October 16, 2015
Dear Church Family,
On March 5, 1995, our church did something it had not done before: we added a second Sunday morning worship service at 8:30 a.m. It was an exciting time of growth and possibility for our congregation, and a new service opened up new opportunities to reach more people with a different worship format. This was an experiment for our church, and we boldly embraced the leading of God’s Spirit.
While the experiment was new, the spirit that brought it about was nothing new for our church. We’ve always been a congregation that takes risks for the sake of the Gospel. Since our very beginning in 1869, when Christians from Des Moines decided to form a church in this location, we’ve been a risk-taking church. Back then, there wasn’t even a Norwalk and we didn’t even have a church building, so church members met under a bridge. Soon, we called our first Pastor, and not long after that, our church began its first building project. Our very first women’s circle used funds raised through a handkerchief bazaar to purchase our church’s first parsonage, for only $75! We’ve always been a risk-taking, experimenting church.
In the 1970s, while we were still paying off a new church building, we ordained our first female elder, Dorothy Graham. Not everyone agreed at the time with this decision, yet we knew this was where the Spirit was leading our church. After we paid off our church building, we decided to begin another building project, adding onto our facility in order to enhance our music ministry and our ministry to youth and children. A few years later, we called our first female pastor. Our church has always been–and continues to be–a risk-taking, experimenting church.
Today, we can feel God’s presence as we continue to follow after the Spirit. It’s an exciting time to be a part of Norwalk Christian Church! Over the last year, your Vision Team has been active in discerning what risks the Spirit is calling us to take in our time. Throughout this process, one of the main questions we’ve asked is, in light of who we now are as a church, would we be a stronger church if we had only one worship service on Sunday morning? As we’ve examined attendance patterns, similarities between the two services, experimented with combined worship services this summer and talked to church members, we discovered many great reasons and overwhelming support for having only one worship service.
At our October Board Meeting this past Monday night, the Church Board discussed this idea from the Vision Team and unanimously agreed that it was time our church experimented with being a one service church again. We believe this is the next step in our life together, and the risk the Spirit is leading us to take today. It is time we become one church together.
After much discussion, we feel the best schedule for this new, one service format is as follows:
Sunday School at 9am
Worship at 10am
Coffee Fellowship after Worship.
We will begin this new, combined worship experiment on the
first Sunday of Advent, November 29th.
We believe with our whole hearts that this change will bring about new life in our church, as we grow closer as a family. A sanctuary that is filled with our whole church on Sunday will cause our spirits to grow. Visitors will see our church as it really is–full, active and diverse, with people of all ages and life-situations. Children and youth will be more visible, and they will get to know more adults who can model Christian faith for them. One worship service will also give our musicians, pastors and worship leaders the chance to focus their creative efforts and talents on one meaningful worship experience each Sunday. And we’re very excited about the possibilities this would bring for a rejuvenated Sunday School program for children, youth and adults!
This new worship service at 10:00 a.m. would not be a replica of either one of the current services, but would incorporate and expand on elements of both services. We know this is a new path for our church, and will not–at least at first–be something everyone is in favor of. We ask that you go on this journey with us. We recognize and respect that this new format may mean the loss of some things we really like about each of the service styles and times. And the schedule change may mean adjustments to our lives and routines. For those who attend early service and Sunday school, this would mean you would be done with your Sunday church time 30 minutes later than normal. And for those who attend Sunday school and the late service, you would begin and end 30 minutes earlier. We would all have to make adjustments and experience something new, but we believe the blessings these adjustments will bring make this a risk worth taking for the sake our church community.
Again, this is an experiment, and we ask for your patience and generosity as we try to see if one service will better fit our congregation and community. Like any experiment, we will learn as we go, making adjustments as needed. We welcome your thoughts, feedback and suggestions as we try this. We appreciate everyone of you. Each of us, together, are what makes Norwalk Christian Church the special place that it is. What a blessing it will be when we can, once again, worship together as one church. We cannot wait to see the abundance God has in store for us!
Faithfully,
Paul Bunce, Board Chair
Mark Durham, for the Vision Team
Pastor Travis Stanley
Pastor Marti Stanley