The following is the text of a letter from James to the congregations at St Francis’:
As we continue to develop as a worshipping community, there will be some adjustments to the shape of our worship on Sunday mornings from the beginning of 2012. My hope as Vicar is that these will help us to grow in love for God and for each other as we seek to serve God, each other and our community.
The first change, which will apply at both services in the mornings, is that we will no longer take up the collection within the service. The collection plate will be available at the back of church for those who wish to give in that way but I would take this opportunity to encourage those who are able to to consider giving by Standing Order. Giving in this automated way makes life much easier both for the person giving and for the parish in terms of budgeting and not missing payments.
In addition to this, there will also be a bin at the back of church, which will be for people to donate food that will go to help those in Luton who need this sort of help.
Secondly, instead of having refreshments separately after each service, we are going to start sharing the refreshment time between the two services. We are one church community even though we worship in two distinct styles. Meeting like this will help us to develop our life together. Those who are part of the 11.00 services may consider themselves invited to gather “from 10.30 for 11.00”.
The pattern of worship at “10.30 for 11.00” will also change. Rather than sharing Holy Communion on the third Sunday of each month, this service will now be on the fourth Sunday with the All-Age service remaining on the second Sunday. The shape of the service itself will also be slightly different to how it is currently structured. The changes will mean that even when it is not an “All-Age” week, we are more integrated across the generations and will include the children coming back from Sunday Club, into the worship area to rejoin the grown-ups before the end of the service.
I am really excited about the future of St Francis’ and look forward to seeing how we develop and I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Matthew as Curate, Sue and Brian as Churchwardens and all who have been part of discussing and planning these changes. If you would like to ask any questions about these changes – or of course any other aspect of church life – please don’t hesitate to speak to me.