Obstacles to growth - singing a different tune (1)

Upon visiting a strange church recently, I found myself feeling quite isolated and out of step; a feeling which it transpired I shared with others.

I visit different churches whenever the opportunity presents because I get to hear others preach and, finding myself on the receiving end of communion, also get the chance to observe good practice (hopefully).

So there I was sitting in the pew when the hymn is announced and we stand to sing. The choir processes in and we're off! Opening prayer, confession and absolution and onto the collect - no dramas, everything looks like home so far.

We move onto the readings and the sermon - a good exposition of the main point of the Gospel - and onto the creed which the choir sing to us as the majority of those present, having struggled to join in, have given up! Moving on to the Eucharist we find ourselves challenged with a series of sung responses which were reminiscent of a sight reading exercise I once did as an audition piece!

Following the service, during a post-service brew, I got into conversation with a couple of regulars who told me how they were experiencing lean times and that some of the regulars had  falling away. As the conversation continued we were joined by a chap who rattled on about how great the settings were and what a great service it had been and so, leaving him to witter on, I finished my tea and (smiling) left.

What a nightmare when someone like me, who is fairly familiar with most forms of church service, are left feeling totally out of it all because of the setting used for the service. I'm especially used to services where sung responses are employed but most places I visit limit themselves to good old Rutter! But even then the use of them is still a means of alienating people who are new or unfamiliar to such things (which is the reason our organist suggests we forego responses for services of an evangelistic nature are concerned - Thank you Ken).

What is certain is that we do need to make sure that our services are 'seeker friendly' and accessible - even if that means someone coming out five minutes before the start and running the congregation through what they will be faced with.

Just a thought