How was church today?

[Mendalla]

Ah. Okay, thanks Nancy and @Mendalla. We have no choir, and 19 in all in church. No kids.

Now that is small. Mine would be somewhere in between at this point. Total membership of maybe 70 but really only half or so of that actually show up and get really involved. Choir is a bit variable, maybe about same size as Nancy's but it is a very informal sort of choir. Practice maybe once a week, no gowns, not too much structure even. It's more a bunch of people who like singing than a formal choir. Not sure if they will be singing in my service or not. They used to do only one service a month, which usually was the one done by the minister.

 

[Jaebius]

Now that is small. Mine would be somewhere in between at this point. Total membership of maybe 70 but really only half or so of that actually show up and get really involved. Choir is a bit variable, maybe about same size as Nancy's but it is a very informal sort of choir. Practice maybe once a week, no gowns, not too much structure even. It's more a bunch of people who like singing than a formal choir. Not sure if they will be singing in my service or not. They used to do only one service a month, which usually was the one done by the minister.

Yes, we're quite small. The numbers have been even smaller though. They were down to 8 at the lowest point. My former church has 40-50 people at services. There was no regular choir, but we used to put choirs together for such events as Christmas and Easter. The church I'm in now doesn't even have a worship team. The pastor leads us in singing, playing his guitar.

 

[crazyheart]

I forget @Jae , why are you at this church>. Why didn't you stay at the former church?

 

[Jaebius]

I forget @Jae , why are you at this church>. Why didn't you stay at the former church?

The pastor asked me and a number of other people to come to the church to help revitalize it. I left my former church with the blessing of my former pastor.

 

[revjohn]

Moderators I have met:

The (then) Right Reverend Sang Chul Lee
The (then) Right Reverend Bill Phipps
The Very Reverend Stan McKay
The (then) Right Reverend Marion Pardy
The (then) Right Reverend Mardi Tindal
The (then) Right Reverend Gary Paterson
The Very Reverend Lois Wilson
The Right Reverend Jordan Cantwell.

I gave Marion my screech at my screeching in ceremony. The church camp has a ban on alcohol so we were given small bottles of screech. I kissed the cod so no worries. As I stood there wondering what I would do with mine Marion commented favourably on it and I offered it to her right away. She was pleased and my problem was solved.

Mardi was director of Five Oaks and regularly attended meetings of Erie Presbytery so we crossed paths more than once.

Jordan and I shared a table at GC 42 and have bumped into one another a few times since then at various conferences.

They are pretty busy folk flitting from one function to another so it isn't surprising to hear some rarely encounter a Moderator.

 

[Tabitha]

Tomorrow is the last day of our stewardship month. There's a potluck lunch after the service. I'm bringing chicken legs.

 

[Luce NDs]

Shouldn't one stew all the time considering what those enlightened of thoughts do when thye wish for what belonged to the other?

Imagine the cultivator of de vine ...

 

[Mendalla]

So, to answer my own question:

I was at the front today, as I occasionally am. Went very well overall though I stumbled on some minor stuff like the announcement of the offering because I haven't done it in a while and hadn't really done any preparation for that stuff. The sermon and other elements were, however, well received. I preached on the UU seventh principle (respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part) and how to expand it into a "covenant with the Cosmos", looking at how we could covenant to "survive, learn, and be creative". The opening words were provided by WC2's own @GeoFee in the form of his opening post to this thread. Decent turn out, even if I have preached to larger groups in the past. Kids, as mentioned in another thread, were mostly in their Hallowe'en costumes which I quite liked. Children's story consisted of talking about how I look for beauty and wonder in my travels while showing them the two videos that I posted in this thread on our 10" tablet. Nice bunch of kids even if I don't really know many of the current crop (due to being relatively inactive in the church in recent years).

 

[Jaebius]

Church went well this morning. I preached, from Ephesians 2:1-10. It was a very short sermon. We changed our worship service time this very day from 10:30am-12pm to 11am-12:15pm but while I was preaching I forgot about that and thought we were supposed to end at 12pm, so I cut my sermon short. I think I spoke for 7-10 minutes all told.

 

[Mendalla]

Church went well this morning. I preached, from Ephesians 2:1-10. It was a very short sermon. We changed our worship service time this very day from 10:30am-12pm to 11am-12:15pm but while I was preaching I forgot about that and thought we were supposed to end at 12pm, so I cut my sermon short. I think I spoke for 7-10 minutes all told.

And there was great rejoicing!

I kid, of course, but I have been in churches where the length of the sermon was actually a big issue.

My service came up short, too, but that's because I cut a reading that I decided was unnecessary to shorten it. Been suffering a tension headache/neck ache/back ache this weekend so didn't want to go too long, though drugs (legal ones) ultimately got me through it.

 

[Nancy]

When I studied to be a LLWL, our sermons were timed. We got a bit of a tongue lashing if we went over 10 minutes. Often I have people say: It's okay if you don't talk too long. I tend to talk between 10 and 15 minutes. Our church once had a minister who didn't seem to prepare her messages, and she often chatted only about 5 to 7 minutes. I often felt a little cheated by that, so I try to reach a happy medium, with evidence of thoughtful preparation. The people in the congregation deserve it.

 

[Mendalla]

When I studied to be a LLWL, our sermons were timed. We got a bit of a tongue lashing if we went over 10 minutes. Often I have people say: It's okay if you don't talk too long. I tend to talk between 10 and 15 minutes. Our church once had a minister who didn't seem to prepare her messages, and she often chatted only about 5 to 7 minutes. I often felt a little cheated by that, so I try to reach a happy medium, with evidence of thoughtful preparation. The people in the congregation deserve it.

