Over the last month, we have been experimenting with five auditorium changes. The changes were made for Pentecost Sunday, when the church needs to be praying, “Come Holy Spirit, disturb us, your people.” As part of experiencing this work of the Spirit, I asked Peter Majendie and Andy Dean, with advice from Al Sands, to work with me “disturbing the church.”
The “disturbance” was to last a month and then to be evaluated. This was done over last weekend and the results crunched by Lynne Taylor, using her Baptist Union Researcher skills. The full results are up on the notice board.
They were discussed at the Board meeting this week and the following actions taken:
1: Given that 64% of people liked and strongly liked the pulpit moved forward (20% neutral and 15% disliked) - keep that change
2: Given that 57% of people liked and strongly liked the screen moved forward (20% neutral and 24% of people disliked) - keep that change
3: Given that 44% of people liked and strongly liked the dome being covered (31% neutral and 26% of people disliked) - keep that change
4: Given that 57% of people disliked the sheets (12% neutral and 31% liked and strongly liked), that we temporarily reverse that change. However, given that the main objections were around “looking shabby” and “hiding musicians,” that we do another experiment in this area later.
5: The multiple images produced sharply different reactions. 47% of people liked and strongly liked the multiple images, while 47% of people disliked and strongly disliked. Only 7% are neutral. This will require us to all walk graciously. In the meantime, we stop the moving images (which we have to do because they are tied to the sheets). But that we do more experimenting, looking for ways to honour our diversity, the 47% who like them and the 47% of those who dislike them.
These decisions best honour the responses from us, the Opawa body of Christ. Thanks to all those who participated in the evaluation.
A special thanks to Peter and Andy for all their hard work. At the beginning I told them the “disturbance” had to be cheap. This was a hard thing to ask. No-one, perhaps especially artists, likes to be told to give of their skills on the cheap and to expose their work to criticism for “looking shabby.” But I made the request because, if the changes cost money, then what is an experiment can look like a compulsory change. So I want to honour the humility with which Peter and Andy offered their gifts among us.
Posted by opawa at June 13, 2008 05:16 PM