Worship Space and Experience

Pilgrims:

We have begun a series of conversations about the future of Pilgrim hosted by the Communications and Evangelism Ministry. We have identified several suggestions and arranged them into topic areas which we will address in four separate conversations. Next Sunday (August 1) following worship (back in the chancel at 10:30) we will talk about some of the ideas that are floating about with regard to our worship experience and the space in which it occurs. Some of the items include:

• We could remove some of the barriers to movement in the chancel (the platform or stage at the front of the sanctuary). The modesty panels and the pews move easily in that space. What if we put the pulpit and lectern and altar on wheels and move them to wherever we need them?
• We have tried using video in worship to project words so that we don’t have to look down, but the power of the projector isn’t enough to do moving video. What if we get a couple of flat panel video monitors so that we can use video as a part of worship? We could use movie clips as sermon illustrations and even produce our own resources.
• We are a small congregation in a big space. We want to enjoy the majesty of the sanctuary but we also want to have a greater sense of intimacy with each other. What if we take out some of the pews and arrange chairs in the middle of the room? We can have a space within a space. We can still have the same capacity for the whole sanctuary when we have a big event but we can also use a part of it when we have a smaller group.
• The floor tile in the chancel is crumbling, the carpet in the aisles is threadbare, the roof leaks and the ceiling is peeling paint and plaster, the finish on the wood in the chancel doesn’t match the rest of the room and it is stained and worn. Despite our wish to be inclusive, those with difficulty walking or using stairs can’t get to the pulpit or lectern. This space should be the pride of Pilgrim but it is shabby. Can we decide what we want the space to look like and find the resources to make it right?
• While we are proud of our diversity, our worship experience could be more diverse. We don’t always use inclusive language and there are styles of worship which are not reflected in what we do in worship. We have some variation is style—communion on the first Sunday and Kwanza after Christmas—but otherwise we are pretty consistent. To what degree do we want diversity or consistency in worship? What does style say about who we are?

Our intention in the conversation is to move toward an action plan in which we identify what we want to do, who will do it, and by when. We are not developing an action plan for fixing the roof or moving the pews. We are developing a plan by which Pilgrim will make decisions and move into our shared future. That means someone will take the ideas and turn them into proposals for the appropriate Ministries and the Council. This may result in a Congregational Meeting to approve specific actions or we may find ways to make things happen within current policy.

Plan to stay after worship next Sunday for this important meeting.