review: Christ Church, Lavender Bay

Here's the final review of my trip.     (again h/t to The Mystery Worshipper, with whom I have no affiliation, for the headings). 


The church: Christ Church, Lavender Bay,  Sydney  
Denomination:  Anglican Church of Australia. 
The building: The building celebrated its centenary on the preceding Sunday.  It's a fairly straightforward late 19th/early 20th century Anglican church.  Probably seats about 250 people, I'd guess.  
The church: The church is, I think, on reasonable terms with the wider evangelically-minded diocese of Sydney Anglicans, but would shy away from the more fundamentalist elements of that mindset.  The congregation reflects its neighbourhood - see below - though skewed, I'd say, towards the upper age range of that demographic.
The neighborhood: Sydney's north shore is home to well-heeled professionals - a former Prime Minister of Australia lives nearby and attends the church.
The cast: Rector, Patrick Collins, associate minister Ross McDonald (I think; he didn't have a speaking part); and a a choir of five; plus two people who read lessons and one who led prayers.
The date & time: Sunday 15th August, 10am.

What was the name of the service?
Holy Communion
How full was the building?
Maybe 40-50%.Did anyone welcome you personally?
Yes.  I was with a friend, and so we had many greetings and introductions.Was your pew comfortable?
Not too bad, really.
How would you describe the pre-service atmosphere?
Quiet and reserved.

What were the exact opening words of the service?

Welcome to Christ Church, Lavender Bay.

What books did the congregation use during the service?

A service sheet contained the hymns; the liturgy was in the Anglican Church of Australia prayer book (an interesting reversal from last week!)

What musical instruments were played?
Organ.  

Did anything distract you?
Not a great deal, besides sitting under an enormous electric fire, blasting infra-red at me as if I needed toasting.

Was the worship stiff-upper-lip, happy clappy, or what?

Low and Liturgical.  Four traditional-style hymns; spoken liturgy, with all the main bits included but none of the theatrical flights of fancy some are wont to indulge.  A distinctive and rather endearing feature of the church's worship is that at the very end of the service, all are invited to share prayer requests - generally by going forward for prayer - and after a little quiet discussion, the Rector prays aloud for each, with as much or as little detail as is appropriate.

Exactly how long was the sermon?

Around 20 minutes. Maybe a little more.
On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher?
5, perhaps.

In a nutshell, what was the sermon about?

It was a bible study on the Psalm set for the day, Psalm 92.  Praising God for who he is; regardless of adversity.  Nothing earth-shattering; perhaps naive in places; but good devotional stuff.

Which part of the service was like being in heaven?

hmm.  That's a toughie.

And which part was like being in... er... the other place?

Being roasted by the heater above me.  It's not as if the weather was cold.  These Sydney folks don't know when they have it good...

What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost?

Being with friends, I had plenty of people to talk to.

How would you feel about making this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)?

Probably under 5.  There's nothing offensive here, but no edge, either.  I'd be 10 years younger than the average age, at least, and that would bother me.

Did the service make you feel glad to be a Christian?

Yes, in a light, middle-class sort of way.

What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time?

Going to communion with the ex Prime Minister of Australia.