We had an interesting conversation at our Local Preachers meeting last week around the topic of evening services. One of our members had asked for this to go on the agenda and I am not really sure any of us knew where it might go.
It turned out that it was quite a good conversation with a number of very good points coming out of it and I suspect some food for thought.
I think it would be true to say that along with many churches and groups of churches (circuits) there has been a decline in Sunday evening services in our circuit in recent years and there are often good and sensible reasons for ending this particular event. Conversely there are places where the service continues and struggles to do so due to declining numbers of attendees but we carry on because Mrs Bloggs wouldn't get to church if we closed the evening service.
In our circuit there is quite an emphasis placed on the use of the revised common lectionary and I was interested to hear that someone had said they don't come at night because it is more often than not a repeat of the morning even down to the same hymns. It would seem that preachers are taking the lectionary readings for the main service whether they are at a church morning or evening and I suspect use the same sources to plan their service. I am aware of one preacher who deliberately uses the readings for a second service if he is out in the evening.
Perhaps there is some value in preachers talking to one another so that there is less of this happening, or heaven forbid that I should be controversial here but let's not have quite so much concentration on the lectionary and let preachers have a degree of freedom to choose. I know someone might come back and say they have that already but it does seem to me that they may not always realise that and they certainly don't apply it.
Anyway there is a little taster but I have just realised the time so must go and get ready for work - I will return to this topic as there were other things said that may be worth sharing - if you do have any thoughts on this topic so far don't hesitate to comment as I believe it would be very helpful.
1 comment:
During my twenty six years at my present church the Sunday evening service has always been a bit of a difficulty.
At first we had a loyal but seperate congregation of about six - all of whom have now passed on.
We started a weekly youth event but this seemed to create a tension between the two services. However we sometimes attracted congregations of twenty or thirty.
However that ran out of steam as people moved on and we were back to just a handful who came out of a sense of loyalty.
We got to the stage where preacher and steward were turning out just in case someone came. In fact on one occasion I offered to steward for myself as I was the preacher.
The service was scheduled to start at 6.30. At 6.45 I was sitting on my own and just gave up and went home.
There is just no point flogging a dead horse. Certain sorts of Sunday evening will work - such as the special youth event - but overall worship on a Sunday evening tends to stretch the resources of many churches.
Time to call it a day.
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