Ship of Fools: St Rumon, Ruan Minor, Cornwall, England

The Mystery Worshipper

Ship of Fools: St Rumon, Ruan Minor, Cornwall, England

Saints, sea, and friendly villages – but where were the families?

Read the full Mystery Worshipper report here

Spike

Pedant alert! There are five references here to a “lay reader”, although the term is obsolete. The word “lay” was dropped around 50 years ago and we are known simply as “Readers”, although some dioceses now adopt the term “licensed lay minister” or LLM

Bishops Finger

Yes, although in this diocese 'LLMs' who were formerly 'Readers' have gone through additional training. I didn't choose that path, so I am still officially a 'Reader'.

Back to the MW Report - I wonder if the absence of children/families might be due to the service taking place on the first weekend of half-term, when so many people go to 'Away'?

Hookers_Trick

Bishops Finger wrote: »

I wonder if the absence of children/families might be due to the service taking place on the first weekend of half-term, when so many people go to 'Away'?

Or because Family Services don't actually attract families

Bishops Finger

Ah well - you may have a valid point there! Mind you, I got the impression from the Report that there was nothing particularly off-putting about the service itself. Without more detail, one can't tell, but perhaps it was a fairly simple Service of the Word, or abbreviated Morning Prayer?

IIRC, this parish (or group) has a fairly low-Church ethos (a previous vicar of the small-c conservative open-evo Church Of My Yoof went to St Keverne, round about 1970).

ExclamationMark

There simply may not be that many children around in a rural area

Bishops Finger

That is true, of course, though there appears to be a C of E school not far away.

ExclamationMark

I wonder how many children attend the church on a Sunday? I was once in the West Country and no church for 20 miles had any children in it on a Sunday.

Bishops Finger

Agreed, it is a common thing these days, in many churches, to find children conspicuous by their absence - but we are fortunate enough to have the resources to run a monthly 'Family/Youth Church' on a Saturday afternoon.

This sometimes has 15-20 local youngsters present, and there are plans afoot to try to get parents/grandparents/carers more involved, along the lines of 'Messy Church', perhaps.

We do have 3-4 Yoof (children/teenagers) at the Sunday Parish Mass some weeks, too, and would have more, had one family not moved way recently!

The fact that St Ruan has a church school, however, might mean that there are a few who attend services, but, as I said, who might have been away on the first half-term weekend. I hope that's the case.

Box Pew

Yes, although in this diocese 'LLMs' who were formerly 'Readers' have gone through additional training. I didn't choose that path, so I am still officially a 'Reader'.

A bishop who is not ordained..... now I am the one who is confused :-))

Bishops Finger

Ah, but I may be a member of that peculiar species known as episcopi vagantes...


Or not, as the case may be...