Rolling Worship Review

1/9/2013

Rolling Worship has now been in operation for two and a half years, and it's time to review how it's going. You may have opinions about 9.30, 10.30, 11.30, the breaks, the children's and young people's work, or the music. You may wish to suggest changes, or you may wish to say that you don't think a certain aspect should change. Either way, we want to hear from you.
There are three ways you can make your voice heard:
a) You could write a note and put it in the box at the back of church.
b) You could leave a note on the big noticeboard
c) You could leave your comments here - just click on the word 'comment' and type away.
However you contribute, we promise that when a group meets on Jan 26 it will read every comment you make. The group will consider every aspect of Rolling Worship, and out of their contributions we will compose a proposal that will go to the PCC in February. Any changes suggested are likely to be implemented from the beginning of May. Do speak to us if you would like to know more.
Thank you,
Travers Harpur, Stephanie Gillingham and Andy Griffiths (Review Group)"

16 Comments

1/13/2013 09:16:37 pm

There are two things that are working well - the 9.30 service and the communions. I suggest they are not altered. The sermon slice could do with a couple of songs in it, even if it meant lengthening it. I've never understood what the 11.30 slice was for, and see no point in maintaining it (and I'm from Family Hour).

anon

1/13/2013 09:20:12 pm

Keep communion as is, keep 9:30 as is. Could we put the energy that goes into 11.30 into a more regular messy church? And could baptisms be at messy church?

Sue Kitson

1/19/2013 09:35:01 pm

Dear Anon,

I would love to chat with you about Messy Church and its vision. If you would like to get in touch, my home phone number is 01245 265443.

Helen Crux

1/13/2013 11:33:47 pm

I feel that the first two slices of rolling worship work reasonably well but the third doesn't and never has really as shown by the low numbers (at least whenever I am there). I think it would be better to just have the two slices elongated perhaps. Maybe the first slice could include a formal sermon thus keeping the traditional feel and the second slice a less formal talk or drama with prayer and songs with the emphasis on all age/children. The breaks could remain as breakfast in between and coffee/tea at the end thus eliminating the noise of clearing up whilst someone is trying to lead!

1/14/2013 01:11:20 am

Apart from 11.30, which can easily be discontinued, I think it's working well. I don't think it would help to move the successful slices later in the morning, and I don't see why we need to include a sermon at 9.30 - those who want a sermon can just stay on till 11, and those who go at 10am obviously don't want to be preached at. I do agree that there aren't enough children involved, but I think a solution like Messy Church is more likely to be the religious service they need anyway.

Sue Kitson

1/19/2013 09:37:27 pm

Hi,
Please see my comments re Messy Church above.

Sally

1/14/2013 06:28:48 pm

I mostly come to the first two slices, only the 3rd when on the Welcome Team. I am glad to have the teaching, singing and communion offered during these two slices. The gap can feel long but I think that is probably my problem. I have been sorry when someone has arrived for the 3rd slice when there hasn't been one which seems to have happened on one or two Sundays in the last few months.

andy

1/19/2013 01:37:21 am

Thank you all for these responses, which will be on the board tomorrow.

mike arnold

1/24/2013 02:00:50 am

It seems the current state of Rolling Worship is:

9.30 slice works acceptably well and attended acceptably
WHY? The time is convenient – not too early or too late; choral worship is a friendly and accessible start to worship; the sermon on each week 2 is an attraction
IMPROVEMENTS: When separate children’s areas are provided then perhaps it could be developed

10.30 slice is the strongest slice
WHY? Very convenient time; good solid worship styles; seen as the core/strongest/most important element of Sunday morning
IMPROVEMENTS: When separate children’s areas are provided then perhaps it could be developed

11.30 slice is the slice that causes most concern
WHY? Time can be inconvenient, as the end time of 12 or a bit later plus the “leaving time” starts to push against Sunday lunchtime (sorry to be so unreligious but am trying to be realistic); often seen as a repeat of or very similar in content to Slice 1, which does not encourage attendance; may be seen as an unnecessary addition.
IMPROVEMENTS: it could be difficult to change perceptions of Slice 3; timing may always be against this slice

GENERAL ONCERNS
1. LACK OF CHILDREN – but it will be difficult to overcome this until separate children’s areas are provided.
2. CONTENT: is there sufficient formal worship?

POSSIBLE WAYS FORWARD….
SUGGESTIONS:
I. INTEGRATE 8am HOLY COMMUNION
a. Start Holy Communion at 8.30am
i. WHY? So it becomes part of Rolling Worship
The earlier time may encourage more to attend
It will end at 9.10 (or 9am if the sermon is dispensed with), so making staying for the 9.30 slice more likely
b. Have 8.30am Holy Communion every week
i. WHY? Holding it every week allows all to know when it is on
Holding it only twice a month is confusing
c. This provides a regular more formal form of worship
i. WHY? A more formal form of worship should still be seen as part of our church’s worship life
As such one should be offered as regularly – and at the same time each week – as more informal worship styles
3. CANCEL SLICE 3 – MAKE IT SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHOLE CHURCH WORSHIP
i. WHY? Doing so might focus minds on attending at (maybe 8.30) both 9.30 and 10.30.
This might concentrate numbers at 2 slices, so creating a more whole church feel
ii. Use slice 3’s time for other church things: eg a group setting up a small chapel for group worship

1/24/2013 02:26:39 am

I'm not in a position to judge about the 8am service, but I think all Mike's other suggestions are very sensible.
My only other thought is: if we are all positive about the communion at 10.30 once a month, why not try it twice a month?

