The “Band Loft” and To Kill A Mockingbird
This is part seven in what will become a series of posts following the creation and evolution of SHINE, a contemporary worship service at Glenwood Presbyterian Church. You can find the table of contents here.
After Christian Endeavor’s first ever appearance in the sanctuary on September 10, 2006, the next important date in the process was November 11th, although we didn’t know it at the time.
November 11th was the date that the Session (Glenwood’s ruling body) got together to plan goals for the year 2007. This was the second time we had held a “goal-setting” meeting, and the idea was to give us some direction for the coming year – what needed to be accomplished, what did we feel God was leading us to do, that sort of thing. During the meeting, one of the concerns we had about the church was the lack of a large number of young adults and young married couples who would be the future of the church’s membership. In addressing how we might meet this concern, the idea of a contemporary worship service came up. I don’t recall who brought it up first, but interestingly enough, it was not anyone that was directly involved in the band or knew that we had discussed this possibility when the band was forming. I took this as more evidence of God’s hand at work.
Eventually, it was decided at that meeting that we would try to start a contemporary worship service in place of our current Sunday night Bible study which was drawing about 15 people on a good night. I was placed in charge of the committee which would be responsible for this project and we were given a blank slate of sorts to redesign our Sunday nights however we wished. (Sunday nights also included choir practice, refreshments, and youth group meetings.)
In an attempt to solve our well-chronicled bass player problems, I got a bass guitar for Christmas and started learning to play it. I must be doing okay because the rest of the band has at least let me keep pretending I know what I’m doing.
My committee really got to work after the start of 2007 and had several meetings to try and hammer out the details of what our new service and Sunday night schedule would look like. We decided to replace our refreshments which we would have after the Bible study with a light meal that would take place 30 minutes before the start of the service. The rest of the schedule came together fairly easily. I visited a contemporary service at another church to get some ideas for what we wanted to do as well. We determined that the band would play three or four songs and then we would have a Bible lesson. We wanted to incorporate powerpoint for song lyrics and I had also seen some Christian video clips on the internet that I thought we could show to help make transitions smooth.
In addition to the obvious issues about how to pay for a screen, projector, laptop computer, and the other things that we needed, one decision that we really struggled with was where to put all these things. Where would the band be stationed? Where would we hang the screen? Would the projector be mounted or not? I cannot tell you the Sunday mornings that I sat in the sanctuary and visualized different set-ups until it almost drove me crazy. Glenwood was built a long time ago, so it wasn’t built with a big stage that we could put the band on, and the only time we had performed in the sanctuary we had simply tried to squeeze into a corner with less than stellar success. I knew we didn’t want to have to set up and break down all the band’s equipment before and after each service.
Then Kevin decided it was time to speak the unspeakable – why not put the band in the choir loft behind the preacher and move the choir down into the corner on choral risers. The idea was that we could then have the band out of the way and that the choir could more easily be moved. Aware that this idea might not sit too well with the choir members or their fans, we decided that we would schedule another Sunday morning when the band could play for our morning worship service and set up in such a way that folks could see how it looked without it being a permanent situation. We scheduled it for February 25, 2007, and it looked like this…. (Remember, this was Kevin’s idea)
It didn’t take Kevin long to change his mind. Here’s part of his email from the next day after seeing the video.
To: Brian
From: Kevin
February 26, 2007I must say, this configuration creates the odd impression that a band is attempting to play music while standing in a jury box at the courthouse. And with Randy standing up front in full black robe (Judge Wellford), and the overhead fans spinning above the proceedings, it appears we’re trying to do a musical version of “To Kill A Mockingbird.” It’s a bit surreal. But that’s just me.
Actually, I hadn’t given any thought to where Randy might go and wait during the rock’n’roll numbers. I hadn’t quite expected him to remain in the pulpit. He’s like the Fifth Beatle or something. But where can he go? He cannot casually sit in that leather chair to his right, what with Led Zeplin screaming into a microphone just inches from his ear. Talk about an odd scene.
By the way, your invitation to any person who might play an instrument to join us will not go unheeded. Melvie let it be known that she plays the accordion and the zither, and she wants to sign-up immediately. But I told her there is no where left to stand in the jury box, and recommended she try the clerk’s office or the Register of Deeds.
Like we said Saturday, one step at a time. At least we proved the band can fit up there. But with the partition rail there in front of us, boxing us in, and five massive chairs right out of the Middle Ages in front of us, that hulking pulpit with silk flag draped down the front (emblazoned with the Presbyterian coat of arms), full communion table, candles, metal crucifix, faux marble columns topped with flower arrangements – large white cross looming in the background — the whole scene looks like a send-off to knights going to fight in the Crusades, all in the company of an electric bass. Maybe next time we’ll have Sam appear in a suit of armor. Randy could mount a horse, trot off to the left somewhere. I don’t know.
Okay, enough of that. But let’s agree, the “new contemporary” and the “old formal” mixed together that way, well, it is odd-looking. I think things will improve when we can create more of a contemporary “stage look,” a bit more opened up, without the Medieval trappings out front.
More and more I am convinced that for this thing to fly, we just need to build a new sanctuary and start from scratch. Will you bring this need to the attention of the session?Okay. That is all. The jury is hereby dismissed. God save the Queen.
So we scratched this idea, and decided to build a band platform in the corner. There were many other decisions to be made, however, and our kickoff date of May 6th was fast approaching! But that’s a topic for the next chapter.
Posted by GPC.
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