Hi, Church.

​

As we make more room for people and begin formulating our five year plan at First UMC, I want to make sure we have a solid Traditional Service that works for the most people. We have had this discussion before but I wanted to check in again to be sure we are doing what is best for those who prefer in-person Traditional Worship.

​

We discussed options August 5, Saturday at 6pm in the Sanctuary, but if you could not attend the meeting, you are invited to complete this survey. Those who prefer Modern or Online Worship need not take the survey. This is specifically to make the best decision for those who prefer to attend in-person Traditional Worship.

​

READ THESE POINTS BEFORE COMPLETING THE SURVEY.

These will be discussed at our meeting and may impact your selections below.

​

1) We have enough people for one strong Traditional Worship Service. This means that having both a Saturday and Sunday Traditional service is not an option. Splitting our Traditional congregation would only weaken our experience together and be a poor use of resources.

​

2) Current Traditional Worship is Saturday 5pm. You will find below an option to choose Saturday 5pm or Saturday 6pm. You may recall that when returning from Covid, Saturday was voted as the preferred worship day and, when Winter 2021came, 5pm was voted as the preferred time to help with driving in the evening. We intended to return to 6pm in the Spring but another poll indicated that most preferred to stay at 5pm.

​

3) If Sunday is chosen for Traditional Worship, it would need to be either the first or last service of the morning. We will likely add another Modern Worship service on Sunday morning in the next six months to accommodate the growth of that service. Three worship services are possible on Sunday but Traditional Worship would have to be the first or last time slot purely for the logistical reasons of re-setting the Sanctuary for each worship style. So, the Sunday options are 8am-ish or 11am-ish. These times could adjust 30 minutes either way when we begin working out the details of having three services on a Sunday morning. It can be done but takes careful planning.

​

I hope you can see how making more room has to begin with you, those who prefer in-person Traditional Worship. I will work with whatever Traditional Worship time will work the best for the most people.

​

I understand that these options are not perfect. I'd love to have two strong Traditional Services again, but that is simply not our reality. So, let's make the strongest Traditional Worship possible, uniting us through the hymns of our faith, the recitation of our prayers and creed, and the beauty of God's presence in our sanctuary.

​

First United,

Pastor Tish

​

PS If you'd like to talk personally feel free to call my cell phone at 314-313-5399.