized is to help and support them on their spiritual journey. This includes being their teachers. I have wonderful memories of Mrs. Bailey, Mr. and Mrs. Skinner, Mr. and Mrs. Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Tallent, Mrs. Brake, and many more helping me along my spiritual journey. I like to believe that members of Vine Street made me who I am today. I like the idea of reworking our Sunday morning schedule for summer, and am willing to give it a try. You aked for thoughts....you got 'em!
Beth
Thanks to the task force for giving worship a good going over. I like the new schedule proposal and agree summer is a good time to try it. Charging for coffee is not a friedly idea but a coffee fund by members like me with a caffeine addiction might pay or subsidize the cost for this beverage of high custom, social medium and free trade. Paying for quality child instruction is novel and freeing adults for education sounds good. However, I have come to know many our children in extended session.
Roping the back pews has been tried before and failed miserably. Die hards slipped under the ropes and visitors were aghast. What did work was a pulpit or lectern invitation to come closer for ease of speaking/hearing. Don't do it! Fill the pews with new or old members, store manequins, the paid chidrens teachers..............
As I have already commented, I had no problem with roping off part of the sanctuary. In fact, I have to admit to having mentioned the idea privately a few times. However, if it has been tried unsuccessfully, there's not much point in trying it again.
If we made a point of sitting together, the rope idea would be superfluous. I am always surprised to see how many of us are sitting alone or just with a spouse or with just one other person. I see people that I know to be friends sitting separately. Recently I have made a point of not sitting by myself, and I heartily recommend that to others.