From Rev. James
We plan to switch our worship service start time from 10:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 2.
I made this decision in consultation with the board, staff, and selected lay leaders, but in this blog post, I want to share the reasons we are making this change.
On several Sunday mornings this congregational year, our parking lot has been completely full, and parking on side streets is limited. This happens most frequently on the first Sunday of the month but sometimes on other Sundays as well.
As people say, this is a good problem to have. It means more and more folks are attending our worship services on Sunday mornings, but I’m almost certain that occasionally a first-time visitor has driven through our parking lot on Sunday morning, has not found a space, and has kept on driving.
In reality, our parking challenge has been known to UUFR’s leadership for several years. In fact, in 2019, before my arrival, a board-appointed task force explored the problem and made several recommendations. The board and staff have already followed through on several of those recommendations, including upgrading our current parking lot to add a few more spaces.
One task force recommendation that has not yet been implemented is a transition to two services. That would be a major change. It is one that I led before in my previous congregation, so I have a lot of experience with it.
By my estimation, the earliest UUFR could transition to two services is Fall 2024. It would take at least a year of planning and preparation. Before we make that change, the congregation would be given the opportunity to offer plenty of input about it.
However, in the meantime, we can switch the start time of our single worship service from 10:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. without too much inconvenience. Why is this important to do? How will this help?
When a congregation transitions to two services, it’s important that about the same number of people attend both services. Otherwise, the less attended service feels devitalized and there still might be a parking problem at the more attended service.
If we were to make the switch to two services now, say at 9 and 11 a.m., I suspect few of you would attend the 9 a.m. service and a lot of you would attend the 11 a.m. service because that’s closer to the time most of you are already used to attending.
By switching to 10 a.m. for the 2023-2024 congregational year, it will make it more likely that more people will attend the 9 a.m. service starting in September 2024.
I suspect some of you will like this change. Some nationwide surveys suggest that 10 a.m. is a more popular start time than 10:30 a.m. On the other hand, I’m sure some of you will not like this change. Of course, a large number of you probably won’t care very much.
If our planning and preparation for the transition to two services goes well, then those who don’t like getting up earlier for church will only have to put up with this new time for about a year, and then will likely to be able to choose between services at 9 or 11 a.m., even later than we are starting now.
For those of you who really don’t like the temporary inconvenience of an earlier start time, I hope you will keep in mind the reason we are planning to do this – – to make room for the many people in Wake County who are seeking out a liberal religious home.
Nevertheless, I’d still like to hear from you. If you have questions, concerns, or comments about this new start time, either positive or negative, please email me at james@uufr.org . Your comments could help me and other staff make this transition go more smoothly.