I
n the past few weeks if you passed through the undercroft Gathering Space, that spot directly below the nave of the church (the place with the pews where we sing and worship on Sundays), you may have noticed it was starting to look a little different. And, if you were paying close attention to recent communications about where children’s programming was going to be held, you might have caught wind of what those changes in the undercroft meant. Things are moving around at Saint John’s for 2019 and 2020. We’re trying something new with our space!
With the kick off of the program year on September 8, all Children’s faith formation will be moved from its old space in the 2nd floor classrooms to the Gathering Space, and adjacent rooms, the Nursery, Class Room, and Meditation Room. Collectively, in this trial year, these are now the Children, Youth, and Family Ministry Center. The library will remain the library, but the other rooms will now be dedicated on Sundays to the work of Children’s and Family Ministry. This means that coffee hour is moving, too. Once we come back indoors (at the close of the Farmer’s Market in October), Coffee Hour, like most other parish events, will be held in the Gym. Think of it as a grand “parish hall” (only with stripes on the floor). We’ll be bringing in some furniture from elsewhere in the building, maybe a rug or two, and making other minor changes to make it a bit cozier.
You might be wondering “why” we’re making these changes. And, the answer is, for a couple of reasons. In conversation with the vestry, we decided we wanted to see what it would be like to place the children’s ministry in our best space in the building, closest to worship. We say we value Children’s ministry at the core of our life at Saint John’s, yet our children’s space has, up until now, been shared space, relegated in the furthest corner of our building, leaving children’s ministry often out of sight and out of mind.
We also want to see what it could be like to have a genuine full parish hall, a large flexible space for all kinds of events. At coffee hour we notice that even on a moderate attendance Sunday, our coffee hour space is full. In order to keep growing, we need more space. Use your imagination in the gym, and think of it as a diamond in the rough (albeit a rather large one). What could it become? How could it even better house and support our many ministries (neighborhood gatherings, parties, Project Home, etc.)? We want your feedback over the year, and of course we’ll be seeking it out in concrete ways.
Thanks for your patience as we move things around to make space for all God’s children in all that we do, in worship, in work, in prayer, and in play. If you have any questions about the changes in how we’ll be utilizing our spaces during the 2019-2020 program year, please don’t hesitate to speak with me.
