These worship services are held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, September through June. The services began in April 2006, as an alternative offering to Sunday morning worship. A committee formed to plan and present these worship offerings. Many conversations have been held over the past 2½ years as to the format, content, and philosophy of these services. As they have evolved, the committee meets 2 or 3 times a year to brainstorm themes and debrief services. Small groups meet bi-monthly to plan each service .We committed early on to a paperless service and have remained true to this promise. All responses and songs are offered on Power Point.

Themes have included Hope, Prayer, Spirit, Mysticism, and Love, to name a few, as well as seasonal offerings such as Thanksgiving, Greening, Advent, Epiphany, and New Beginnings. It was a struggle at the beginning to discern who our participants might be, and in the end we just prepared, advertised, presented, and waited to see who would come. Many people have come from the wider community, but our most faithful participants have been from our own congregation of Sunday morning worshippers.

The term Alternative Worship might have kept some of our congregation away, but it doesn't mean strange or weird. It merely describes a somewhat different way of worshipping God than Sunday morning. We meet in the church hall, in a less formal setting than the sanctuary, and sit in a semi-circle. A typical service might have elements such as quiet meditation, a short discussion of the theme, or an activity involving the theme. People are free to participate at whatever level they are comfortable. There is lively singing accompanied by guitars and sometimes drums or tambourines and thoughtful readings from many faith traditions.

Refreshments are served after the service. The attendance varies between 12 and 20. The members of the planning committee are David Boyd, Lynne Busby, Judy Cameron, Christine Dudley, Leah Gray, and Tim Powell. We have all found participating in this endeavour to be deeply meaningful.

 

We welcome all who would like to come and worship with us in this special way.

 

Themes for: 2010:

February 24   March 24   April 28   May 26   June 23

Inner Freedom   Simplifying   God's Garden     Waters of Change   Sanctuary

On the second Wednesdays, we will gather for a "Celtic Evening Prayer" in the Iona-style of worship.