ANGELA YOUNGMAN reports the new initiative has been introduced in a bid to make attending services easier for congregants…
Norwich, UK
A Welsh church has launched 15 minute “speedy services” to help busy people fit prayer and reflection into their daily lives.
A poster promoting the 15 minute service. PICTURE: Courtesy of St David’s Penllergaer.
“People are under pressure and one hour services can be a long time to take out of their lives. We have been looking at timing, and the additional problem people face going home and then having to come out again. We are trying to make it easier for them.”
– Rev John Gillibrand, of St David’s Penllergaer.
Rev John Gillibrand, of St David’s Penllergaer near Swansea, told Sight that the idea came about after he thought about the pressures people were under in their daily lives.
“Within the diocese we aim to have something happening every day of the week,” he said. “At a meeting of clergy, I was told ‘Monday is your evening, John. I believe in theological reflection, and in the period after COVID and what happened then, I’ve been thinking about the potential problems people face.
“This is an area that has a lot of commuters and is an old industrial community. People are under pressure and one hour services can be a long time to take out of their lives. We have been looking at timing, and the additional problem people face going home and then having to come out again. We are trying to make it easier for them.”
Gillibrand’s answer was to provide a short service every Monday evening. The idea is that people can drop in on their way home, and take just a few minutes out of their pressurised day to pray and reflect.
“The service is simple: a Bible reading, reflection on the reading and then prayer. Roughly five minutes each,” said Gillibrand. “People are very positive about it. There has been a very positive reaction in the parish. I’ve had groups of people approach me and ask if there are any other time slots because they are on shifts, and the service is the wrong time for them. I am open to talk to them and see how the service goes, but I may well add in another session a little later for people coming out of work at 5:30pm. I have even had someone ring up and ask if I am going to do compline because he cannot make the time announced.”
It is not just members of the public who are expressing interest. Other clergy have also been keen on the idea.
“I’ve had other clergy ask me about this,” said Gillibrand. “One vicar friend contacted me as soon as news broke. She was very impressed by the idea and wanted the resources I am using as she is keen to do something similar in her parish.”
Rev John Gillibrand. PICTURE: Courtesy of St David’s Penllergaer
The short service is not being regarded as an alternative to more traditional, longer services but has been introduced, according to those behind the initiative, as way of helping people who may not be able to go to traditional services, who may be have never been to church or who may not know anything about Christianity. It’s hoped the 15 minute service will act as welcoming introduction, as well as providing a short space for reflection and prayer for time-pressed people.
“I see it as part of the overall mix that is provided,” said Gillibrand. “Some people may not have experienced church before. If the only time people can turn up is for 15 minutes, then fine. We are giving people access to Christian spirituality. The diocese encourages us to take missional initiatives, and this is very helpful approach as a parish priest working within the wider diocese.”
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Although St David’s Penllergaer is the first in the Anglican Church in Wales to hold this specific type of evening service, the idea is not unknown within the wider Christian tradition.
St Mary’s Hadlow in Kent holds a regular short Compline service, while at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh there is a midweek, 15 minute service at noon offering prayers, contemplation and short Scripture reading open to anyone in the building.
Criticism of the new initiative has been relatively muted, focusing mainly on the idea that for some people it does not offer enough time to reflect on the importance of their faith.
