Simultaneous worship services: the architecture?

[Greg M. Johnson]

While I'm an active member of an ELCA congregation, I've also joined a cell group in a Chinese Christian church for Friday evening bible study.  The fascinating thing is that they have simultaneous Sunday worship services in English and Mandarin, at opposite ends of a building.  One group is in an average sanctuary, the other in a small room, essentially a storage one, with folding chairs. They had a building campaign which has raised funds to improve the worship facilities for the group that was in the small room.  Now it's time to hire an architect.

How have Lutherans handled this?  I'm sure there were immigrant congregations that might have had services in English and the mother tongue.  If it's ever been done at the same time, how was the architecture handled?  Did they have one room that doubled as a volleyball court and sanctuary?     I know an ELCA congregation in my county has a Spanish-language service (I don't know if it's Lutheran) that meets in its sanctuary on Sunday evenings-- but it meets in the evening.

Any ideas or interesting tidbits from history?


--
"Too many lifetimes are consumed by an irrational rebellion against the bullies of one's youth."

Greg M. Johnson
http://pterandon.blogspot.com

[mbenne...@comcast.net]

-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Greg M. Johnson" <pter...@gmail.com>
> While I'm an active member of an ELCA congregation, I've also joined a cell
> group in a Chinese Christian church for Friday evening bible study. The
> fascinating thing is that they have simultaneous Sunday worship services in
> English and Mandarin, at opposite ends of a building. One group is in an
> average sanctuary, the other in a small room, essentially a storage one,
> with folding chairs. They had a building campaign which has raised funds to
> improve the worship facilities for the group that was in the small room.
> Now it's time to hire an architect.
>
> How have Lutherans handled this? I'm sure there were immigrant
> congregations that might have had services in English and the mother
> tongue. If it's ever been done at the same time, how was the architecture
> handled? Did they have one room that doubled as a volleyball court and
> sanctuary? I know an ELCA congregation in my county has a
> Spanish-language service (I don't know if it's Lutheran) that meets in its
> sanctuary on Sunday evenings-- but it meets in the evening.
>
> Any ideas or interesting tidbits from history?

I have no answer, but will be interested to read them. Every sign, advertisement, or announcement i've ever seen for services in more than one language in the same church building, have listed different times for the different languages. I've never heard of the simultaneous services as you describe. Besides the need for two adequate worship spaces, I can see the additional challenges of (1) needing two pastors or comparable worship leaders and (2) losing the opportunity for a Chinese worshipper to drop in on the English service, or vice-versa, without missing the other service on a given Sunday.

Interesting approach though.

Mike Bennett

[John M. Hudson]

Here are a couple of tidbits, as requested:

1. St. John Lutheran here in Roanoke runs simultaneously a "rock 'n' roll" -- pretty high energy, I understand -- service in the gym and an LBW service in the nave. I don't know the rationale. <www.stjohnlutheran.org>

2. And then there's this down in Norfolk -- ha-arc.com/index.html -- Holy Apostles Catholic and Episcopal church. Here's what the home page says: Services are held each week at 10:00 a.m. We hear the Liturgy of the Word together, but maintain separate altars for the Eucharist. Roman Catholics in good standing may receive from the Roman Catholic priest; all other Baptized Christians in good standing with their own church may receive from the Episcopal priest. After the service we hold a fellowship followed by Christian Formation for all ages that is held from September 20 until May at 11:30 a.m.

By the way, I understand all of Holy Apostles' baptisms are joint.

John

John M. Hudson
895 Brunswick Forge Road
Troutville, Virginia 24175
Home 540.992.2058
Cell 540.293.0478

[Greg M. Johnson]

On Sat, May 3, 2008 at 9:41 AM, <mbenne...@comcast.net> wrote:

>  Every sign, advertisement, or announcement i've ever seen for
>  services in more than one language in the same church building,
>  have listed different times for the different languages. 

> ... (1) needing two pastors or comparable worship leaders

In my limited experience, this is how the Chinese Christians have done it, where separate pastors at least are not uncommon.  But I think my wife said in the congregation of her youth there was one sanctuary, two times.   Perhaps I don't have to go solve this local group's problem.  But it was my hunch that the historical,  immigrant, Lutheran experience would have been two times, one sanctuary.

John wrote:
>  St. John Lutheran here in Roanoke runs simultaneously a "rock 'n' roll"
> -- pretty high energy, I understand -- service in the gym and an LBW
> service in the nave. I don't know the rationale.

My eternal question to those debating contemporary versus liturgical services is why cannot one have contemporary liturgical-- a "rock 'n' roll" LBW service?   I remember an assistant pastor from my college congregation who literally pounded out on a piano that post-communion song from the green hymnal. A musical experience about two minutes long  that was worthy of any New Orleans jazz hall. 


> "...We hear the Liturgy of the Word together, but maintain separate altars for

> the Eucharist. Roman Catholics in good standing may receive from the
> Roman Catholic priest; all other Baptized Christians in good standing
> with their own church may receive from the Episcopal priest. "

Such an interesting arrangement.  I wonder, for all the cases in history where folks objected to joint communion services (or denominational agreements), where folks would have been satisfied with such an arrangement.  Is the blessing of the sacrament THE thing that makes a denomination's worship unique (and demands it be separate)?   

I myself have sometimes critiqued the "social agenda" statements or press conferences of the mainline denominations for having only half the right content: appropriate reproofs of sin but missing gospel, cross, resurrection, and repentance.  I wonder if there are denominational pairings like the above where the preaching and "Christian formation" gets to be incompatible.