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Post by Lou on Jul 17, 2015 20:13:59 GMT
The Kitchen and coffee / snack serving location should be insulated from the sanctuary since some people talk really loud when munching. And when there are multiple conversations going some compete with volume to make sure they are heard. Where will the kitchen be? Where will the snacks be served at times around the service?
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Post by Corissa on Jul 17, 2015 20:27:41 GMT
The only option for the kitchen in the new space is in the large room that will be the sanctuary. There are already gas & water hookups along the north wall, as well as a vent for an oven/stove. We are still working out the exact details, but the plan is to put a kitchen in that area (along the north wall) and enclose it in some way. There will be a hospitality/fellowship area near the kitchen, probably in the north east corner of the room. this fellowship area will not be separated from the stage/audience area by any walls. The plan for reducing noise, which Lauren was hoping to introduce anyway, is to put away any food that is out some number of minutes before the service begins. There will not be food out during the service. Then, food can be put out again after the service ends.
If people need to spend time out of the sanctuary for some reason or have a conversation during the service, the most obvious place to do that would be the lobby, which is far enough away from the sanctuary that is should not disrupt the service.
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Post by Elizabeth on Jul 17, 2015 20:50:09 GMT
This will be a big change for us, but I think we can adapt to it. Putting the food away is a good cue, but we could also use visual or auditory cues like they do at theaters. Flipping the lights on and off or having chimes, then using a recording or live voice to say "5 minutes until the service begins, 5 minutes" cues people that they need to hurry to the restroom or wrap up their conversations. The herd tends to follow these types of cues better than just watching the clock individually.
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dave
New Member
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Post by dave on Jul 18, 2015 3:45:39 GMT
There is really no way to keep the snack area out of the sanctuary. Honestly, I wouldn't want to. I want that area to be a place people hang out after the service. There needs to be some space between the area for prayer and the hang out area, of course, but they won't be totally separated. The food area will be closed during the service, so it isn't a distraction, but not after or before.
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Mary
New Member
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Post by Mary on Jul 18, 2015 12:58:58 GMT
So, is someone going to awkwardly get up near the end of the service to set food back up, or are people going to awkwardly stand around and watch people hurriedly bring the food back out? I agree that it should most definitely be put away during the service, but there's surely be a more practical way of going about it.
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Post by Elizabeth on Jul 18, 2015 19:18:48 GMT
Not one of our gracious hospitality volunteers is awkward.  (Shout out to our awesome volunteers!) But I understand your concerns, and we will be mindful of them as we plan. Personally, I think we could leave some of the food out to save time and effort. Having dealt with long-term chronic illness, I like the freedom to get up and get water or a snack if I start to feel peckish. Experimentation and training will be the keys to creating a good system for this over time. My husband and I used to attend a Sunday School class at a larger church where our class was more populous than VCD's total attendance. We had a full coffee and snack set up in the back of the room where we met. We had 20 minutes of social/snack time, 20 minutes for prayer, and then 40 or more minutes of formal lecture. Our chairs were set up classroom style in two blocks, so there were both side and middle aisles. People tended to be unobtrusive if they got up and went to the back to snack during class. I understand that wanderers can be distracting for the speaker, but if they get to be a problem, we can adjust things or have directions in the bulletin or from up front that help establish the expected boundaries. |
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Post by lauren on Aug 12, 2015 18:46:22 GMT
So, is someone going to awkwardly get up near the end of the service to set food back up, or are people going to awkwardly stand around and watch people hurriedly bring the food back out? I agree that it should most definitely be put away during the service, but there's surely be a more practical way of going about it. At this time, I do feel like having the snacks UNaccessible during the service is an important part of 'training' the congregation to respect the boundary between fellowship time and teaching time. Like Mary said, I feel torn between those two slightly awkward alternatives. If anyone has suggestions, I would love to hear them! One possibility might be draping a light cover over the table, which can be placed and removed very quickly. Eventually it would be nice to have a type of curtain we can use to gracefully open and close the area when needed, but that's a luxury I don't expect to see for awhile. |
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(Shout out to our awesome volunteers!) 