In September I asked Stacy Lynskey, our Director of Lay Ministry Development to form a task group to review our traditional liturgies. My primary concern is the impact the launch of a new Family Liturgy would have on our Sunday morning experience.

Diane Dennison co-leads the group we have been calling, The Traditional Liturgy Project (TLP). As part of this effort the TLP have posted a survey on the parish website to receive input from parishioners. I hope to receive their report by January, 2007.

In the September of 2006 I recieved a report from a group of parishioners reviewing our family ministry. That report included the recommendation that we develop a new liturgy that would address the spiritual needs of young families. There was overwhelming agreement that a new family liturgy should be the number one priority of the parish. This was later confirmed by our Visioning Process.

The initial recommendation was to begin a Family liturgy on the first Sunday of Advent 2006. After careful consideration I determined that I was not willing to move this quickly. Although I fully support the launch of a new family liturgy, before I lead such an effort, I wanted invistigate the impact this change would have on our current liturgies.

I chartered the Traditional Liturgy Project to help me explore this question.

We moved the launch of a new Family Liturgy to March 4, 2007 to give the TLP time to make its recommendation. My primary concern is to anticipate and plan for the impact of the Family Liturgy on our Sunday morning schedule.

Consider the challenge:

We need two hours between the end of the first liturgy and the beginning of third liturgy to “fit” the Family liturgy. So, if the 8:30 AM services remains as it is, the current 10:30 service must move to 11:30 AM.

Do the math. The 8:30 AM service takes about 70 minutes. The Family Liturgy needs 30 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to experience.

So, the Family Liturgy will begin at 10:10, and be over by 11:00. The third service will begin at 11:30.

Is this reasonable? I don’t think people will be interested in coming to church so late in the morning.

What is another option?

If the 8:30 AM service remains as it is, but we want the 10:30 AM service not to change its time start time, this means the liturgy that currently begins at 8:30 must now begin at 7:00 AM.

Is this reasonable? I don’t think people will be interested in coming to church so early in the morning.

What is the solution?

This is the challenge of the TLP. Whatever the solution the task group identifies, it will represent a significant change for everyone in parish.

It’s time to start praying.