Sanctuary First.mov

Sanctuary First was acclaimed by all who attended last night to be a success. It was a start, but I truly believe there is great potential to develop this format. What we are doing is seeking to reach out to God using technology and our creativity. In doing so we discover that God is already at work in our hearts. making us creative. Allowing us to feel the way others are feeling.

A new generation no longer want to go to church to sit in rows and be talked at. They are looking for interaction even conversations within the whole act of worship. When the Sanctuary First web page is up I think it is going to capture imaginations.

SANCTUARY FIRST IS EMERGING

For many within and without the church the old formats have become tired. Its time to explore with a new generation what is at the heart of a faith community when we say in a public place “Let us worship God” Surely it means more than a hymn and a prayer it must be an integrated communal ministry. It is more than an act which lasts an hour.

Emerging Church for many has become a radical hook on which they can begin to explore what is relevant Christian Community for them.

Sanctuary First, if nothing else is worship emerging out of a traditional congregation that no longer has traditional boundaries. It is worship that is reflecting ministry that goes beyond the walls of its building to become Christ in the Community. This is worship and ministry displayed in the four strands of our social outreach programme reaching the community under the following headings

Bounce Higher - Children and families programme
Shalom Counselling - Counselling service offered out of the local Health centre
Tuesday Club - Caring for and supporting the families of those who suffer from dementia
Youth Project - Engaging with young people through technology and the arts

It is becoming harder now to distinguish the church family by the old membership patterns. we are seeking to embrace new ones that centre around friendship, community, commitment, service, all of which is being held together by prayer and worship and great helpings of grace.

The one thing we are all agreed upon we can never go back. We have changed into a new identity and this became clear to me yesterday when the Session agreed to adopt the Unitary Constitution in order that we might become effective ministers to our people be they internet based community based or building based. Above all we long for them all to be Bible based.