You'll notice something different in the church this Sunday.....3 Dec 2015: The nave at Holy Spirit is a long thin space; as a result the congregation (particularly at the back) is a long way away from the celebration of communion. The use of the low altar was introduced to help close the gap but this involves using two altars, walking past the low one to approach the high altar to share communion, and then a one-way system to return to our seats. As part of our mission action planning (MAP) we decided we wanted to make our church and our worship more accessible, welcoming and participatory. As a result the PCC has considered and approved some changes to our use of space. So between now and Easter , we’re going to be trying out a few things to bring the congregation a little closer to the worship. This will also allow us to open up the back of the church and use the space more effectively and creatively, for welcome and other activities.  We are:
• Moving the main altar forward to between the fixed choir stalls, and using that as our single altar • Putting the movable choir stalls behind the altar • Moving the congregational chairs forward There are new placings for the choir, the servers, and the Sunday School. The altar can now be used either way round – so for small and intimate services choir stalls (now on three sides) will still be used. None of the church furniture is being disposed of or removed permanently. There will be an Open Meeting Wednesday 27 January at 7.30pm in church to discuss this and put forward a plan for better use of the church space. Please speak to our church wardens (Sarah and Ollie) or email them at wardens@holyspirit-clapham.org with your feedback if you cannot attend or want further information. Thank you!  19-Dec 2014: We are blessed with a large, wonderful and
potentially-versatile space. We want to fulfil our mission and one of the ways
we can do this is through improving the way we use the physical space afforded us in the church. So the PCC
met last month to look at how we best use the space. We divided ourselves up
into three areas - the entrance / welcome area, the kitchen area, and the altar
area, and we all gave our thoughts and ideas as to how we might use and change
the spaces.
A small sub-goup will meet with distnguished local architect Alan Stanton who is a member of our congregation and who gave a sermon (see here) entitled Window to Heaven on the topic of space. He will help us clarify what we need and how we might achieve any changes. This sub-group will report back to the PCC in the new year. Ollie Strachan, Churchwarden |
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