Numbers are up
Online services are engaging new worshippers - that was the message from Sarum College's Director of Contextual Learning.
Photo courtesy churchofengland.org
In a short reflection posted online on the Sarum College website, Paul Burden, who is also the Co-ordinator of the Centre for Formation in Ministry at the College said:
"We try to say that numbers are not everything, but the numbers attending online services on Sunday were very encouraging. The Guardian reported St Martin-in-the-Fields having more than 1,000 people joining the online daily service of morning prayer, echoed by large numbers online for other churches.
"The churches I attended had smaller numbers but still significant. There were doubtless people like me attending more than one service, and it was noticeable that numbers fluctuated as people came and went – another feature of the online environment. But I have already heard of people who are not usually churchgoers who have said how helpful they found being able to access worship, most notably the service led by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
"So, in this difficult time, there is both the opportunity and the ingenuity within the church to create worship online that is communal, helpful to usual attenders and accessible to those who might not otherwise attend. It will be interesting to see developing good practice and ideas as the church learns how to worship in this way."
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