The Worship Task Group continued our conversation with a discussion of Vine Street’s Sunday morning schedule. The current schedule is
- 8:30am worship in chapel
- 9:30am Christian education for children and adults
- 10:45am worship in sanctuary
- Coffee & fellowship in the columbarium/reception area before and after the 10:45am service
We recommend that we continue to follow the basic order of events, but start earlier in order to allow an earlier start time for the current 10:45am service. A new schedule could look something like this
- 8:00am worship in chapel (45 minutes)
- 9:00am Christian education for children and adults (45 minutes)
- 10:00am worship in sanctuary (55-75 minutes)
We consider it crucial that we move ahead with plans for transforming the fellowship hall into a welcome area (see Journey story) where guests can be greeted, information can be shared in a variety of ways, friends can hang out, and good coffee is available from 7:45 till noon (we pay a barista and help offset the cost by charging for the coffee). The current entrance to the fellowship hall from the parking lot would become the main point of entry on Sunday morning.
We highly recommend hiring teachers for the children’s Sunday School to allow parents to participate in groups on Sunday morning. This may be a good opportunity for students in general, and students of early childhood development/education in particular.
We urge members and leadership to continue to greet guests on Sunday morning and help them find their way around our complicated campus.
We suggest roping off sections of the sanctuary, both to enhance the sense of being part of a community on the part of the congregants, and to make serving communion with trays less awkward.
We are very aware that changes in schedule are difficult to make; we suggest that we use the summer to introduce the changes and invite feedback from congregants, guests, and staff.