The Church of St John the Evangelist

 

Manthorpe, Grantham, Lincolnshire

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Re-ordering the Church Furniture

One of the most emotive and controversial of subjects in church life is the re-ordering of a church building. This process usually involves the removal of some (fixed) furniture and/or the addition of other furniture - pews for example. The process of doing this is usually for a very good reason, and is not done on a whim, for example ...
  • There is insufficient space for worship
  • Changes in services means changes in movement etc
  • The introduction of new technology in worship
  • The items under discussion are no longer suitable for today's worship styles
These are a just a few reasons for making changes and there can be many, many more.
As a church, our PCC has recently agreed (at a meeting on the 9th March 2006) to apply for a Temporary Licence to make some minor changes to the arrangement of furniture in the church, and these are listed below and on this plan:
  • Remove the fronts of the pews in the choir area
  • Remove the Vicar's Stall
  • Move the piano to, say, the back of the church or the Sunday School Room
  • Reposition the Organ from it's current position to where the Piano now is
  • Reposition the fronts of the front pews to where the Organ and Vicar's stall currently are (these seats are rarely used)
As the changes are being made under the conditions of an Archdeacon's 'Temporary Licence', we are bound by that to do certain things.
  1. The period during which any changes are made is limited to 15 months
  2. If, after the 15 month period the changes have proved to be detrimental, all items removed will be returned and all items moved will be re-instated.
  3. Otherwise, if the experimental period has been a success and the temporary changes suit new ways of 'being church' then to make them permanent we will have to apply for a FACULTY - in other words for the Archdeacon's permission for permanent changes to the way items in a church are ordered.
This plan shows the changes that the PCC * has agreed to make.
These changes open up a good space in the tower and choir areas and during the period of the licence we will be looking at new ways of using this space, particularly in regular Sunday worship, weekly worship events, children's events, social activities, concerts, and other activities - meetings for example.
We will be also be looking at options such as using a Nave Altar for some services, particularly for the monthly All Age Worship.
I do hope that you will all be open to this time of experimentation and that you will regularly pray for the PCC and all those involved in this experiment.
* Please note that the licence will only be applied for once the PCC has agreed that any cost is acceptable, and that suitable safe storage can be found for the items removed.

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