VIEW FROM THE MANSE 2.0 - APRIL 2024

 

Our session has had a number of productive conversations lately and I want to inform you of a few changes that may be coming. Many of them involve changes to our order of worship.

          First, as many of you know we have a men’s ministry coordinator, Lou Hoffis, and we have a media ministry coordinator, Matt Randles. But we have been without a women’s ministry coordinator for some time now. Gabe Johnson was our women’s ministry coordinator for nearly a decade, but she felt (and I agreed) that it was time for her to pass on that role (she recently became an elder, and now has other responsibilities in the life of our church).

          This past week the session heard from Laurie McWhorter about her heart and vision for the role of Women’s Ministry Coordinator and we unanimously agreed that we would love for Laurie to fill this position. We will install her and pray for her in an upcoming service, but we are glad that the Holy Spirit has led her to this ministry among us. We look forward to what the Spirit will do in our congregation through her.

          When COVID hit in 2020 we had to make some changes in our Sunday service. Some of them were good and necessary and some have grown a little stale. We are not fans of changing things just to change them. But we do not like when ‘the way we do things’ actually becomes a distraction. What does that mean? Sometimes, we become so accustomed to the way things are done that we stop hearing or seeing or thinking about what we are doing. In that way, our rhythm becomes a distraction.

          Here are a few ways the Sunday morning order of worship could change. We would like to include a minute for missions on a more regular basis. We would love for the people of APC to hear more frequently about the missions ministries that we are involved in around the globe. Even if that just meant a member of the mission’s committee summing up a recent newsletter.

          We would like to include something called, “testimonies of the people.” I mentioned in a recent sermon that we should be giving God praise for what he has done in our life. We would like for folks in our congregation to take 3-5 minutes to share their story. Perhaps it’s their story of coming to faith, or maybe it’s simply a recent answer to prayer. If you would be willing to share on a Sunday morning, please let me know. God’s people need to be talking about God’s work in their lives in the midst of their gathering.

          I often conclude our services by saying, “Go forth in the peace of Christ.” Some would call this the passing of the peace and maybe it is. But maybe we could move the passing of the peace up earlier in the service. What if we took 5 minutes and passed the peace following the children’s message? If you are an introvert, you might cringe at this idea, but many of you have commented that there are people you do not know. This could be an opportunity to meet those folks. And, you may find that you will introduce yourself to someone you think is new and they will say, “I’ve been here for 10 years.” We’ll laugh about that together and share those moments.

These are possible changes. Maybe it’s too many. We certainly can’t do all of this every Sunday, but as we try some of these things and give ourselves times to adjust, they may become small blessings in our lives.

           If you have any ideas or feedback, please reach out to me via email, cell, stop by the office, or catch me Sunday morning.

Bryan Fitzgerald, Pastor

(bryan@argylepresbyterian.org)

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