TLDR: Our 9:01 Service in the Price Fellowship Hall is returning to Saint Dunstan’s. Please read below for more information and ways to get involved.
With the steady growth of our 1:00pm service, the Vestry and I have come face to face with a few issues: 1. The children in attendance are not benefiting from our excellent Children’s Chapel or Sunday School, and they can really benefit from these (the children are bilingual.) 2. We have no adult discipleship offerings for those who come because, by the time we end the service at 2:15 to 2:30pm, folks just want to go home to prepare for another week of work, school, camps, etc. 3. There is no good time for fellowship for a community that loves getting together, sharing a meal, and chatting a bit after or before church. We have had a few potluck lunches at 11:30 or 12:00, but by the time attendees finish church, they would have been here for 3 to 4 hours, and that is a bit too long for some. As a result, only about half of our Spanish-speaking congregants attended lunches. Not to mention the fact that 1:00pm services require clergy, servers, and Vestry-of-the-Day to be onsite from early morning (6:00 to 7:00am to late afternoon 2:30-3:30pm.) 4. We haven’t had many opportunities to create events that bring together the English-speaking and the Spanish-speaking congregations. As a result, we have created the problem I wanted to avoid from the beginning: “two different congregations occupying the same campus.” I want one Saint Dunstan’s, one budget, and one united family with people of various backgrounds and customs. This dream has eluded us so far.
When discussing these issues at Vestry, one of our young members brought up the idea of resurrecting the 9:01 Service, house it in the Price Fellowship Hall, and make it a service in Spanish for anyone who prefers this style of worship, regardless of ethnicity. This move would allow us to relocate the musical instruments used by this service to the Price Fellowship Hall, opening some additional space in the church loft for our Praise Team and Parish Choir. I was a bit concerned that the attendees to the 1:00pm service would see leaving the sanctuary as a downgrade, or perhaps a symbol that they are of lesser value. I promised to speak to these congregants and get back to Vestry in August. When I presented the idea to them, I was met with tears of joy. They absolutely loved the idea of their children joining Children’s Chapel and Sunday School. They were enthusiastic about the idea of ESL classes and adult formation options after the service. They loved the idea of turning the space from a worship space after the service to a gathering space for joint events with the English services. There is a desire to gather and get to know English speaking members. After a few minutes of conversation, they began to dream about their children joining acolytes, and some of their members becoming Sunday School teachers or aides. Several members who have professional careers as psychologists and social workers spoke enthusiastically about their desire to lead various programs that could benefit the whole church (parenting classes, stress reduction, emotional wellness, etc.)
Moving the service to 9:01 is not without some challenges: 1. Currently, Father Pinzon covers for me and I cover for him, during times of vacation or illness. In the future, we will need to schedule additional clergy to cover either the 9:00 or 9:01 service at times of vacation. This will change when our Curate becomes ordained a priest, but for the next six months or so this will be necessary. 2. Having two services at the same time will stretch our acolytes, ushers, and eucharistic ministers until we build enough capacity in the 9:01 service to add members to these ministries. 3. Vestry of the day will have to be a bit more mobile, walking from one to the other service to ensure everything is as it should be.
Proper planning will lessen the impact of these issues, and I pray that many of you who are not yet involved in Altar Guild, Usher Core, Acolytes, Lectors, and Eucharistic Ministers will volunteer to join these ministries. With an increased need for volunteers for both services, we will need to grow all of these ministries. Training will be provided and you will find your life enriched. Please call our office and we will direct you to the right coordinator for the ministry you are interested in. I promise that you will only have to serve a few hours per month.
I am especially excited about joint coffee hours in the Mace Room and joint potluck lunches in the Price Fellowship Hall on a regular basis. There are hundreds of interesting stories in both congregations that need to be shared as both groups get to know each other and develop friendships. Engagement with others is crucial to the overall growth and health of Saint Dunstan’s. We have more in common than we think, and we all can benefit from each other’s experience and faith. Life is better in community and we are better together.
I welcome you to join our first 9:01 service on Sunday, August 27, in the Price Fellowship Hall. This will be the celebration of the first anniversary of the service for Spanish speakers, and we are planning a big Potluck Lunch afterwards with music and dancing. If you have an expertise in ESL teaching, introductory Spanish for English speakers, or any Christian Formation class you can teach in Spanish, please let us know soon, as we are putting together the calendar for discipleship offerings for the Fall. If you would like to contribute to our ministry to Spanish speakers, please write a check to Saint Dunstan’s with a Memo: Spanish.
Please continue to pray for the success of all our ministries and call me with any questions you may have. May our Lord continue to bless you,
Fr. Roman+
