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Dear Church Family,
Thank you to everyone who took the time to share your thoughts and feedback about the proposed relocation of our musical instruments. We appreciate way in which which many of you responded. Your input has helped us to again think carefully about how best to balance our theology, the safety and practical needs of our growing music ministry and the best way forward.
After considering all the feedback and some considerable discussion, in the end Church Council has decided not to move the instruments onto the stage, but rather to relocate them to the opposite side of the church. While we do not believe that moving instruments onto the stage is a theological issue and will not elevate the music ministry to a performance, our main reason for this change is still our need for space and safety, and to support for our musicians as they help the congregation in worshipping God through singing.
As part of this change, we will move the piano and other instruments to the left-hand side of the church (from the congregation’s point of view). This will allow us to put the piano right back next to the glass the sliding door of the church, which gives us around 2-3 meters more space for the musicians. (Currently the piano is pushed well forward to allow access to the store room via the double doors). To improve safety and reduce cable clutter, we will build a one-step-high platform that allows all cables to run neatly underneath and enables us to mount our multicore (the thing you plug musical cables into) properly. This will protect equipment, prevent damage, and create a significantly more spacious and organised setup.
The singers will move to the left-hand side of the stage, and the children’s talk will now take place on the right-hand side. This will allow our online guests to see the children’s talk much more clearly as previously mentioned. To make space for the platform and instruments, we will need to remove some seating from the front left section, but these seats will be replaced on the opposite side and bulk up the back rows of the left hand side.
We are grateful for the church’s partnership in these discussions and for the gracious spirit with which feedback has been shared. Please continue to pray for wisdom as we finalise the details and implement the changes over the coming months. As always, if you would like to discuss this more, please feel free to chat to me directly, or via phone call, or send me an email.
Blessings
Chris P |
