For the summer The Orchard here in Oxford is moving to one Sunday service only. This is for a few different reasons, and was a difficult decision. And one that raised the next question of if we’re only going to have one service, then do we have an evening service or a morning. We settled on the morning service. And you know what that means, right?
That means that for the first time in the last eleven years of my life I do not have church responsibilities on Sunday evenings. I can’t wrap my mind around it yet, but today is the first one of the summer. So now I might go swimming or take a late afternoon nap, or go out to eat, or rent a movie or a host of other things.
But as much as I look forward to some Sunday evenings off, I think I may already be looking forward to some fall Sunday nights with people walking across the parking lot and through the doors of The Powerhouse for church.
I have heard several ministers speak of being exhausted or depleted after Sunday morning services, saying they weren’t fully themselves or didn’t have their usual energy again until around Monday evening. Enjoy that extra time, whether or not you actually “do” anything.
I know pastors too who experience a big energy drain after a Sunday. But nearly all of those guys are preparing sermons on a weekly basis and preaching at multiple services each weekend. That’s not as common for me.