Josh Basil
Weekly Report # 6
25 February 2007
I helped with the bulletins.
When I went down to the church on Friday to help with the bulletin, but Nancy (the secretary) had already typed it up. “The Beacon” is only one folded page front and back, so I would not have had much to type anyways. I proof read the whole thing looking for typos or grammar errors and found none. The computer and Nancy did a pretty good job! They print off three hundred bulletins in preparation for every Sunday. I folded them all and placed a one page insert in every one. The inserts are usually about events or things that aren’t on a regular basis. Nancy told me a few stories about when she volunteered at a church in (I think?) Virginia, when her husband was in the military. She said that it was perfectly normal for their bulletins to have anywhere from five to eight different colored inserts in their bulletin! It took me over an hour to fold all three hundred! I was quite surprised how much work goes into making the bulletins. I was in the sanctuary doing the bulletins and overheard Nancy talking on the phone. I was in awe of her conversation. A woman called with bad thoughts (maybe killing herself?) and she was crying. Nancy calmed her down, told her how precious life is and how much God loved her. I was amazed at how godly of a secretary she is and how talented the church staff is.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Josh Basil
Weekly Report # 5
20 February 2007
Discussion: Gathering Design and Planning with supervisor
When we talked about the gathering, I found that we had some similar ideas and some different views on things. He said that the elements in the gathering or even the order of the elements vary from time to time. The elements and order are usually the same, but we will change them for special events like guest speakers, holidays, or theme driven services. Elements that we sometimes include are special music, short video clips, or maybe a time of open prayer. We base what should be included in the gathering by what most other churches like our do and by what has worked well in the past. On special service days, the decisions might be based on time, weather, or other events that day. The process that guides changes from service to service because of who is speaking, what all is going on, and what message is going to be sent through the service. Putting the service together sounded a lot harder and time consuming than I thought. Most of the time we do the announcements first so they aren’t distracting later in the service. We pray before starting the worship band so that people realize that they are in the presence of a Holy God and that everyone is here to worship him. In the gathering he saw himself and the congregation both as participators. Being a pastor doesn’t exclude him from worship. He said he still keeps any eye out for what is going on and an ear open to what God is saying, but for the most part it is our time of corporate worship. The gathering within itself is a form of revelation/response. The prayers and lyrics of the song reveal a little about who God is and we respond by worshiping him together as one body.
This discussion helped me to understand what all goes into planning and putting together a gathering, let alone a whole service. I was surprised at why certain elements go in certain spots and I really learned a lot about preparation when it comes to the gathering.
Weekly Report # 5
20 February 2007
Discussion: Gathering Design and Planning with supervisor
When we talked about the gathering, I found that we had some similar ideas and some different views on things. He said that the elements in the gathering or even the order of the elements vary from time to time. The elements and order are usually the same, but we will change them for special events like guest speakers, holidays, or theme driven services. Elements that we sometimes include are special music, short video clips, or maybe a time of open prayer. We base what should be included in the gathering by what most other churches like our do and by what has worked well in the past. On special service days, the decisions might be based on time, weather, or other events that day. The process that guides changes from service to service because of who is speaking, what all is going on, and what message is going to be sent through the service. Putting the service together sounded a lot harder and time consuming than I thought. Most of the time we do the announcements first so they aren’t distracting later in the service. We pray before starting the worship band so that people realize that they are in the presence of a Holy God and that everyone is here to worship him. In the gathering he saw himself and the congregation both as participators. Being a pastor doesn’t exclude him from worship. He said he still keeps any eye out for what is going on and an ear open to what God is saying, but for the most part it is our time of corporate worship. The gathering within itself is a form of revelation/response. The prayers and lyrics of the song reveal a little about who God is and we respond by worshiping him together as one body.
This discussion helped me to understand what all goes into planning and putting together a gathering, let alone a whole service. I was surprised at why certain elements go in certain spots and I really learned a lot about preparation when it comes to the gathering.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Josh Basil
Weekly Report # 4
18 February 2007
I decorated the sanctuary.