1/24/2013 02:28:14 am

PS Re: messy church: I feel I have done my service and am happy for others now to take a lead in such activities.

fiona selden

1/24/2013 05:01:50 pm

My heart has always been for Sunday morning to be a multi-generational, united time of worship: I felt the three slice split was a temporary compromise (moving the piano from one side of the stage to the other – you know the apocryphal story!)

I don’t think slice 3 has ever had clarity of purpose (other than not being slice 1) and is the obvious one to drop. But neither do I believe slices 1 and 2 can simply remain unchanged. Indeed I think we all need to be willing to change!?

I don’t have any ground breaking ideas: I imagine one continuous morning service with a liturgical structure and sung worship and teaching. The unbroken journey would hopefully have more a sense of unity and cohesion, giving the space for people to meet with God and respond to what He is saying/doing.

I have said before that we have services like this on special occasions: Mother’s Day, the united services with St Luke’s and St John’s, etc. The thing that always strikes me about these services is that they have a liturgical structure, but there are also creative elements such as a drama (or dramatic reading); an interactive prayer exercise; a prepared musical or choral piece; variations of wording for parts of the liturgy; often the ‘big sing’ and/or a variety of instrumentalists play. I know every service cannot be ‘all-singing, all-dancing’ but I suppose what I am saying is that there is a richness borne of blending the traditional structures with some multi-sensory and creative approaches to specific elements.

Whilst I sense some people’s resistance to slice 1 being changed, no one ever seems to be offended by these services on special occasions – perhaps every Sunday morning service should be a ‘special occasion’!

It would be good to keep breakfast and/or coffee. Perhaps breakfast should be available half an hour before the service, and coffee and biscuits afterwards (time to talk to one another, encourage one another and pray for one another).

Fiona Selden

PS Daniel and Ruth love their group on Sunday morning (thank you so much to Cathy, Clare and the team); they also love Messy Church. Ruth told me today that she is excited about 3 things at the moment: Evan’s birthday party (friend from school!); the Seed Party and the next Messy Church

Geoff

1/24/2013 07:48:37 pm

I agree with many of the comments above about slices 1 and 2. The good attendances indicate they are meeting a need. Slice 2, when just a teaching session, often seems to finish abruptly and I think it would be good to both start and finish with a hymn and a closing prayer/blessing.

I am not sure slice 3 has been successful. It has the lowest attendance and I believe it should be dropped.

There is a healthy buzz in church on Sunday mornings which is good to see, and hear! New faces are appearing all the time, and it is very refreshing.

anon

1/24/2013 09:39:58 pm

We've been coming to Rolling Worship for about two years on and off - now an average of about monthly, formerly a bit more often. We came because of the flexibility - an hour is a bit long for a worship service without breaks, as we discovered when we 'roadtested' other churches in the area.

We have stayed because of Andy and Stephanie and their welcome and openness. We think the teaching is generally good and well-thought-out, and at its best the music is high quality at both 9.30 and 11.30. Andy and Stephanie are good at leading worship that includes both young and old.

We find the separate children's work very difficult - one of the people leading it told us dismissively 'it's really for regulars, not visitors' - this was after we'd been coming over a year! (We wouldn't have minded, but our observation was that she attended less frequently than we did, and seldom joined in the worship when she was there!) Despite our efforts, we have still not managed to engage the 'regulars' in much conversation - but to be fair, we may not have all the necessary social skills either.

The main thing required is more interaction - not just at the breaks, but also in the services, to help everyone get to know each other.

Hilary Preston

1/25/2013 04:42:41 am

Overall, I think Rolliing Worship is a great success! We have all come together in one space which is great for me. Many of Mike and Fiona's comments reflect my feelings. My journey of worship on a Sunday is often broken at, to me, an inappropriate moment. I do like to build up to a sermon which isn't always possible in Rolling Worship. Could we not reduce to 2 slices: 9.30 until 10.30 which would have a traditional flavour; a bridging tea break until 11.00 and then slice 2 with contemporary and handled worship. As Fiona says an unbroken journey creates a sense of unity and cohesion giving people time to meet with God and respond to what he says. The provision for children is a difficult one. I am not really in a position to comment as I do not now have children who require activities. However, it appears to me that the provision is sometimes confusing and inconsistent from week to week. I have been part of St Michael's family for about 28 years and for me Rolling Worship has been ( and will continue to be) a really exciting change and move forward. Thanks to Andy and Stephanie for their leadership.

cathy groome

2/2/2013 02:00:06 am

My thoughts were that a 12pm finish is a bit late for me which is why I can't stay very often. I really enjoy the content so would hope that we can continue with a balance of traditional as well as contemporary choral worship as we have such a wonderful choir and musicians.

As a SONLight leader I'm looking forward to a separate area as there are often audio clips or song related activities that we could include that currently aren't suitable.

I also found that the half hour break can be a long wait if you don't have someone to talk to. There is a lot of people specifically looking for others with messages etc. to pass on and there is some small talk with others but many people can find it difficult to extend this to 30 minutes.

Rolling Worship Review

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