The Rector Writes – November 2008
Dear Friends
Earlier this year the all-age worship which used to be held in the Parish Church at 11am on the second Sunday of each month was transferred to 4pm in the Parish Hall because a number of families had indicated that afternoons were better for them, due to children’s activities on Sunday mornings.
As it happened there proved to be little benefit in this change so from December we are returning to the Parish Church and to 11am. This will act as a safety net for those who forget that the main service is at 9.30am on the second Sunday, rather than at 11am and would otherwise deny themselves the opportunity to worship in the village.
Meanwhile, the equivalent service at 4pm on the first Sunday at Emmanuel, Pen-y-ffordd, has become well-established at this time of day and celebrates its second anniversary this month. It will retain the title of “Tea Time Praise”.
I would like to take this opportunity to describe what happens at one of these all-age worship events. The best way to find out about it is to attend and experience it for yourself, but you may prefer to have some idea what goes on before you do so.
The first difference which you will notice between this form of all-age worship and other services in church is that the people sit in a circle. This helps us to talk to each other, when appropriate, and the rows of knees or chair-legs restricts small children from crawling or running round the building. In practice, they are probably too busy drawing, colouring or making things on a mat in the centre to try to leave the circle.
Most of the all-age worship in Hope is led by Sally Ann Rhodes-Leader, who is a licensed worship leader. I tend to lead at Emmanuel. After welcoming everyone, whoever is leading begins by asking a question. This is intended to draw on the life-experience of all those present, young or old. We are usually directed to discuss our answers with our neighbours before sharing them with the whole group. The question is not arbitrary but it has been carefully chosen to lead us towards the theme of the worship. At this point a casual visitor may think that we are just chatting but it is conversation to a purpose.
When the reading was from Luke chapter 15 – the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son – the initial question was, “When did you last lose something?” with additional questions about what it was, how you felt about having lost it, where and how you found it and how you felt then. We moved on to share our experience of losing a person – not being bereaved. A surprising number of parents admitted to having lost children for what seemed like an eternity. There is a lot of laughter at this stage and we get to know one another far better than in any church service, but most importantly we are lining up our thoughts to consider the theme.
The reading is likely to be read in parts by several people. It may be acted with visual aids. With the story of Jonah the fish which swallowed him was represented by a child’s crawl-through tunnel. We discuss the reading in the light of our earlier conversation and identify some lessons which we can apply to our everyday lives.
For music we tend to use tracks from the appropriately-named 500 series of the 500 most popular modern Christian worship songs on CD published by Kingsway, which are available from Christian bookshops – there’s a Christmas present suggestion for you! We are free to join in or to listen to the recordings, as we wish. All songs are chosen to promote the theme or to express what we have thought about so far.
The prayers are always the most moving part of the worship. Nearly everyone takes part even if they have never been before and they seem happy to do so. The leader reads out one-sentence prayers which have been prepared beforehand and are printed on strips of paper. These are then placed on the table in the middle of the circle for anyone to take one. Then we have the opportunity to go round the circle and read the one we have chosen.
Refreshments are served towards the end, in much the same position as Communion at a Eucharist. We usually end with a final song and by saying the Grace together, before rearranging the furniture and going home.
Preparation well in advance of the event is essential. The work of the group which does this would justify another article sometime! Might we be developing a form of worship and fellowship to share well beyond the parish?
Yours sincerely
Martin Snellgrove