CREATING INTEREST

All communities need an element of novelty and interest to stay healthy. God is Creator and we are made in His image. Creativity can overcome the stifling boredom that is pervasive in many churches. Creativity also values and uses the gifts of a much wider circle of people. Some ways to create interest are as follows:

1. Ask two or three people who play instruments to form a parish instrumental group. They can do preludes, postludes and special music for services.

2. Ask two or three people to start a puppet troupe to lead the children’s moment and to enrich the church school.

3. Gather a special team to do gourmet theme brunches once a month between services, on occasions such as St. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparents’ Day.

4. Get the young people who play instruments to start a Christian band to augment the existing music or to lead services with a special youth focus.

5. Instead of a sermon, ask two or three well-spoken lay people to share how the Christian faith helps them in their vocations.

6. Ask three or four gifted people to do simple chancel dramas for special occasions a few time each year.

Every good teacher knows that novelty awakens interest and that curiosity is an important dimension of readiness for learning.

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