Update on last Sunday
Met Guy today and talked through what had happened at St Michael's. I said I felt it had gone pretty much the way I had expected it to, which was fine for the first session. But I want to feel I'm having an impact - not by imposing something on them that they don't want but I don't want to just passively turn up every third Sunday and leave again without them feeling anything.
Guy asked how I'd feel if my 'assignment' ran for longer than the few months we'd agreed. I said that would be fine but there would have to be more to me going than I had experienced on Sunday. I realised that what was missing was that they were almost embarrassingly grateful to me for being there - but they didn't want anything from me. Leading the service for them seemed to be enough. But it isn't enough.
We discussed some of the differences between St Bride's and St Michael's. St B's accepts new stuff and new leaders almost as a matter of course. In fact, I wonder how much impact some of the stuff we do has, because we're always changing something. At St M's, just having someone different to lead the service is new. Another difference is the people who 'belong'. At St B's we've created an 'experience' that people choose to 'consume'. At St M's, family members of current and former congregation members have a deep sense of belonging and will even 'inherit' their place in the congregation when they die.
I said I had been disappointed not to speak to any of the 30-somethings, who are clearly the future of the church. Guy is going to look at changing the version of the Bible that he uses for readings in an attempt to encourage more volunteers to read. This is the group I want to engage in thinking about church in new ways.
At the meeting we had about enriching St B's worship, I had wanted to suggest we unpack the question 'what is worship?' a bit but had thought of it too late. However, I still think we should look at that - what is it we're trying to do in the service? And that might be something we address with St M's, too - though I expect the answers will be different :D
A couple of years ago, St M's did an appreciative enquiry exercise with a group called Appreciating People and had a final 'vision day', which was attended by 40+ people. They explored areas such as St M's strengths and its future. The work came to a halt with the sudden deaths of the two people Guy had hoped to work with. However, this is something we could use to build on - it's not me saying, 'you need x', it's me (and hopefully St M's leadership group) saying, 'let's see how we can take this forward'.
We also discussed the idea of Servicescape at St M's. The reason we used the concept at St B's was to work out how to make the building fit-for-purpose. St M's is already fit for purpose, although some things (the cloths on the altar, for example) feel very old fashioned. But the stand for the collection plate and the ship's bell tell you a lot about where the people come from - and all the pictures around the place give a sense of 'all our yesterdays'. There's real history there (cf. the people who 'belong') and that should be honoured.
Guy suggested working on a mission/vision statement to help the congregation work out 'who they are'. We can then develop the Servicescape around that because the Servicescape reflects the organisation - but they have to know who they are, first. I'd like to meet with Les, Thelma, Ruth and Guy in another couple of months to see how we move all this forward.
The website also needs to be kept up-to-date.
So, a productive meeting for both of us and, hopefully, for St Michael's - even if they don't know it yet!
Guy asked how I'd feel if my 'assignment' ran for longer than the few months we'd agreed. I said that would be fine but there would have to be more to me going than I had experienced on Sunday. I realised that what was missing was that they were almost embarrassingly grateful to me for being there - but they didn't want anything from me. Leading the service for them seemed to be enough. But it isn't enough.
We discussed some of the differences between St Bride's and St Michael's. St B's accepts new stuff and new leaders almost as a matter of course. In fact, I wonder how much impact some of the stuff we do has, because we're always changing something. At St M's, just having someone different to lead the service is new. Another difference is the people who 'belong'. At St B's we've created an 'experience' that people choose to 'consume'. At St M's, family members of current and former congregation members have a deep sense of belonging and will even 'inherit' their place in the congregation when they die.
I said I had been disappointed not to speak to any of the 30-somethings, who are clearly the future of the church. Guy is going to look at changing the version of the Bible that he uses for readings in an attempt to encourage more volunteers to read. This is the group I want to engage in thinking about church in new ways.
At the meeting we had about enriching St B's worship, I had wanted to suggest we unpack the question 'what is worship?' a bit but had thought of it too late. However, I still think we should look at that - what is it we're trying to do in the service? And that might be something we address with St M's, too - though I expect the answers will be different :D
A couple of years ago, St M's did an appreciative enquiry exercise with a group called Appreciating People and had a final 'vision day', which was attended by 40+ people. They explored areas such as St M's strengths and its future. The work came to a halt with the sudden deaths of the two people Guy had hoped to work with. However, this is something we could use to build on - it's not me saying, 'you need x', it's me (and hopefully St M's leadership group) saying, 'let's see how we can take this forward'.
We also discussed the idea of Servicescape at St M's. The reason we used the concept at St B's was to work out how to make the building fit-for-purpose. St M's is already fit for purpose, although some things (the cloths on the altar, for example) feel very old fashioned. But the stand for the collection plate and the ship's bell tell you a lot about where the people come from - and all the pictures around the place give a sense of 'all our yesterdays'. There's real history there (cf. the people who 'belong') and that should be honoured.
Guy suggested working on a mission/vision statement to help the congregation work out 'who they are'. We can then develop the Servicescape around that because the Servicescape reflects the organisation - but they have to know who they are, first. I'd like to meet with Les, Thelma, Ruth and Guy in another couple of months to see how we move all this forward.
The website also needs to be kept up-to-date.
So, a productive meeting for both of us and, hopefully, for St Michael's - even if they don't know it yet!