Vicar’s Open Letter - 22nd
April 2018
Summary
2nd Sundays – From October, Morning Celebration
to be replaced by Messy Church in the afternoon in the Village Hall
4th Sundays – From May, the new-style Family
Service will revert back to its original, more-traditional, style and be named
“Chearsley Praise”
Family Communion, Evensong, Said Communion remain
unchanged
Background
When I applied to become vicar, I signed up to the principle
that we would continue to offer the most-diverse range of services the Church
of England can offer – from traditional services such as BCP Evensong to what
are known as fresh expressions of worship (shaped specifically for people who
don’t come to church) such as Morning Celebration here.
I also signed up to the principle that we wanted to do more
to engage families in our villages who don’t regularly come to church. This is
not just about services, but opportunities to worship are part of this.
I am committed to both these principles and will encourage
our church to hold true to them. This takes courage as it means we won’t all be
comfortable with every form of worship we offer. It will also mean we will try
some things that may not work out the way we hope or expect. I believe this is
all part of being a healthy Christian Community living out our purpose of
worshipping God and showing everyone in Chearlsey how much He loves them.
In February 2018, the PCC undertook a formal consultation
with a number of families in the village (my thanks to those who took part).
This revealed a diverse range of preferences. Some prefer traditional-style
services for their children whilst others prefer informal worship. Some valued
services where children can take part whilst also appreciating services during
which the children are supervised in separate groups. Others were drawn to
more-creative and less-structured events at different times of the day.
In addition, I received helpful feedback on our Family
Service from others in our church family.
Morning Celebration
and Messy Church
Morning Celebration currently seeks to engage families
and others who don’t have a traditional church background. Hence it is
deliberately informal, with words, modern music, and films projected on a
screen.
However, each service requires a huge amount of time and
creative energy, and attendance over the past 2 years has been significantly
lower than in the past. This prompted the question whether that creative effort
could be directed more fruitfully elsewhere.
So the PCC have decided to replace Morning Celebration in
the morning of the 2nd Sunday with Messy Church in the Village Hall
in the afternoon, before Evensong. Messy Church is a nationally recognised
initiative which seeks to engage families and others who don’t regularly come
to church with craft and activities, short informal worship, and a shared meal.
It has recently been successfully introduced in Dinton on the 4th
Sunday of the month and is publicised in Cuddington & Dinton School. It is
hoped this will start in October 2018.
Family Service and
Chearsley Praise
Last year I introduced a more-informal style of service,
reflected in the introduction of an order of service with very little written
liturgy, creative prayers, and a modern song with actions.
This was based upon my assumption that the term “Family
Service” denotes a service which is aimed at meeting the needs of young
children, whilst enabling adults comfortable with a less-formal style and newer
songs to worship with them.
I now realise that this was not the original intention
for the Family Service in Chearsley, and that it was a service that strived to
meet the needs of adults wanting to worship in a formal but non-Eucharistic
context, as well as children who could engage and participate in a traditional
service.
What’s become clear is that this change has
disenfranchised a number of Family Service regulars without seeing any growth
in new families attending it. And as I have stated above, I believe it is
healthy to try new things to reach out to different people in the village, and
when it doesn’t work, to acknowledge this and try something else.
So the PCC have agreed to stop the new style of service
with immediate effect, and revert back to a lay-led service much more like the
old Family Service, with written prayers, well-known hymns, and children
continuing to lead intercessions. The service will be called “Chearsley Praise”.
This change of name will avoid confusion for families responding to the
informal-style Family Services in Long Crendon and Nether Winchendon; and is
flexible enough for communion and baptism to be incorporated into the service
at times.
Conclusion
These changes effectively return our church to the
balance of Sunday Services in place when I arrived, with the exception that the
informal Morning Celebration on 2nd Sunday mornings evolves to Messy
Church in the afternoon.
I hope this represents the best compromise in meeting the
diverse needs of our village, whilst also concentrating all our creative energy
into 1 service per month, rather than spreading it across 2 services.
I do intend to propose changes to the pattern of services
across the Benefice in future, to reflect changes in our ministry team and to
remove clashes on particular Sundays (for example moving Evensong away from the
2nd Sunday). However, there are no plans to change the services
themselves beyond those outlined in this letter.
Thank you to all those who have contributed towards these
changes; to all the volunteers who are prepared to make them happen; and to you
all for your courage whilst we make them. I would appreciate your feedback as
we discern whether these changes are successful or not over the coming months.
God bless you and keep you.
Rev Richard
