- Do you have a decent church website?
- Is it up to date?
- Is it responsive – ie does it work on mobile phones?
- Does your own online profile feature your ideas and hopes and dreams other than a desire for people to turn up to church?
- Do you know what you are doing with twitter and facebook?
- Who could you learn more about social media from?
- Do you have a compelling reason why people should come to your church other than where it is or what denomination it belongs to?
- Can everyone in the church tell you in one sentence what that compelling reason is?
- What is your beginners’ course like?
- What comes after the beginners’ course?
- Do people like the preaching?
- Do people enjoy the music?
- Have you dealt with conflicts from the past?
- Are the people friendly?
- Do you have any new groups starting soon?
- Do you talk about making the world a better place?
- How will people experience joy if they come to your congregation?
- If someone from your past turned up unexpectedly at worship how would it make you feel?
- How do you identify newcomers and what do you offer them?
- What problems will arise if you do grow and how will you deal with them?
- Do claims that you welcome everyone stop you working at welcoming those who traditionally find it hard to find a home in church?
- Do you use language that is inclusive of everyone?
- How do you know?
- Is there any identifiable group of people that you can’t explicitly say are welcome because of how an individual or group in the congregation will react?
- Do you want to grow or not?
10 responses to “Yesterday”
-
Just to say the link to the BBC website is broken.
-
The Sunday morning service on R4 is my regular church for now and it was brilliant to find it was with you yesterday.
Loved the service and the music, as always, was wonderful.
-
Thanks for the comments – the link is fixed now.
-
Lovely to know that Bernard Porter is still about. One of the kindliest and most tolerant musicians this ex-tv producer ever worked with. He provided superb accompaniment to at least 4 major choral programmes, and an exuberant and beautifully played Voluntary in Holy Trinity, Ayr- in 1973. I can still hear it in my head.
Thanks, Kelvin for a happy reminder. -
Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed listening to the service on BBC 4 on Sunday – meaty stuff with good quality music. Was pleasant listening when normally just want to reach for the ‘off’ button. But then I’m biased going to a SEC church myself with social justice and ecumenical concern at its centre and being a choral singer!
-
What a wonderful tribute to a real gentleman. Sang under him over 30 years ago at Diocesan Festivals. Minimum criticism and maximum praise seemed to be his maxim…. something we could all use as a way of life.
-
Interesting review of Sunday morning here:
http://irenelancaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/02/the-bbcs-even-h.html
from the increasingly fantasy driven adviser on Jewish theology to the Archbishop of Canterbury! -
Yes! I’m over in Vermont USA. Ain’t internet grand? It was to listen to the internet broadcast on R4. Thanks.
-
So sorry I missed “BJ’s” do! I remember traipsing round Scotland with him and the choir, singing in all seven main cathedrals in 18 hours! Boy did we have stamina then!
-
Hi, Tom! Glad to see that you haven’t changed. The fantasy is, as ever, all in your head! Although I’d be very pleased to take on this auspicious role at Lambeth Palace, as far as I know they have no plans to take on such a person as you suggest – for the present at least. All a figment of the imagination, then!!
I’m also terribly sad to have to inform you that I’ve just been invited to talk on the subject of my blog (to which you’ve kindly directed bloggers) at one of Britain’s most distinguished universities in the next few days (alas, not in Scotland, although I have lectured before now at Edinburgh).
Previous Posts
-
Review – Orlando, Scottish Opera
Aha, my review of Orlando has now gone up at the Opera Britannia website. Rather late in the day, but I gather they have recruited someone new to get the reviews up much quicker in the future. Here is what I said: Rating: Scottish Opera – Theatre Royal, Glasgow, 14 February 2011 Scottish Opera’s Orlando…
-
Redesigning the Cathedral Website
I’ve been redesigning the Cathedral website this week. Forgive the fact that some of the rest of this post may be written in Geek. (I don’t speak pure Geek either more Demotic Geek). It may not look a terribly major revision, but actually it is. Although the look and feel are more or less the…
-
The King’s (and the Provost’s) Speech
OK – so I came rather late to this one. Spent an afternoon off yesterday in the cinema watching The King’s Speech. I guess that most of you have already seen it and are immune to my enthusiasm. Actually, I spent a fair portion of the movie with tears very gently streaming down my chops.…
-
Pancake recipe
Don’t forget my world famous pancake recipe: http://thurible.net/20040224/pancake_receipt/ Still going strong after all these years.
Leave a Reply