Diocesan stories of people responding to God’s call
Seeking the sacred
“Our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in you (God),” wrote Saint Augustine of Hippo in his classic text Confessions. What was true in the late fourth century continues to be undeniable today. Leaders in the Parish of St. Mary and St. John, in Summerside and St. Eleanors, discovered that people are hungry for the holy when they rolled out Come and See Wednesdays.
The missional initiative was started this past summer and is planned and facilitated by Janet Veith-Forbes, a member of The Connectors THREE, the Diocesan missional leadership learning cohort, and the Rector, Rev. Colin Nicolle. Each week they offered a full day of free educational and worship activities, including craft time for children. They opened their doors and intentionally extended the invitation to their faithful congregants, as well as nonparishioners and tourists.
“I had heard about the Parish of French Village opening their churches on Wednesdays in the summer of 2019,” said Janet. “I knew they offered a Morning Prayer and Bible study or Book Club. After planning with Rev. Colin the decision was made to make it a full day.”
Organizers worked to have just the right balance between offering opportunities for seekers to explore the faith community space in a nonthreatening way, and yet also give them a taste of the rich liturgical traditions of Anglicanism. Come and See Wednesdays featured Morning Prayer, The Saints: A Study, church open house, youth creative arts and chanted Compline worship.
“I loved the idea of opening the churches for people to feel free to go in and look around at their own leisure,” Janet said. “To ask questions and chat with parishioners, or just sit in silence and appreciate the beauty of the buildings.”
The Chanted Compline service was one of the most appreciated activities, attracting a number of new people – friends of parishioners and several locals. It was explicitly promoted this way: “Pray like a monk to the end of the day. A candle-lit and chanted service of prayer dating from the 6th century.”
“Compline was definitely a place where I saw needs being met and hungers sated,” said Rev. Colin. “People need a chance to sit in silence and candle-lit darkness and pray, plain and simple.”
“I think sometimes we overthink what people want and need and tire ourselves out running large or complicated programs and events,” he explained. “I think deep down, even if they don’t know it, people are hungry to pray and be prayed for, to know that there is a place of quiet and peace for them to go, a place that is consistent and the same (like Evening Prayer or Compline) every time they go, an oasis to seek refuge from, ‘the changes and chances of this fleeting world,’ to use the language of the BCP.”
Come and See Wednesdays was truly a team effort for this Prince Edward Island parish. A number of Licenced Lay Ministers, the Associate Priest, Rev. Ned Henthorn, several guest speakers, along with the Rector took turns leading Morning Prayer and the Saint Study. Others volunteered to host the kids’ craft time and be greeters. Several of the Wednesday visitors were not from theIsland. Rev. Colin said the feedback was positive. “On the whole people were encouraged to see a church with open doors,” he shared. “Many were curious and said that they had driven by for x-number of years but never had a chance to go in. Lots asked about regular services and what they were like. People wanted to know the histories of the churches.”
He said, “It was clear that most were connected outliers, that is, people connected by family or geographically, whose lives happened around the physical churches but people who had never made the leap to go through the doors. The priest also sensed that the pandemic may have influenced participants to explore spirituality with their churches. “People want connection and community, especially because of COVID, but they were wanting these things before. I think opening the doors simply provides an opportunity for them to reach out that doesn’t come with what to them might feel like the demand of a Sunday morning.”
Come and See Wednesdays returns next summer. Meanwhile, Chanted Compline continues on a monthly basis throughout the fall and winter.
