What was the name of the service?
I don't think it had a name.
How full was the building?
Not very full - but the chairs were arranged to accommodate comfortably the 20 or so who gathered. It was explained that the previous Sunday had been a Big Event, and quite a few were missing this week.
Did anyone welcome you personally?
Several people welcomed me and introduced themselves and others.
Was your pew comfortable?
Chair, yes.
How would you describe the pre-service atmosphere?
Very relaxed, quite chatty. It carried on well-past the 3pm start time: there was a sense of community and gathering.
What were the exact opening words of the service?
Er, I can't remember. Welcome, perhaps.
What books did the congregation use during the service?
Books? C'mon. This is 2010. All the words you wanted were projected with tasteful backgrounds onto a medium-sized screen.
What musical instruments were played?
Acoustic guitar and tom-tom-type drum.
Did anything distract you?
Not a great deal. The space was quite tranquil.
Was the worship stiff-upper-lip, happy clappy, or what?
Low-cringe contemporary. Songs - I knew none of them; maybe they were written by the musicians - were singable tunes, though the band gave a strong (and very musical) lead, so you could stop and listen if you wanted to.
Exactly how long was the sermon?
I didn't time it. I'm guesing about 20 minutes.
On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher?
6. Engaging and clear (but see below).
In a nutshell, what was the sermon about?
There were two parts. The first, shorter part, was a report on an international conference Pastor Karl had recently attended. We were left in little doubt that Crave MCC is part of MCC and that MCC helps to define what Crave MCC is all about, and that MCC had lately had a conference in Mexico. (yes, MCC featured heavily - yet is not, evidently, over-prescriptive).
The second part was about Amos. There's a theme of justice - and judgement. Judgement is hard for people with an inclusive ethos to hear about, but justice puts us in mind of the kind of justice God likes: justice for the oppressed. At least, I think that was the gist, but I couldn't really swear to it. I think I got the wrong end of the stick in the middle somewhere, and I lost the thread thereafter.
Which part of the service was like being in heaven?
The easy-going welcome, leading almost seamlessly into worship centered on the person of God and knowing Jesus.
And which part was like being in... er... the other place?
Being a fairly reserved Englishman in the company of some fairly demonstrative Australians; being an outsider in a somewhat close-knit community: feeling welcome in principle but awkward in practice.
The easy-going welcome, leading almost seamlessly into worship centered on the person of God and knowing Jesus.
And which part was like being in... er... the other place?
Being a fairly reserved Englishman in the company of some fairly demonstrative Australians; being an outsider in a somewhat close-knit community: feeling welcome in principle but awkward in practice.
What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost?
I took off fairly quickly - it was some distance from where I'm staying, and I had a dog to feed.
How would you describe the after-service coffee?
There was the offer of going to the road to a pub after the service, but I didn't take it up (see above).
How would you feel about making this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)?
3. Firstly denominations make me uneasy, and I got the impression that MCC, for all its broad-mindedness, is more of a close-knit organisation than, say, the Baptists. Secondly, every church or denomination is I suppose shaped by the circumstances of its founding. The MCC website begins its history like this: "In 1968, a year before New York’s Stonewall Riots, a series of most unlikely events in Southern California resulted in the birth of the world’s first church group with a primary, positive ministry to gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender persons". That primary ministry appears to shape everything - including, I'm assuming, a large part of the congregation. That this should be necessary is largely the fault of the rest of the church militant - but it left me feeling that there was a bit of a narrow focus here. The obvious caveat is that this is a first impression, and may be quite mistaken.
Did the service make you feel glad to be a Christian?
Yes indeed.
Yes indeed.
What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time?
The permeable openness of the fellowship, and the connectedness of its life and worship.
2 comments:
;) My better-half registered to be a reviewer for Ship of Fools, but immediately started second-guessing himself as to whether it might be cruel (read: "personal and unfair"?). And anyway, like you he almost always forgets to jot down what the exact opening words are, and how long the sermon was. Last week was typical - as we left the church we were visiting he said, "Oh, maybe I should have done a Mystery Worshipper on them!"
I love your phrase, "low-cringe contemporary". And the observation about "feeling welcome in principle but awkward in practice" is a good one for congregations to remember, although I think we're doing well if that's the most hellish aspect of a visit.
Hi Ruth. So often churches try to be contemporary, and end up being, well, something else - something born of not really having any real point of connection with people who aren't stuck in the same Christian ghetto. I guess "low cringe" means by contrast getting it more-or-less right - for some suitably-contextualized definition of what it is to be "right".
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