THE VISION SUPPER

On Friday 9th October last year the church held a Vision Supper in the Large Hall. The event was intended to give members of the congregation an opportunity so say what they thought was done well, and what could be improved in the day to day life of St John's and Kings Park Church.

Those attending were also asked what their vision was for the Church and what they would like to see happen over the next five years.

Around ninety member of the Church attended and enjoyed a convivial evening, opened with an entertaining introduction by lan Drever and chaired by Kim and Norrie Kristoffersen. In church circles this was a fairly innovative event and those attending certainly entered into the spirit of the evening by making a large number of contributions. The mood at the end of the evening was very positive and there was a strong feeling that this should be the first in a series of events, occurring perhaps every two years.

The contributions have been analysed and responses grouped into areas of work to be taken forward, Indeed some of the straightforward matters have already been responded to.

The analysis was considered by Kirk Session on Monday 1st February and the following agreed.

There was a number of requests that the Church should be more spiritual, that there should be more prayer & more prayer opportunity. There was also a request for more Bible study. This has been referred to the Worship Committee.

There was a suggestion that a greater level of pastoral care (support for the sick and elderly) should take place and this will be considered by the new district teams and the Minister.

Members clearly enjoyed congregational participation in services and there was a call for more. There were suggestions for a greater range in styles of services and a greater range in music. Session recognised that the Minister was the final arbiter in the style and presentation of services but asked the Worship Committee to examine these issues, and Keith agreed to consider the outcome.

It was also clear that there is a range of views held on many issues, none more so than the manner in which musical praise is presented at Church services. There was a desire for a range of music, there were some who preferred traditional hymns, and there was also solid support for the praise band. There were several proposals that the choir be enhanced, and indeed that was a substantive item on the agenda at Session on 1st February. The outcome was that Alistair McNeill, with assistance, will look at ways in which the choir can be enlarged both in size and contribution.

Some of the contributions from members suggested an enhanced role for elders. The proposals were not specific but the Eldership Committee has been tasked with looking at the matter.

There were also several calls to develop contacts in the community and engage in outreach work. While quite a lot of work is already being done in this area, the Outreach Committee has been asked to take these proposals away and consider them.

The single largest number of suggestions were for refurbishment of the Church estate and this will be considered by The Congregational Board.

Another common theme was communication and the importance of keeping members and the local community informed about what the Church is doing was recognised and, while this is a matter for everyone, it was aqreed The Session and The Congregational Board should be particularly aware.

Several contributors felt that there was a need to reconsider our level of giving and that we should find ways to increase our level of fund raising. The Session recognised the enormous effort of several members in fund raising over the past year but also acknowledged that this will have to be enhanced, particularly in light of the level of maintenance work currently ongoing. In addition, if the hopes for refurbishment are to be realised a considerable fund raising effort will have to be undertaken. This matter will be referred to The Congregational Board, but there was a general view that if this level of fundraising is to be achieved the whole Church will need to be involved.

Having listed the actions to be taken it is important to report that there was a most positive buzz on the night and while the main issues are outlined above, several other messages were clear. For example there is strong support for the way The Church attracts young people to its services and positive commendation for Keith and his style of ministry.

There was a risk that this unusual event could have resulted in a negative outcome. This was most certainly not the case and what we must do now is take the issues forward and report back on what action is required.

Finally, this is an opportunity for The Eldership Committee to thank the many for their contributions.

Thank you.

Andrew Brown