Sorry to be "that person", but basing an event around a food containing three common allergens (wheat, milk and egg) risks being somewhat non-inclusive.
Wait til you hear about the (imo bizarre*) number of church/Christian activities based around bacon sandwiches...
*I am a big fan of bacon sandwiches but churches being more inclusive with food choices is more important
Interesting point about the dearth of Saturday evening vigil services in Anglican churches. I've heard of a few which have attempted this, but nothing recently. I daresay there are one or two, though, and maybe another Shipmate has some up-to-date knowledge.
One church in an Anglo-Catholic urban benefice of three churches tried having the main Sunday Mass on Saturday evening, to allow the one-and-only priest then available to celebrate two on Sundays without having to rush, but this was apparently not met with any enthusiasm.
@Pomona is quite right about places with several services on Sunday feeling like separate communites. That is certainly the case at our place where there are three Masses, a Vigil and two on Sunday. They are settled congregations and people mostly don't change the Mass they attend. It has to be said that the most active members of the church tend to attend the main Mass with music and families.
@Pomona is quite right about places with several services on Sunday feeling like separate communites. That is certainly the case at our place where there are three Masses, a Vigil and two on Sunday. They are settled congregations and people mostly don't change the Mass they attend. It has to be said that the most active members of the church tend to attend the main Mass with music and families.
Yes, each of the Sunday services at our Cathedral has its own distinct community. Only the children and caregivers service is specifically tailored to a particular group. The others have their own distinctive and I think people make choices based on their own preferences.
Each service congregation is as large as many parish churches.
But we are a Cathedral so it seems to work.
In a smaller community I agree with so much of what others have said here.
And we can only do our best in our own churches to offer something appropriate to that setting.
The congregation I attend is inclusive. We have 90 year olds and 9 month olds worshipping together. While we do have a children's room available during a service, it is interesting how many of the young parents wish to keep their children with them through the whole service. As one older person told me when we first started attending services there--with kids, then--they loved seeing the kids among the circle (our sanctuary is in the round). We have had young kids take worship leader positions as they grow. I think the youngest chalice bearer was 11 at the time. Middle school kids often assist with the distribution of the elements during the Eucharist. BTW, there is no age for first communion. As soon as a kid reaches for the host, he or she is communed. Our organist teaches both organ and piano. There have been a number of her young students play either a prelude, or an interlude, sometimes a postlude depending on the skills of the student. Here, we do make an exception and applaud the music of the student. We sometimes use an African drum as part of the service A number of the kids have stayed after service to learn the drum and have played with their instructor in a following service.
For us, it is not about a family service exclusively but how we include the family in the service.
Once our pastor asked the kids in confirmation when they felt being part of the church family the most; He was very surprised when to a person, they all said it was our church potlucks because that was when they would meet adults they did not know who would come to sit at their table--no kids tables anywhere.
That model of training is the best way we've found for retaining children and youth in the congregation as they grow up. If they're allowed to do "real work" as soon as they're capable, work that matters (and not "makework" suitable for bored youth groups!), it seems to me they feel both valued and needed--which they are!--and that encourages them to stick around and mature in their faith.
We are lucky in having a well-designed modern building, though it’s quite small - the main church holds about 70 people I think. At the back of the main church are retractable wooden screens which open out into the hall, so each area can be used separately. We used to have a separate Sunday School in the hall area and just open the screens for larger events such as Easter Day, but for some time (I can’t remember how long but at least since Covid) we’ve just kept the screens open, so everyone is visible. Some children prefer to sit with their parents in church, but most of the children and some of their parents tend to stay more in the hall area, where they can do activity sheets related to the readings, colour, draw or write anything of their choice, build with Lego or whatever they like. They tend to drift in and out of the church area and join in with any songs they like.
Before the final blessing they are always invited to come up to the front and share what they’ve been doing. Three of them usually write their own prayers to read out, often interesting and perceptive. One child nearly always draws dinosaurs. One of the older ones usually helps the very youngest.
Two of the older ones have sports events to attend on some Sundays so we’re aware that they need to go up to communion before everyone else so they can dash off straight after.
Four of the regular children have been baptized over the past two years (i.e. not as babies); two of those and two others have asked to be confirmed at the end of this year, alongside four adults in the congregation.
Our church has grown slightly since Covid. I think the flexibility is one of the reasons for this.
Comments
Wait til you hear about the (imo bizarre*) number of church/Christian activities based around bacon sandwiches...
*I am a big fan of bacon sandwiches but churches being more inclusive with food choices is more important
One church in an Anglo-Catholic urban benefice of three churches tried having the main Sunday Mass on Saturday evening, to allow the one-and-only priest then available to celebrate two on Sundays without having to rush, but this was apparently not met with any enthusiasm.
Yes, each of the Sunday services at our Cathedral has its own distinct community. Only the children and caregivers service is specifically tailored to a particular group. The others have their own distinctive and I think people make choices based on their own preferences.
Each service congregation is as large as many parish churches.
But we are a Cathedral so it seems to work.
In a smaller community I agree with so much of what others have said here.
And we can only do our best in our own churches to offer something appropriate to that setting.
For us, it is not about a family service exclusively but how we include the family in the service.
Once our pastor asked the kids in confirmation when they felt being part of the church family the most; He was very surprised when to a person, they all said it was our church potlucks because that was when they would meet adults they did not know who would come to sit at their table--no kids tables anywhere.
Before the final blessing they are always invited to come up to the front and share what they’ve been doing. Three of them usually write their own prayers to read out, often interesting and perceptive. One child nearly always draws dinosaurs. One of the older ones usually helps the very youngest.
Two of the older ones have sports events to attend on some Sundays so we’re aware that they need to go up to communion before everyone else so they can dash off straight after.
Four of the regular children have been baptized over the past two years (i.e. not as babies); two of those and two others have asked to be confirmed at the end of this year, alongside four adults in the congregation.
Our church has grown slightly since Covid. I think the flexibility is one of the reasons for this.