Foundations for Future Worship

at St Mary and St Anne Moseley in 2010

Christians have worshipped here in Moseley for over 600 years and every generation has offered up faithful and devout worship to God using the resources and liturgy of each age to encounter his presence Out of our past comes the future and it is our belief that through the Holy Spirit and our own gifts, God can inspire us to continue and create liturgy that speaks and celebrates our relationship with him today.

Openness to what God is calling us to is essential and over the last 2 years, the Benefice has been discerning ways through a Vision Process of how we as Christians can renew our life and grow together. The outcome is for the Church to now focus on 5 areas of ministry and mission to achieve this; Renewing our Worship is one of these tasks and a team has been set up to deliver this. In preparation. over the last 9 months, the Vicar, Associate Vicar, Ministry Team, Churchwardens and recently the Renewing Worship Team have been reflecting on:

Our understanding of worship, and the context and tradition in which St Mary’s & St Anne’s are set
The liturgical calendar of the Church of England which shapes our worship
Research carried out to create services that lead to growth
The resources available to lead and produce services in the future
The impact surrounding the creation of the Benefice in 2007
An analysis of the pattern of worship that is currently practised
The theology of Feeding Moseley with God’s guidance, generosity and love Recognising and renewing God’s Vision for our future
Reflections and conversations with individual members of the congregatior that have arisen during the Vision Process and over the last 2 years

These eight points above provide a firm theological and reflective basis for renewing our worship and creating a pattern for growth in the future as the Church continues to serve Moseley in 21st century.

A full document ‘Foundations for Future Worship’ is available outlying these eight reflections in detail

Key Points for Our Future

Arising from the research, there are 7 key points that are essential in shaping our future:

Services should be determined by the key festivals of the year
In upholding our sacramental tradition, the Eucharist should be the main service of the day, counterbalanced by services of the Word in the evening
Whatever pattern is developed, it is essential that it can be sustained by the resources available
Different services need to be provided for different people and also look for growth through targeting particular services at new worshippers
Repetition and duplication of services needs to be avoided
With the exception of the alternative worship, any pattern should, where possible, allow for regularity and familiarity
Above all, our services should enable growth !

In addition we see the following points as ones which are important and need to be considered :

Greater space and time is needed for teaching and an understanding of worship and sharing and exploring the Christian Faith
Trying to meet the needs of our community in the 21st century
Accessible, everyday language to meet the majority of today’s generation whilst retaining the best of tradition where it is appropriate
The gifts of our music and our choirs are important
The timing and potential to support our children and young families is essential
The reduction and availability of clergy (which may only be 1 in number on some Sundays)

Rather than tinkering with an existing model or pattern, great thought and care has been given as to how we create a timetable to produce a new pattern which is sustainable and will hopefully lead to growth.

The Pattern of Sunday Worship

The following pattern was adopted in November 2009 for a trial period of one year
Time	St Mary’s	St Anne’s
8:00 a.m.	Holy Communion 40 minutes Communion for all people who particularly enjoy time for quiet reflection
10:00 a.m.	Sung Eucharist 50 — 60 minutes lively Communion service for all, but especially aimed at young families	Sung Matins (2nd Sunday)
11:00 a.m.		Sung Eucharist 50 — 60 minutes communion service for all people
5:00 p.m.		Evening Worship (4th Sunday)
6:30 p.m.	Sung Evensong 60 minutes

Pattern of Weekday Services

Day	Time	St Mary’s	St Anne’s
Mondays	9:00 a.m.	Morning Prayer
Mondays	12:15 p.m.	Holy Communion at the lunch club, St Anne’s hall (2nd Monday)
Tuesdays	9:00 a.m.	Holy Communion
Wednesdays	9:00 a.m.		Morning Prayer
Wednesdays	2:45 p.m.	Moseley C of E School Service (1st Wednesday)
Thursdays	9:00 a.m.	Morning Prayer
Thursdays	3:45 p.m.	MAS*S at Moseley C of E School
Fridays	9:00 a.m.		Morning Prayer

Particular Features of the Pattern of Worship

Holy Communion

Short homily each week where appropriate
Regularity in service structure in contemporary language
A greater closeness amongst the congregation
Refreshments once a month

Sung Eucharist at both churches

Regularity and familiarity in service structure in contemporary language but can allow for different material for a specific occasion, e.g. Baptism, Family Eucharist, Remembrance.
Both services will use similar thematic material but in different styles
The 3rd Sunday Eucharist will be a ‘Teaching’ service where all can learn about the meaning of the liturgy e.g. Why do we confess our sins? Why do we share the peace? etc.
The 3rd Sunday will be shorter in length with children taking part alongside adults in helping to lead worship and assist in the liturgy. (Crèche will still be available)
On other Sundays (except in school holidays) children will continue to meet during the main part of the service in Children’s Groups.
On a bi-monthly basis, there will be an emphasis on promoting and making aware of our mission giving and charities.
Both services will be slightly shorter to take into account of the needs of families and church groups (about one hour).
Refreshments will be available after both services.

Evensong Services

Regularity and familiarity (except below).
A communion service is still available on a quarterly basis.
Refreshments will be available after the service at St Mary’s.
Potential to create and develop a new plant / congregation at St Anne’s

The Way Forward to Implementation

After a period of reflection and consultation the new pattern of worship was introduced on Advent Sunday, 29 November 2009. A review will take place in September 2010 with a final decision being implemented in Advent 2010. As we begin the process to implement a new pattern, please pray for those undertaking this important task. In Advent we will be using renewed orders of worship which take on board suggestions that have been made and will make services easier to follow. These will also include appropriate seasonal material to enrich our worship.

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