Creating Pathways

At the Parish Forum meeting on Sunday, 8 June, Alan noted that the visioning process and the position we find ourselves in as a church has led the ministry team to discern the need for a new service and community to be planted in the evening on a Sunday. There are a number of reasons for this. The central ones are to create space for something new without having to water down or break the fundament eucharistic expression that is at the heart of our morning gatherings. The new service would be one only of the word, with a focus on sung worship and preaching that draws out the gospel's proclamation to the hearts of people who are seeking God in a new way. The new service would in symbiosis with a morning gathering, as the eucharist remains the centre of Christian life and worship and so a feeding back will need to occur.

To provide space for this new initiative, we discussed with the forum the possible need to merge our morning service of 8am and 10am to develop a new 9am service. The reasons behind this are multiple, but key ones are the growing challenge of volunteers and music at 8am, the disconnection between the congregations, and the fact that, in essence, the two services are not that different. By reducing the number of services in the morning, it also allows Alan and Diego to give more energy to the new initiative in the evening.

We realise that for some this will come as a shock. This is not being considered because any congregation is weak. Both 8am and 10am are some of the larget Anglican congregations in the diocese. This is instead driven by a belief that God is calling us to step into a new space and that such a move will provide us the capacity and energy to do so, while also providing a wonderful space of gathering for a larger collection of worshippers in the morning. The choice of 9am is partly to reflect that it is not the continuation of either service, but also to allow room for future expansions with the possibility of an 11am service if we develop the teams and community need for such a gathering.

The new 9am service would be an Anglican eucharistic service. The liturgy will be similar to what is already offered at 10am, but may be reordered slightly. In addition to this, depending on community responses, we may move to written prayers once again rather than extemporaneous The teaching at the 9am service can be simplified as well, so that it is shorter and more driven by the lectionary as we do not need to carry the core of the teaching of our church as it presently does. Music would likely be the greatest point of shift for both communities. The new 9am service would have a core of sung hymns, played on keyboard and guitar to add a contemporary vibe. Intermixed with this, we will look to sing well-known worship music as well. This style of music fits better within the liturgical structure of a eucharist and, I believe, reflects the theological and practiced heart of our present church community.

As we begin the process of considering this move, we are wanting to hear back from people. We are particularly keen to hear the dimensions and practices of your current congregational setting (8am or 10am) that you hope we can carry over into this new initiative in the morning. For many, there may not be a specific component, but we encourage you to prayerfully consider what is essential in your experience of worship and what you believe we would be at a loss to lose from our offerings.

To offer your reflection, please either click this link to fill out a digital form, or email office@taradaleanglican.church with your comments. We will have written reflection forms available in the coming weeks for your feedback also.