Was it worth it?

I played for a once monthly Evensong yesterday and I had had to do quite a lot of work on the anthem and the psalm. There were some nine choir members, but no tenor, and only six people in the congregation, one of whom was my partner who had just come to support me rather than staying at home.

The anthem was quite long and probably better for another occasion, to be honest.

My feelings on the subject have surprised me (or perhaps they have not). Knowing the choir as I do they are all nice people and they tried their best. They have no way of knowing what size the congregation will be. I enjoy Evensong although the church is some distance from where I live.

To sum up, a genuine act of worship is always worth performing (the sermon was a little long) but if the trend continues I do not see there being Choral Evensongs happening for much longer.

Us and them

At one church where I play there are a number of people who robe and sit in the choir stalls in the chancel. However, they do not sing an anthem and the communion setting is not used (except on group service days). They just sing the hymns in harmony.

The small congregation tends to be located from the middle to the rear of the nave. It struck me that this is an 'us' and 'them' situation and one wonders what the point is.

Goodbye £100m

Justin Welby defends £100m fund to ‘address past wrongs of slavery’ as churches struggle.

The Most Rev Justin Welby acknowledged fears over 'stretched' parish finances, but justified the £100 million slavery reparations fund by saying 'it is now time to take action to address our shameful past' - Anadolu Agency. (Found on Yahoo)

One commenter was sad that the church felt it needed to atone for past sins. He went on, "...because of all the parish priests and volunteers who selflessly support the day-to-day activities of the Church, yet are starved of funds and expected to do more and more by combining parishes. Meanwhile, the bureaucracy of the central Church seems to grow apace, absorbing ever more money.

My incredulity is at the astounding ability of the Church, presumably under the direction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, to jump on any woke bandwagon."

I certainly agree this is bizarre and a kick in the teeth for parishes.

Are church people boring?

I am starting to think that some people who frequent churches are simply boring: alternatively, it could just be that many English people are boring.

I was at a bellringing event on Saturday which started with some ringing for an hour: this was fine. Then I played for a service - also fine, if poorly attended.

We then went to the church hall for tea followed by an AGM. Tea took far too long even allowing for the number of people who had to be served. Of course, this was due to chit-chat. Some people who had not been at the service or the ringing before that came to the meeting.

There was not a lot to discuss nor many decisions to be made yet the business meeting lasted over an hour by which time the post-meeting ringing was late starting and was actually abandoned because so few returned to the church.

I have attended Zoom meetings when somebody is allowed to speak and they do so at length, slowly and without making any real points: they just want to vent. So, at this in-person meeting, a few people spoke but nothing they said move the meeting forward at all.

I conclude that many (English) people simply like to fill their time pontificating and do not know when to shut up. It is the same with sermons.

Religious truths

This just about sums it up.

UK's first non-binary priest

This story (UKs first non-binary priest) cropped up on Ancient Briton.

It would take too long to explain how I feel about it. I do know, however, that views of sexual orientation change with time and I for one feel that Alan Turin was treated appallingly (by society) in the 1950s. It would not happen now: I am glad that people these days are are more englightened. Indeed it seems that one can only get anywhere these days (particularly on the stand-up comedy circuit) if one is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. So I feel that society has far too relaxed a view of these issues and the church struggles to keep up and make sense of it all.

It will not be long before the C of E has many such clergy and - I expect - it already does have a large sprinking of non-heterosexual priests.

On balance, it is better for it to be out in the open than underground. One comment on Ancient Briton says - "The sickness continues to spread". Yet, if you love somebody, you love them as they are.

It can make some of feel uncomfortable at times. I will leave it there.

Unexpected item in church

These days many churches have a small kitchen area so that post-service coffee can be served. The usual set-up involves a serving area, sink, taps, draining board, hot water geyser and the necessary drawers and cupboards for storage: i.e. like a kitchen in your home. If a church does not have a church hall or anteroom the kitchen (which is sometimes screened with tasteful oak) is very useful.

Until yesterday I had not seen a dishwasher installed in a church.

My friend commented that it helps keep the church 'going'. By this I suppose he meant that the social aspect of a cuppa is important, and removing the tedium of washing up is a boon for those tasked with producing refreshments.

Leave church happy

I think there is a feeling amongst some that a congregation ought to leave church in a good frame of mind having had a 'nice' time. (Although this conflicts with my other belief  - which I hope to follow up - that going to church means we are made to feel less worthy people than we actually are).

To create a feeling of a good time, modern vicars are - as I have observed before - rather chatty and familiar during their services.

From my point of view, I will leave church happy if I feel [a] that I have done a good job on the organ and [b] if I feel worship has been carried out correctly. Setting aside [a], factor [b] does not happen a great deal especially when the sermon is too long. When will clergy realise that the human mind can only focus for a certain amount of time? They seem to grab (hold hostage) their captive audience and want to give a lecture. If I read a book (i.e. one which is not just a story) I may need to go over a sentence to ensure that I have understood it. One cannot do that with a sermon.

Sermons need to be shorter.

Embarrasing

I do not think going to church should be an embarrasing experience. Yesterday, in the intercessions, the leader said, "Do not be afraid to call out the name of somebody you wish to pray for". Nobody did, thankfully.

Now, when I briefly attended an evangelical church this would have been fine and not out of the ordinary. Thus, I conclude, that those now tasked with leading worship in C of E churches are striving to make services more akin to those of the evangelical brigade.

English people are a reserved lot; none moreso than me. I do not go to church to cringe!