Dear Friends,

“Will you show Father Tom how you get ready for Godly Play?” That was the question Rachel Johnston, our Godly Play teacher, asked our children when I joined them for part of their Godly Play class. Each and every child quickly got a carpet square, and together they arranged them in a circle.  Within moments, they were seated, ready, and all eyes were focused on me.  I was delighted to be with them. And I was reminded of how the Godly Play curriculum helps our children to understand that they can take an active role in preparing themselves each week for exploring the wonder of the stories of our faith.

It is  7:55 or 9:55 on a Sunday morning, and you have just settled yourself into the pew for Sunday worship. Are you ready? At the center of our life each week is the great gift of our common worship. I know it can be hard to get to church on time, let alone five or ten minutes ahead of time. But the way we enter into worship can have a substantial effect on the way we then worship. I hope you will consider the time before the start of the service to be a time of worship as well – preparing yourself for the gracious and mysterious encounter between God and God’s people.

What are some of the ways we can get ready? At both the 8 and 10 am services, I am asking everyone involved in preparing for or leading the worship service, to “be ready” fifteen minutes before the service. We would like the altar area to be free from distractions in the time leading up to the opening of the service.  My hope is that those 15 minutes can be a time of quiet prayer and meditation for all those who enter.

We have moved the start time of our children’s programming to 9:45. That change not only benefits our children, but gives parents a little more time to get their “carpet squares” ready – that is to say, to come into church and settle themselves before the prelude begins.

You will also note at the 10 am service that we are inviting persons to adopt an attitude of quiet once the prelude has begun. This is not about making church feel stuffy or serious, and it is not about regarding the  prelude as a performance piece. Rather, it is to create a space and a place where we can begin to let go of whatever distracts us or keeps us from fully offering ourselves to God and to each other in the act of worship.

I know you won’t be bringing your carpet square to church on Sunday. But I do hope you you will bring your full self, and whatever it is that you need to do so that you can be ready; ready to worship God in the beauty of holiness, with gladness and singleness of heart.

Faithfully,

Tom