A poster I once saw said: "In the battle between order and chaos, chaos always wins, because it is better organised." Trying to get the church ready for Sunday services is a case in point! In an attempt to improve this, and to lighten the load on our Wardens and on our Church Council members, the Church Council will be deciding about the introduction of assistant wardens at the next council meeting.
The idea is that an assistant warden would replace the present 'Duty Council Member' as the person in charge before, during and after a service. They would only have one duty: to ensure that everything gets done - by someone else - though that may mean finding 'someone else'. They will have failed if they resort to doing 'it' themselves.
To assist them there will still be the communion assistants, public address system operator, sacristan, servers, and sidespersons, etc.
Of course, some of the Church Council members will make excellent assistant wardens, but the idea is to share the task with others. There probably need to be between 5 and 10 assistant wardens, so that the duty would not be too frequent, but often enough for them to become familiar with the job. It is also important that the assistant wardens should have the support of the congregation: after all, they are likely to be asking for your help. To make sure that the right people are chosen we are asking you, the congregation, to do the choosing.
The details of the procedure for choosing the assistant wardens will be decided by the Council at their next meeting and we will tell you about it at Sunday services immediately afterwards. Please start thinking already about the people you think would make good assistant wardens. The number of assistant wardens is not yet fixed, but about 6 names would be ideal. Think about Council members, but also please think about some who are not on the council.
Please pray, for the right people to be chosen, for the people who are chosen, and that our services should be so ordered that visitors are welcomed, a worshipping atmosphere is created, and God is given the glory.
To accommodate all the visitors expected for Sam's ordination, the church interior was rearranged. This is a temporary arrangement, in the sense that everything could be returned to its old position. However, some of the changes are clearly beneficial and may be made permanent. In particular, having a smaller, freely positionable altar is a great asset and has attracted only favourable comment ('though it would be better if it could be a bit higher'). To make this permanent we would have to de-consecrate the old altar and purchase something a bit more durable (and taller!) than the present temporary table.
The 'eagle' lectern presents a few problems. It is difficult to move as it is heavy and as has a large awkwardly proportioned base. This makes using the communion kneelers difficult, and effectively prevents it being used on the chancel platform at all. Exchanging it for an ambo (a sort of combination pulpit and lectern) would mean we could have the advantages of extra space and be able to use the kneelers.
The 'eagle problem' has meant we have tried out serving communion at fixed stations, which by the way is the norm for Roman Catholics and in many Anglican churches. Using the communion stations has undoubtedly speeded up the distribution of communion. However, the largest number of comments I have received on the re-ordering have been in favour of administering communion along the chancel step. Having the full length of the step accessible has also made that form of administration work better. In the end, we will probably have to decide between 'communion stations' and a shorter service or 'communion at the chancel step' and a longer service. In the meantime we will experiment with both for a little longer.
We are currently using the public address system belonging to the Delta Church, who use our building on Saturdays. Thanks to their generosity, we have been spared some considerable expense in upgrading our old system. The present arrangement is temporary (no surprise there!), but we hope soon to have the equipment properly installed.
Richard Pamplin
As some of you were probably on holiday in July I am repeating some of the PS's as they are still appropriate and there has been little response.
P.S. (1) There was no 'history corner' at the Summer Event, despite a valiant effort by Hans Pfyffer, who supplied a selection of photographs and some old magazines. However, with our 100th Anniversary coming up in 2006, there is time to build on what we have ready for that occasion. If you have any mementoes of St Ursula's (or Thun or Neuchâtel), or if you could record a recollection of a significant event ('The Fire', John Le Carré, anything!) please let me know.
P.S. (2) As I write this, we are still looking for more musicians for our Sunday worship, especially for some organists, or even just one organist. Please keep praying.
P.S. (3) Now that Karen See, our Administrative Assistant, has left for Vienna, the Church Council must decide how to cover the work she was doing. Please pray for the right solution and for some capable volunteers to assist Sharon meanwhile. [N.B. Wendy also needs help printing the magazine]
P.S. (4) The new borrowed public address system only works well if it is operated properly (and could prove expensive if it is not!). Hans Wenger has taken on the task of chief operator (Thank you Hans). He needs a number of helpers. Volunteers - to be trained to use the system - please speak to Hans.