Tetbury Advertiser May 2024
“All life is an experiment. And the more experiments you make, the better.”
Now, there’s a top tip from 19th Century American essayist and poet, Waldo Emerson. And taking that advice, we’ve set up the lab at St Marys’ Church.
Happening once a month, Heart & Soul is a new evening worship service which seeks to go on a journey of discovery, exploring different ways of worshipping God. Held on the first Sunday of the month, each service may be different but we hope that they will offer something for all, as we focus on what it means to worship God throughout each day. You are invited along at 5.15pm on Sunday 5th May for free tea, coffee and cake, and the service begins at 6pm.
Earlier in the year, we had another experiment: for six weeks, holding our main 10am Sunday service in the school hall at St Mary’s. In the chilly winter months, it gave us welcome respite. Much more importantly, however, it gave us the chance to experience being together in a very different way. As many people said: it was lovely to sit side by side, and to look around and see each other. And there was definitely more chatting, compared to sitting in the box pews. We plan to repeat the experiment next winter, and see if we get the same results!
Looking to the future, we are also discussing ways we might alter the church building itself, needing to adapt to survive. Currently we lack the most basic facilities: the “kitchen” and “parish office” are little more than cupboards, with one toilet that is hard to access, and no appropriate spaces for meetings or storage. The heating is ineffective and eco-unfriendly. And – with those fixed box pews – there is no flexibility for either community use or gathering together for worship.
Our conversations about reshaping the building continued last month at our Annual Parochial Church Meeting, with an update on the outline plans being drawn up by architects. These will explore three options: a partial reshaping, a radical reshaping, and the possibility of an external extension. These will go to the Parochial Church Council meeting in June, where we aim to choose one approach as the way forward. It’s exciting stuff.
In all of this, it’s interesting to reflect on Emerson’s advice. I believe God does call us to try new things. Our faith is often described as a journey, and that does mean the landscape will change around you. Put another way, if the view isn’t changing, you may standing still. Or there’s that other piece of wisdom: “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”
So, experiment it is! And if you see me around town, do stop me and tell me about the best experiment you’ve ever made.
See you soon! With love and prayers, Poppy
The Revd Canon Poppy Hughes, Rector
St Mary The Virgin & St Mary Magdalen, Tetbury