eNews

You were asking?

After yesterday’s morning service a few people asked about the slips we filled in about changes to worship services:

·         Are we really going to add another service to Sunday morning? What time will it be? What about kids at church? etc.

·         If we ask some families to move to the 5pm service, thus opening up more seating at the 9am, will there be a kids program? Etc.

These are important factors, and you can be sure that they will all be addressed in time. Any changes to the way Sunday services are configured really needs to be well developed, supported in a united way, and fully discussed with the church family.

Even so, given the questions asked, we thought a brief email might clear up a few things.

What’s happening is that we are beginning a process of discussion about Sunday services, and this already commenced the week before (Feb 25). An open meeting was held and that meeting was attended mainly by small group leaders, those involved in Sunday ministry, and any others who wanted to attend.

The issue is that our 9am services are generally quite full, and we need to make some space. Our starting point is that there are two unacceptable options:

·         To say that we are full, and leave no room for new people

·         To do nothing

Church Council has recently discussed the matter of having a second service on a Sunday morning. The Church Council does understand that this would place increased strain on people involved in current ministries: music, technical, children’s ministry, coffee, etc., so it is not a trouble free solution.

Another possibility is to ask some of the families who currently attend the 9am service to attend the 5pm instead. This is not without its complications either. It would involve changes in family schedules, and have some impact on the feel of the 5pm service.

So friends, it’s a difficult one! The small form you may have filled out last Sunday is certainly not the last word. In a sense, it’s just the beginning of our discussion process.

In questions like this the most important this is that we develop solutions together, and that we move ahead together.

So coming Sunday there will be an opportunity for those who have no yet made their preference known to do so. After that we’ll work through all the information we receive, and then come back to you to discuss a final proposal.

Finally, some have wondered why we’re asking people to put their names on the forms they fill in. We’ve asked for this because knowing general preferences is a good thing, but it’s not much help if there’s no commitment to follow through. So we’re asking you to put your name on your form so we can gauge the level of real commitment to each proposal. Remember: we will still come together before moving ahead with anything.

As always, if you have some insight on something that hasn’t been mentioned, or which doesn’t already appear to be part of the picture, please email us! We’d love your feedback!

Every blessing!

Dave Groenenboom

Feedback: dave@redlandscrc.org.au