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OUR WORSHIP . . . A new service to meet our growth

People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them.

When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.

But Jesus called the children to him and said,

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

- Luke 18:15-17

Churches can be funny places. For most Episcopal Churches, the summer is a time for vacations, languid reflection, and silent worship spaces. With the exception of an excused absence of our choir for a tour of England, we have not experienced such a down time. On the contrary, our numbers have flourished as familiar and new faces alike have joined us for services. In fact, our numbers have averaged close between 120 and 140 for our two services. We are worshipping at close to 90% capacity for our space at the 10:30 service. All church growth groups agree that 70-80% capacity is a typical threshold for new growth. After all, if families cannot find seats, then they will not be likely to return. With all of this in mind, your Worship Committee and Vestry propose to add a service and shift our other Sunday morning times beginning September 9 for a test period of three months. We will spend that time evaluating of programs and how all of our ministries react to this addition. The new Sunday morning schedule will be:

Starting September 9, 2007 until Christmas

8:00-8:45 Rite I, spoken Eucharist

9:00-9:35 Rite II, Children’s Service

9:45-10:30 Christian Education

10:30-11:00 Choir rehearsal

11:00-12:00 Rite II, Choral Eucharist

What is a “Children’s Service”?

A Children’s Service has not set definition for any church. As a matter of fact, we do not know of another service like this in our diocese. Our goal as well as our hopes, prayers, and dreams are to create a service that serves the needs of our children and their families. Every part of the service will be tailored to teach the Christian faith and Episcopal tradition while engaging the unique needs and demands of children. The music will be accessible, the prayers will be simple but in keeping with the Book of Common Prayer, the sermon will be reduced to a story-time approach, and there will be a clear emphasis on involving the children throughout the service with hand motions, movement, and patience.

This service sounds like chaos!

For children, there is a fine line between chaos and focus. This service will always work to meet them where they are while worshipping God as a clear goal for all present. However, allowing children to be children, to climb under chairs, to roll into laps, laugh out loud, and ask questions will be an important component of this service. We want them to feel welcomed, loved and appreciated when we ask them to pray, sing and celebrate God’s grace and love.

Whom will this service serve?

Jessie and I experienced an incarnation of this service at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. A children’s service, at least as we currently envision it, fulfills a need for families of children under the fourth grade. However, there can be unexpected side effects. St. Columba’s discovered that a service willing to expect the unexpected also attracts children with special needs. St. Elisabeth’s already has a number of autistic children so this service could also be fulfilling a call to a ministry in that area.

What about the altar guild, acolytes, readers, and musicians?

Since we are adding a service, there will be additional opportunities for all of these ministries. We would love to have a group of musicians interested in sharing their talents and gifts. The songs will not be complex or lend themselves to improvisation, but Jim Walsmith would love to include guitars, flutes, bass, harmonica, or even sousaphone to our service. All are welcome to work with Jim to provide music to our young families!

What about times between the services?

This part will be the toughest. Fifteen minutes between the 8 and 9 o’clock services may not be enough time to get everyone into and out of our parking lots. The 30 minutes after Christian Education should be enough time for that transition for the 11:00. Since this fall will be a testing period for this new service, we will watch these times closely. If we have to make adjustments, then we will make them with everyone considered.

Are there any side benefits of this service?

The first benefit is creating a service that appeals to families with young children, a key group to grow any parish. The second and significant benefit is an increased attendance and interest in Christian Education. If families come to a 9:00 am service, they will most likely stay for a 10:45 am class. We are anticipating an increase in all of our Christian Education. If all goes well, space for classes could be our next hurdle!

Is there anything else we need to know?

Yes. Not every church can engage and try out this service. Inviting children to be children and join us in worship will push us in a wide variety of ways. We cannot know how we will be impacted or even how the children will be affected. Even with all this in mind, we believe that St. Elisabeth’s is up to this unique challenge. No one in our diocese or even in the city have a service quite like what we are praying and hoping to create. We are a patient and loving place. Both of those traits may well be tested with our children and this additional service. However, with God’s grace, we will provide a safe, loving, and hope-filled environment for many of our current families and some new faces as well.

New Rector

On March 5, the Vestry called Bill Murray to be the new rector of St. Elisabeth’s. Bill’s first service to celebrate with us will be Sunday, April 22. His first official act as our new rector will be the Vestry meeting on Tuesday, April 17. Below are biographies (autobiographies, actually) of Bill and his wife Jessie.

William (Bill) Seldon Murray IV

William (Bill) Seldon Murray IV, the eldest of Seldon and Carolyn Murray’s three children, was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. Worshiping under the murals of St. John’s Episcopal Church at Central and Greer for most of his life, Bill grew into a deep and lasting appreciation of God and the Church. A Happening renewal weekend at St. Luke’s in Jackson served to fuel his passion for ministry and sharing the gospel message. After graduating from Memphis University School, Bill attended the University of Memphis. He filled his time there by joining a fraternity, founding and running Frosh Camp (a freshmen orientation camp), serving as Student Government President, and cheering on the Tigers as the mascot Pouncer. Bill graduated Magna Cum Laude with a double major in English Literature and International Economics with a double minor in Political Science and International Relations.

His first job was serving as Youth Minister at Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in midtown Memphis. Bill shared his ministry with the youth of the church and the diocese leading pilgrimages to Ireland, Scotland and the Black Hills of South Dakota as well as mission trips to Honduras. His joy for sharing the gospel led him to work heavily with the Happening movement, lead the Diocesan Youth Council, and work extensively with Kanuga Conferences. Working with Winterlight resulted in Bill’s introduction to a beautiful woman named Jessie McCutchen. They were married in 2003 at St. Mary’s on the Highlands Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Alabama. After six fruitful years of ministry, Bill felt called to ordained ministry and entered Virginia Theological Seminary. Once again, he filled his time at school by playing on the Fighting Friars flag football team and serving as Class President and Student Body President. Bill graduated Cum Laude with a Masters of Divinity degree. Ordained June 10, 2006 to the Transitional Diaconate and February 15, 2007 to the Sacred Order of Priest, Bill served St. George’s Episcopal Church in Germantown until his call to become Rector of St. Elisabeth’s.

Jessica Hall McCutchen Murray

Jessica Hall McCutchen Murray was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, to Jim and Jeannie McCutchen. The baby of her family, Jessie grew up at St. Luke’s Methodist Church. As a young girl, she spent countless hours with her friend, Georgia, catching lizards, frogs, and other creatures in creeks near her home before moving on to mudding in her jeep. After graduating from Hoover High School, now immortalized on MTV’s Two-a-Days, Jessie attended Samford University in Birmingham. She filled her time by being a member of the Bulldogs dance team and studying abroad in Spain and Costa Rica. Jessie became interested in the Episcopal Church by working at various camps at Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Thanks to some supportive friends and a wonderful priest, Rev. Rebecca DeBow, she was confirmed at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Alabama. Jessie graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Spanish and returned to Hoover to teach Spanish I. Working at Winterlight in Kanuga, she met a crazy Youth Minister named Bill from Memphis who would later become her husband. Jessie enrolled in the Masters of Education program at the University of Memphis and was married later that year. She received her Masters with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. She helped pay for the steep costs of living in Northern Virginia by working at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church as the Associate for Children's and Youth Ministry. Jessie is now very happy to be teaching Spanish at Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal School for grades 5-8.

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