The LINK: 5/23
Dear Church Family,
These past several months we have tried something new as congregation on Sunday mornings. On the first Sunday of each month, beginning in January, we have offered one Combined Service at 10:00am which has, on those mornings, replaced our regular 9:00am Contemporary Service and 11:00am Traditional Service. Combining worshipers from the two services, our worship style has been a blend of our regular service styles.
The feedback from the congregation has been very positive. The most common response has been the enjoyment of worshipping with members of the “other” service, having the opportunity to better to get to know them during the greeting time during worship as well as the fellowship time after worship. Another observation has been the pleasure of the increased number of worshippers in the Sanctuary, wherein the singing and other forms of congregational participation take on an added vibrancy simply by having more people participating. Of course, it is harder getting around the Sanctuary during the greeting time to see friends and meet new people, with the aisles more crowded, but everyone seems to be getting along just fine.
On these Combined Sundays, we have heard from various members of our church family share spiritual insights from their personal faith journeys. These messages have been well received, with many reflecting on how much what was shared spoke to their own, personal situations. For myself, it gives me a Sunday “off” from preparing and giving the message, a nice monthly break which serves to refresh me for the rest of the month.
Given this positive reaction to the Combined Service, our Board in April decided to extend our current worship format through the month of September. As we are prayerfully hopeful of having a new pastor on board in September, the Board felt it appropriate to reevaluate our worship format with the input of the new pastor at that time.
There was some discussion at the Board meeting of extending the Combined Service Sunday to other Sundays of the month, but the value of providing a diversity of styles in Worship by offering two services was determined to be still a vital aspect of our worship as a congregation.
As we continue to worship the Lord, through Sunday gatherings and throughout the week individually and in smaller groups, let us remember to pray for His guidance of our Pastor Search Committee. They meet regularly to discuss pastoral resumes, review candidate sermons, and engage selected applicants in video conversations. We look forward with great anticipation for the person to be revealed whom the head of our church, Jesus Christ, has chosen for us.
Yours in Christ,