Sunday, June 22, 2008

Afternoon services coming to an end

My Sunday morning routine, for the past nine years, has been to get up, laze around reading the newspapers, go out for breakfast and maybe a leisurely grocery shopping trip, do a chore or two around the house, and, about 2 p.m., start getting ready for a church service. Except for the weekends I spent serving the Vashon Island fellowship, which met at 9:30 a.m., all of my parish service has been with congregations which rented space in other churches and had to meet in the afternoon.

That's about to change. Today and next Sunday are the last times we will meet at 4 p.m. We will meet for worship outdoors on the lawn of our new building in August and, as soon as we can get the occupancy permit, we will move into our new home and begin holding year-round services at 10 a.m. or thereabouts. (This congregation goes on hiatus in July.)

I wonder what kinds of changes this will mean. Most of our folks are eager to begin meeting in the mornings, though a few confess to liking 4 p.m. as a meeting time because they can begin work in their gardens early in the day, at least during the warmer months. Some are just accustomed to the later time and not eager to shift their routines.

So we may lose a few people when we begin meeting at a more traditional time, but overall I think we'll gain many more. Meeting at a non-traditional time sounds cool, sounds radical, sounds like it will attract just the kind of unique folks we're looking for, but the truth is, it doesn't. It's hard to attract families with children to a 4 p.m. service. It's hard to attract any but the most determined to an afternoon service, even though it sounds feasible.

Changing our meeting time is a no-brainer, because of the new building. We have to grow beyond our 75 current adult members, in order to grow our programming and reach out into the community more effectively. But I've seen it become a real point of conflict in a congregation.

In a former church I served, it was a bone of contention that could hardly be discussed. In fact, one woman, a relative newcomer to the congregation, stood up in the annual meeting and cried because changing times meant that her family could not attend all together, since her husband was a member of a local sangha which met at 10 a.m. So the issue went back under the table and didn't come up again until a subsequent minister discovered a rental place that could be used in the mornings. I wonder how it will turn out!

Anyhow, though we UUs often diverge strongly and proudly from tradition, this is one area where tradition serves us well. People expect to go to church on Sunday mornings, not on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Churches that meet at those times do not tend to grow very rapidly; they quickly reach a point where they've exhausted the pool of people who like a non-traditional time and they are unable to retain families with small children because that's not a good time of day for small ones.

So how will my routine change when we have morning services? Well, I'll have less time in the morning for breakfast at a restaurant or to do my grocery shopping or laundry. I'll have just enough time to give the sermon a final polish, to spend a little centering time before going over to the church, to get out of the jeans and into the pantyhose. And instead of coming home after the service and social hour and collapsing in front of America's Funniest Home Videos and Tom Bergeron's attempts at humor, I'll have an afternoon of rest and recuperation ahead of me, with an evening in which I could even go to a movie or a concert. I have not had this opportunity for nine years!

I sympathize with folks for whom a change in routine is difficult, but I've never been too fazed by changes. I tend to look at a situation, say to myself, "well, that's how it is; how shall I approach it?" and then move on. I'm pretty pragmatic about change, even the scariest ones. But lots of folks aren't that way and I understand that. I'm looking forward to whatever the new meeting time brings. I'm especially looking forward to meeting all those new UUs out there on the island who haven't made it to a service yet because they are already busy at 4 p.m.!

12 comments:

Earthbound Spirit said...

Be prepared to welcome more first-time worshippers! Congratulations on reaching this milestone, too.

Lilylou said...

Thanks, EBS, I think that we will eagerly welcome them!

Anonymous said...

How exciting! It sounds like a healthy change.

Although I don't have a conflict with Sunday morning worship, I do appreciate when I have a chance to worship or participate in a small group at an additional time during the week, like a Wednesday evening. That way, if I am out of town for the weekend or something unusual comes up, I can look forward to some mid-week spiritual sustenance too. Perhaps something like that, if it's not already available, would help assuage the concerns of the minority that don't like Sunday mornings.

Lilylou said...

We will very likely do something like that, Shelby. I would like to offer worship at a different time during the week in addition to Sunday morning.

Mile High Pixie said...

I like Shelby's idea. When I was in grad school, I used to go to church for Sunday 7pm Evensong. I needed Sunday am for working in studio when it was quiet and all the loud, annoying kids in our studio were at home sleeping. I could also use that time for laundry, a habit I still have today. At the same time, 10am is a good time; not too early and not too late. Enough time for a cup of coffee and then out the door.

(Evidently, my Sunday mornings revolve around coffee and laundry.)

Lilylou said...

I'm getting kind of revved up about the Sunday evensong idea. Thanks, Pixie! Now it's off to church!

Joel said...

Whidbey Island has warmer months? Than what? :)

Stephanie said...

I look forward to hearing how the time change affects things.

I'm a fan, of course, of the non-Sunday-morning time because of social conflicts, which makes me sound more popular than I am. But I do like alternative times, like others suggested. I also like church at night a LOT.

Masasa said...

I personally think a Sunday evening Evensong might be difficult unless a staff person not involved in the Sunday morning's ministry was leading it. But, an evening Evensong some time during the week does hold a great deal of potential.

Lilylou said...

Yep, it will have to be thought through pretty well; it would be asking a lot of the morning team to also put on an evening service. But we'll figure something out. After all, lots of other ministers preach morning and evening on Sunday and hold prayer meeting at midweek as well. My dad did, for sure!

Joseph Santos-Lyons said...

wy'east is trying to do this (again), and its a rough road i imagine changing the culture. i think however, to be a vibrant church, at least part of your community needs to have a regular sunday morning space. that doesn't mean there can't be great worship at other times.

Lilylou said...

Thanks, Joseph. I hope that little group, which I continue to be very fond of, can make a good decision.