Anyone can come; you can come as individuals, as families or as entire congregations. We'll get together a choir to lead our worship and there will be a range of activities through the morning. You can bring a picnic and make it a day out. As the name indicates, the aim of BigLittle Church is to let those of us who often worship in small congregations be part of something much larger, something that reminds us that the church to which we belong is a great multitude. And we can do it at the showground, not as guests at some bigger church than our own but as joint hosts along with everyone else.
We've chosen quite deliberately a Sunday when congregations often struggle with numbers and when many clergy may be taking a well-earned break. We hope for some parishes it will help ease the complexity of summer holiday worship arrangements. We know that many United Benefices already use the fifth Sunday of the month as a day to do something together. We invite you on this occasion to think even wider and join with others from across the diocese.
I don't want to suggest that "big is beautiful". It's really quite special that all across the diocese we sustain regular worshipping congregations in small communities, often reaching a level of Sunday attendance that is a much greater proportion of the local population than big churches achieve. We are able, if not always every Sunday or at the same time, to offer services in the places where people feel they belong, rather than requiring everyone to congregate in larger worship centres. I'm not suggesting that we abandon that aspiration - not least because I don't think that would work. But it is good to be reminded once in a while that the church of God is much larger than the visible congregation who gather week by week in any one place; and to be built up by our time together, so that we can better retain our confidence and our sense of belonging when we meet in our separate places.
Some come along!
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