I think we had a thread on sermon length once but I forget if it was here or on WC classic. UU sermons tend to the long end since, at least in the humanist-oriented fellowships, they used to be more or less lectures. I've shied away from that tradition, preferring a more traditional sermon but still don't worry about running to 20 minutes if I need that much. Today was one of my shorter ones, probably closer to 15.

 

[Jaebius]

And there was great rejoicing!

People told me it was a good sermon, and short too!

We've just shortened our service time by 15 minutes, and when I asked him afterwords, the Pastor told me that we should now speak for 20-30 minutes (instead of the 40 that we used to average).

I kid, of course, but I have been in churches where the length of the sermon was actually a big issue.

My service came up short, too, but that's because I cut a reading that I decided was unnecessary to shorten it. Been suffering a tension headache/neck ache/back ache this weekend so didn't want to go too long, though drugs (legal ones) ultimately got me through it.

Hope you're feeling better soon Mendalla. I've also been having a rough weekend. Slept most of yesterday and had a few chills and a slight headache. Fatigued today too, though I usually am after preaching.

 

[Jaebius]

When I studied to be a LLWL, our sermons were timed. We got a bit of a tongue lashing if we went over 10 minutes. Often I have people say: It's okay if you don't talk too long. I tend to talk between 10 and 15 minutes. Our church once had a minister who didn't seem to prepare her messages, and she often chatted only about 5 to 7 minutes. I often felt a little cheated by that, so I try to reach a happy medium, with evidence of thoughtful preparation. The people in the congregation deserve it.

10 minutes imho is too short. 15-25 I feel is about right. My mom has told me that her UCCanada Minister sometimes just speaks 5-7 minutes - way too short imho. On the other hand, a friend at church today told me that he once heard an American preacher at a Reform church preach for 2 hours.

 

[Nancy]

I'm not sure I would have enough to say for 20 to 30 minutes! The sermon does not include the Bible readings, and often there is a children's message or a life parable that is also separate, but include more talking and preparation from the worship leader.

 

[revjohn]

It isn't the quantity of minutes that makes a sermon but rather the quality of the teaching.

 

[Mendalla]

10 minutes imho is too short. 15-25 I feel is about right. My mom has told me that her UCCanada Minister sometimes just speaks 5-7 minutes - way too short imho. On the other hand, a friend at church today told me that he once heard an American preacher at a Reform church preach for 2 hours.

I've done short ones, but tend to call them something other than "sermon". Homily or meditation or something. In the end, though, John has it right:

It isn't the quantity of minutes that makes a sermon but rather the quality of the teaching.

 

[Jaebius]

I've done short ones, but tend to call them something other than "sermon". Homily or meditation or something. In the end, though, John has it right:

I can see it being a homily or meditation, and I would say that there are times when such is appropriate. What comes most immediately to my mind would be a holiday service where there are many songs being sung and passages being read.

 

[Seeler]

I generally aim for a sermon of about 15 - 20 minutes in a service of about 50 to 70 minutes (or around an hour give or take). Often I preach in a two point charge, using the same order of service. Since the larger church often has an anthem the service there is a bit longer than at the smaller church. I generally cover the theme of the children's time, which introduces the theme of the entire service, whether there are children present or not; if there are children the interaction with the children makes it a bit longer.
I do feel cheated if the service, and particularly the sermon, is really short; but I also am aware that many people have schedules - work or plans for Sunday afternoon, a roast in the oven, a kid to drive to the arena and I see them glancing at their watches or sneaking out during the final hymn if the service runs over.

Today's service was almost entirely carried by the youth, with a bit of guidance from the minister. Grandson toook up the offering. I think that he could have read a short scripture passage or prayer but he would be shy about offering to do so. The musical kids were good - playing instruments or singing. Good service for once in awhile - I wouldn't want it too often. I look forward to a good, solid, well prepared and delivered sermon by an educated and well trained leader. But they have to start somewhere.

I was proud of Grandson for his participation. A few years ago he would have lacked the confidence to even try.

 

[Inukshuk]

Moderators I have met:

The (then) Right Reverend Sang Chul Lee
The (then) Right Reverend Bill Phipps
The Very Reverend Stan McKay
The (then) Right Reverend Marion Pardy
The (then) Right Reverend Mardi Tindal
The (then) Right Reverend Gary Paterson
The Very Reverend Lois Wilson
The Right Reverend Jordan Cantwell.

I gave Marion my screech at my screeching in ceremony. The church camp has a ban on alcohol so we were given small bottles of screech. I kissed the cod so no worries. As I stood there wondering what I would do with mine Marion commented favourably on it and I offered it to her right away. She was pleased and my problem was solved.

Mardi was director of Five Oaks and regularly attended meetings of Erie Presbytery so we crossed paths more than once.

Jordan and I shared a table at GC 42 and have bumped into one another a few times since then at various conferences.

They are pretty busy folk flitting from one function to another so it isn't surprising to hear some rarely encounter a Moderator.

I am surprised that you never crossed paths with Rev David Giuliano - he seemed to spend a lot of time in Southern Ontario during the Emerging Spirit campaign. We have had some really fine Moderators in the United Church. Maybe one of the revs from WC2 will be a future Moderator - or one of the laity, for that matter.