This fall we started with a bang. We augmented our normal schedule with two book groups, youth group, worship, and an additional service project. We were once again experimenting, throwing things on the wall and seeing what stuck. It often takes lots of adjustments to find what works. We’ll have different things in October as we slow down and settle in to this season of our community’s life.
The secret for us is that we start with a lot and then find what works. We slow down and live in to the spaces where our community is thriving and then we start again when the moment is right with new offerings and experiments in how we do things. One key is not to get upset when something doesn’t work or things change. There are times when I feel like I’ve failed because one thing didn’t take off. I’m working to remind myself about all the places where things are taking off and it is clear that God is present. It is so easy to focus on the things that don’t work out, ignoring all the beauty and grace that are flourishing. Part of why we let go and slow down the schedule each time we do this is to really appreciate those things that are working and to create space for imagination and new vision to come so we are ready for what God is calling us to next.
When we are ready to try something new we get feedback from folks in our community and we have our own ideas about where we should be going. We’ve learned that ideas and passion aren’t enough. The lived experience is really the only way we know if something is going to be successful in this season. We can have a super idea and support from our community, and yet as we live in to things we sometimes find it’s not the right thing. We’ve been doing Taize worship now for nearly three years on Friday evenings. Based on attendance and feedback we moved worship to Wednesdays and changed to an emerging worship format from Taize. We still have to find our rhythm here, Wednesdays don’t seem to be best in practice for folks even though people liked the idea of a Wednesday worship.
We will continue to experiment and adjust as our community develops further. I think this rhythm of
busyness then focused work helps us to have a culture where new things are allowed and change and adjustment is expected as we faithful follow our dynamic God.
-Eilidh
| Jeff and I experimenting with playground equipment in Scotland in 2015 |
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