Day 19 - Celebrate - #rethinkchurch #rethinkphoto

Lovely bright crispy frosty morning.
 
Sadly it seems to have rubbed off on a few people in church today and for me they were making a mountain out of a molehill.

The hot topic at the annual meeting was the removal of some pews.  Who’d have thought people could be so attached to such uncomfortable wooden benches.  Especially given historically churches didn’t have them.  Some people even came to church jsut to make their voice heard when they don’t come normally.

The Kirk Session have agreed that the removal of a few pews is the best way forward to make better use of space, make it safer and provide better acoustics for the choir. 
For me as a relative newcomer to the church I don’t have any preconceptions on what it should be.  I am a strong believer in looking as to how things can improve and I think being new gives me a different perspective and I can see things differently than the way it has always been.

Church congregations are dwindling and aging so we need to do what we can to improve and move forward.  By removing these pews (not all of them) it will make a safe area for children to be part of the service but also not right in the mix.  The layout of the church currently has a raised platform and it is an accident waiting to happen.  It will make it safer for the teas and coffees after the service as there will be a larger space.  The choir will be able to have instruments and be able to position themselves to face the main body of the church.

Whilst everyone is entitled to have their opinion but to be so blind to the future is alarming.  We need to take a step back and consider what it is like for an outsider coming in, and how we can make changes that make them feel welcome and want to come to church regularly.

Otherwise we will be left with an empty building and that would be a great loss to the community.  I don’t see that happening as we have an excellent minister, but we need to help her to continue to move it forward.

We need to celebrate the idea of change not be frosty towards it.