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21% of the responses highlighted business and busyness |
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6% of the responses highlighted less reliance on a few (share the load more) |
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6% of the responses highlighted long services |
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“Meetings? Busyness. Rush. Noise.” “Less talking more action.” “Be less busy..... So, really seek the Lord's wisdom before launching new initiatives.... Leave space to enjoy Jesus and learn from him. More Mary, less Martha - that's probably more for me than the church!” “Less formal, less rigidly structured, less formatted by liturgy and more formatted to fit with what non-church people understand.” “Less coffee - more sharing around tables. Less praying through lists from the front. Less busyness.” “Spend less time focusing on the building.” “Long services!” |
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“Less 'business'. Stop and review what we do as church. We shouldn't carry on doing things just because we've always done them! Reduce number of physical meetings during the week.” “Also, be aware of not having too many activities that are cognitively demanding when poor mental health is so common. Remember many people are in survival mode: Will I lose my job? Will I lose my house? I don't feel safe; I don't know what's happening; will I get the virus? How will I cope if I get it? Who would look after me etc. etc. We cannot all aspire to spiritual heights at the moment. I think in this season, we need to be more practical and caring.” “We seemed to have loads going on ... but I can't really remember what it all was. So maybe some of that? I think it would be good to focus on the Sunday services, children's activities, and home groups in the way that we have been doing over lockdown.” |
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“We’ve been here before... when the old systems don’t work. Let’s rethink how we are living and how we want to live and relate to each other. Disruption often looks like a threat through the lens of fear. But through the lens of faith it’s an invitation and opportunity. Worry and anxiety cause us to look down. Faith lifts our sights to God. The remedy for our smallness is the bigness of God and the beautiful creation will reframe and resize our thinking. He’s awesome, beyond us. Birds and flowers don’t worry.” Danielle Strickland “The wilderness is a place of formation. The soul comes out of hiding. Our attachments rise to the surface. We see the true state of our inner selves, our restlessness, our interior life. The wilderness can be the place of transformation, the place of healing and freedom… the place of new beginnings and new life.” Pete Hughes, KXC “We recognise that all growth comes from Jesus and that He is gracious and full of love and forgiveness. It is He who builds the church. Could it be that He is granting us space in these challenging days to listen afresh to the voice of the Spirit and to reflect upon what we are spending our time on?” Fred Drummond, Church of Scotland and Evangelical Alliance. |
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Not only do we have the opportunity to be less busy and to rethink our priorities but also to recognise the need for change in terms of our care for creation, our impact on the environment etc. There will be a cautious, phased approach in restarting activities, group and ministries with the opportunity to reflect on our priorities. The format and content of our services will take account of this opportunity to reflect and rethink. We’ve been reminded that God is in control and Jesus is the Head of the church. |
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‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15: 1 - 2 |
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