Whilst I agree that church can be too stuffy, I dislike informality bordering on chaos. I like a church service to have a clear start. If there is a choir and they process in at the start of a service, this acts as a signal that the service is about to start. What I do not like is when the vicar emerges from the vestry like a gameshow host exiting the wings of the stage and bellows "Good morning!". This is often followed by a series of notices which can take 5 minutes.
As an organist I play atmospheric music before the service and the procedure above negates all I have hoped to achieve.
Similarly, at the end, we need to go from the communion to the post-communion hymn and then the blessing and voluntary. There should be no waffle after the hymn: this happens in many churches.
So today, after my first service, I had to go a few miles across the Benefice to play for a Cafe Service; the first I have ever attended. The start of the 'service' was disorderly with a cry of "shall we make a start then?". I did not need to play music before or afterwards.
The 'service' was pitched at the childen who were present to a large extent so it was a bit like being in Sunday School. In places I felt awkward as people were asked to talk about occasions when they had resisted temptation.
The vicar took the first service and attended the second, but did not take it. Afterwards I made a point of having a private conversation to bury the hatchet and move forward from the events of the last few days.
I am glad it is all over.
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