I went down to the church last Thursday to clean and redecorate the sanctuary. I was planning on sweeping, but some guy that needed community service hours came in just before me and vacuumed the whole church! I asked if it was ok if I moved some things around and Pastor Jerry said that would be fine. They have tons of fake flowers on their stage, mostly to cover up sound stuff. I dusted most of the plants and moved them around to where they still looked nice, but it had a different feel. I messed around with the lighting to make sure it looked ok. There wasn’t much left to do decorating wise, so I dusted the speakers and refolded some blankets. Nancy came and asked if I needed anything else to do and I did. She had me update the lobby. There were flyers on the bulletin board from months ago. I removed the out of date flyers and abandoned staples, then I moved around the current flyers to get peoples’ attention. After the lobby was cleaned, I went back into the sanctuary to do one last check. The stage looked fine, but I left the lights on, so I’m glad I went back! I turned those off, and then met with Pastor Jerry before I left. I gave him a cd with a song I thought his wife should sing during a Sunday service. As a result of this observation I learned what all goes into keeping things up to date and looking good!
Weekly Report # 4
18 February 2007
I decorated the sanctuary.
I went down to the church last Thursday to clean and redecorate the sanctuary. I was planning on sweeping, but some guy that needed community service hours came in just before me and vacuumed the whole church! I asked if it was ok if I moved some things around and Pastor Jerry said that would be fine. They have tons of fake flowers on their stage, mostly to cover up sound stuff. I dusted most of the plants and moved them around to where they still looked nice, but it had a different feel. I messed around with the lighting to make sure it looked ok. There wasn’t much left to do decorating wise, so I dusted the speakers and refolded some blankets. Nancy came and asked if I needed anything else to do and I did. She had me update the lobby. There were flyers on the bulletin board from months ago. I removed the out of date flyers and abandoned staples, then I moved around the current flyers to get peoples’ attention. After the lobby was cleaned, I went back into the sanctuary to do one last check. The stage looked fine, but I left the lights on, so I’m glad I went back! I turned those off, and then met with Pastor Jerry before I left. I gave him a cd with a song I thought his wife should sing during a Sunday service. As a result of this observation I learned what all goes into keeping things up to date and looking good!
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Josh Basil
Weekly Report #3
11 February 2007
I helped with the ushers.
I arrived at the church about thirty minutes before the service. I found Pete (head usher) and he gave me a few instructions. We met up with the other ushers and went through the introductions. I didn’t remember anyone’s name. We held the doors to the sanctuary open when people started coming in. The service was starting, so we closed the doors and sat just inside, up against the back wall. We didn’t really have to do anything for the music part of the service, besides seat people coming in late. During the service Pete brought me out into the lobby to explain more of the ushers’ responsibilities that I wouldn’t have a chance to see. He explained that they usually get together and pray, but lately he has had to help out with the preschool and also taking attendance for the entire congregation. They were talking about knowing where people like to sit and knowing names and faces. They showed me the matching blazers they used to wear. They all thought the jackets looked funny, so they don’t wear them anymore. After the service we went just outside the sanctuary doors and waited in the lobby with stuff to pass out. Two other ushers were passing out a magazine that they give away every week and I was in charge of passing out Bible study sheets to help people read the word. As a result of this observation, I learned that becoming a good usher takes a lot of time; getting to know the people, the order of things, and everything that is just spur of the moment!
Weekly Report #3
11 February 2007
I helped with the ushers.
