 I have at last discovered one way to get people to fill up from the front of church: put a puppet stage at the front! Our three TGIF puppeteers did really well telling the story of the Persistent Widow and the Unjust Judge and the whole service, whose theme was prayer, seemed to hang together well. In particular we made sure that there were times of silence and these were appreciated by both adults and children alike. In my sermon I quoted from Paul Clasper in a little booklet on prayer Creating Space for the Beams of Love: “We long for spontaneity and creativity; still a train needs tracks. Certain structures, if helpfully used, can encourage, not stifle, spontaneity.” In my experience we especially need a structure when the spontaneity and creativity dry up, as they do sometimes for all of us and occasionally for long periods. |
I have at last discovered one way to get people to fill up from the front of church: put a puppet stage at the front! Our three TGIF puppeteers did really well telling the story of the Persistent Widow and the Unjust Judge and the whole service, whose theme was prayer, seemed to hang together well. In particular we made sure that there were times of silence and these were appreciated by both adults and children alike. In my sermon I quoted from Paul Clasper in a little booklet on prayer Creating Space for the Beams of Love: “We long for spontaneity and creativity; still a train needs tracks. Certain structures, if helpfully used, can encourage, not stifle, spontaneity.” In my experience we especially need a structure when the spontaneity and creativity dry up, as they do sometimes for all of us and occasionally for long periods.