I am cross. I went to play at a church today and in the space of 45 minutes I only played one hymn. The 'hour long' service lasted 80 minutes!
After my pre-service music the first hymn was announced at 1105 (5 minutes late). As it is Lent there is no Gloria and the Gradual hymn has been dropped since post-Covid singing has re-started. I could have turned the wind off.
The reason is that the sermon was exceedingly long because it was about money. Then it dawned on me - we are near the end of the Tax Year and people are being urged to rethink their giving. I have heard all this before.
What was annoying is that it was all dressed up to fit in with the theme of God's generosity but the sermon was essentially a detailed explanation of how the Parish Share or Quota works.
For me, this amounted to a lecture and is one of the reasons people do not come to church. Who wants to sit and be lectured for 20+ minutes when you have (presumably) come to worship. We all know the church needs more money to meet expenses. Surely a polite request would do just as well, with the offer of more details for those who are interested.
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