Worship, Effortless and Non-Optional

I decided to canvass the Parish because I had heard some parishioners lobbying for changing the time. They would appreciate an extra hour to get ready on Sunday morning. Others thought it might be easier to get visitors to come at a later time. Sometimes, the people lobbying for a change end up making more noise than those who are happy with the status quo. So, everybody has had the opportunity have their voice be heard.

As of today, it’s 36 in favor of 9am, 22 in favor of 10am. That’s 63 percent to 37 percent. If this was an election, we’d call that a landslide. But this isn’t an election, with winners and losers. And in a small parish like ours, 22 voices can’t be ignored.

That said, I suspect that a clear majority appreciates being able to come to church early, and have the rest of their Sunday to relax. And if we did switch to a 10am time for starting worship, that would raise the question of Sunday School: before worship or after. If we had Sunday School at 9, would anyone come? If we had it after, would anybody stay?

So, what are the options? Given that the majority of parishioners don’t want to move the time to 10, that would not seem to be an option. Could we split the difference, and start at 9:30? I notice that someone has written “summer” beside 9am, and “winter” beside 10am. I assume that a later start in the cold season would also feel like a warmer start, and an earlier start in the heat would feel a little cooler.

In that case, I could envision going to a 10 am start on the first Sunday of Advent, then switching to 9am on the first Sunday of June. But would people be able to get used to making that shift in their schedules twice a year?

Why does all this matter? Our mission at Christ Church is to be “an outward and visible sign of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit through worship, evangelism, discipleship, fellowship and ministry.” Worship comes first, as it must. None of the other purposes can be achieved without taking the time to make ourselves present to God, together as one church. Sunday is not “optional.”

But I appreciate that the “world” is making it harder to fit church into our already too busy schedule. So, while it’s important for us to make the effort to come together as one body, one communion in Christ, I also want it to be as effortless as possible. So, what do you think? What do you need on Sunday morning to be refreshed, renewed, and strengthened to be that outward and visible sign of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?