I arrived at the church about thirty minutes before the service. I found Pete (head usher) and he gave me a few instructions. We met up with the other ushers and went through the introductions. I didn’t remember anyone’s name. We held the doors to the sanctuary open when people started coming in. The service was starting, so we closed the doors and sat just inside, up against the back wall. We didn’t really have to do anything for the music part of the service, besides seat people coming in late. During the service Pete brought me out into the lobby to explain more of the ushers’ responsibilities that I wouldn’t have a chance to see. He explained that they usually get together and pray, but lately he has had to help out with the preschool and also taking attendance for the entire congregation. They were talking about knowing where people like to sit and knowing names and faces. They showed me the matching blazers they used to wear. They all thought the jackets looked funny, so they don’t wear them anymore. After the service we went just outside the sanctuary doors and waited in the lobby with stuff to pass out. Two other ushers were passing out a magazine that they give away every week and I was in charge of passing out Bible study sheets to help people read the word. As a result of this observation, I learned that becoming a good usher takes a lot of time; getting to know the people, the order of things, and everything that is just spur of the moment!
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Josh Basil
Weekly Report #2
4 Feb. 2007
I observed a worship band practice.
I got to the church a little after they had started practicing (trouble starting car + cold weather = lots of fun!) I sat on the main floor for a while, just observing from the “outside”. They all seemed to be having a good time. I noticed that the worship leader would occasionally get off topic and start telling stories. Most of the time they were working on one specific song, “burn in me”, because they had never done it before and Paula (the worship leader) really wanted to play it this morning. The practice started around 8:30 and the service doesn’t start until 10:30, so they had plenty of time! After a while Paula invited me up onto the stage so I could get a different view of the practice. I sat in the only open seat with the choir and she asked if I was a soprano, because I was sitting with them? I quickly sad no thank you! I cannot sing very well! She gave me the words to the new song and another sheet with the song list for the morning. I was observing the musicians for a while and they seemed to be a little confused with the music. The bass player and piano player were the only ones that seemed to have a clue because the others were always watching the music and their fingers and trying really hard to play an easy song. It was becoming a little obvious that Paula was becoming frustrated with the drummer because he was about an hour late, wasn’t paying close attention, and couldn’t finish a song very well. Before she got too upset, she got out her bible and began their devotion time. She read from Hebrews 12 where it talks about God being a consuming fire and how it related to the new song. The devotion/ prayer time was short, but to the point. We need to let the fire of God consume us and burn in us. It was interesting to see how much work goes into the music, especially if the musicians aren’t top quality! It was also fun to watch the actual service and take note of those parts that they had practiced a million times; they nailed it! As a result of this observation, I learned to appreciate how much work goes into leading worship and how patient worship leaders need to be with the band and choir.
Weekly Report #2
4 Feb. 2007
I observed a worship band practice.
I got to the church a little after they had started practicing (trouble starting car + cold weather = lots of fun!) I sat on the main floor for a while, just observing from the “outside”. They all seemed to be having a good time. I noticed that the worship leader would occasionally get off topic and start telling stories. Most of the time they were working on one specific song, “burn in me”, because they had never done it before and Paula (the worship leader) really wanted to play it this morning. The practice started around 8:30 and the service doesn’t start until 10:30, so they had plenty of time! After a while Paula invited me up onto the stage so I could get a different view of the practice. I sat in the only open seat with the choir and she asked if I was a soprano, because I was sitting with them? I quickly sad no thank you! I cannot sing very well! She gave me the words to the new song and another sheet with the song list for the morning. I was observing the musicians for a while and they seemed to be a little confused with the music. The bass player and piano player were the only ones that seemed to have a clue because the others were always watching the music and their fingers and trying really hard to play an easy song. It was becoming a little obvious that Paula was becoming frustrated with the drummer because he was about an hour late, wasn’t paying close attention, and couldn’t finish a song very well. Before she got too upset, she got out her bible and began their devotion time. She read from Hebrews 12 where it talks about God being a consuming fire and how it related to the new song. The devotion/ prayer time was short, but to the point. We need to let the fire of God consume us and burn in us. It was interesting to see how much work goes into the music, especially if the musicians aren’t top quality! It was also fun to watch the actual service and take note of those parts that they had practiced a million times; they nailed it! As a result of this observation, I learned to appreciate how much work goes into leading worship and how patient worship leaders need to be with the band and choir.
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