So is 80 people enough to warrant an outdoor service when we might expect twice that number if it was held at the church? Yesterday we had our outdoor service and picnic at the Visual Arts Centre, a beautiful location which is outdoorsy in town. We found a shady spot to set up and had a shorter service with plenty of good music from the praise group Loaves and Fishes. The 80 was more than some years and less than others but this event is about more than attendance totals.
There were children and teens, first-time attenders and those who could remember back to the origins of the service more than twenty years ago. I tell folk that it has a "retro" feel with visiting before, after, and even during the service. I encouraged the worshippers to get up and introduce themselves to those they didn't know and they were hard to rein back in. We ate together and chatted together. Parents trotted around after their kids as they explored the creek and every other nook and cranny. What's not to like on a sunny summer morning?
I hope this service doesn't come to an end. Anyone agree with me?
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