Summer Services at BSBC
I’m sure we are all looking forward to the coming of Summer, especially with the possibility of lessening public safety restrictions.
A new approach to summer ministry
In early 2020, the Board of Deacons and Pastors developed a plan for a new approach to summer ministry. Sadly, this was preempted by the coming of Covid. Yet, for a number of reasons, we look forward to launching this plan for July, August and the first Sunday in September.
Blended worship
Our summer worship ministry will have to different venues. In the sanctuary we will be offering a ‘blended’ worship service, bringing the church family together to engage in elements of both contemporary and traditional worship.
BSBC Café
In the gym, we’ll be offering a café setting where those who come will enjoy coffee/tea/juice at individual tables, with a background of worship music allowing for conversation until the sermon is offered in the sanctuary and fed to the gym. Our hope is this might encourage you to bring a friends and family who would enjoy a warm welcome, a congenial atmosphere and a Biblical expression followed by continued, relaxed conversation on the topic of the sermon or anything else.
Reservations will still be needed
For both the Blended Service in the sanctuary and the Café in the gym, reservations will still be needed and we’ll be grateful for your continued engagement in this way.
Worship online
We will continue with Sunday morning broadcasts of the Blended Service.
In the summer of 2021, this approach allows us to give our small but faithful gym worship leaders a summer break to be refreshed for fall leadership. It also allows us the opportunity to make a number of technology and setting upgrades in that room, made possible by the use of the AV portion of the 2020 surplus.
Deacon Graeme Powell attends the gym service and I asked him to share a bit about how he feels about this summer plan.
"I am in support of our Café/Blended Service approach for July through to the first Sunday in September for a few reasons:
Joining of congregations. Currently due to COVID-19 policy around post-service gatherings we do not get to see each other the way we used to. This would allow for people from both services to see each other and join in a corporate worship time.
Less work for those who run the services. Currently we only have a few people running both services in regards to the technology and live feed. Combining the services would allow these people a bit of a break and the ability to join in worship rather than working to make sure it runs smoothly.
Less planning and coordinating for our pastoral staff. Due to our pastoral staffing situation, only having one service to plan, schedule and coordinate would be easier than two (especially over any vacation time)."
So, consider our summer plan and your participation in it. It can be said that we live in a ‘different’ time and this ‘different’ approach offers some much needed flexibility as we prepare for the fall.
Pastor Greg
