Family Services

What are the essentials of a 'family' or 'all age' service?

I suggest one essential is accessibility. Each part of the service should be accessible to as many present as possible.

Sounds sensible, does it not?

Here, then, is a test question for your parish's family service: is the "sermon" or "talk" (i.e. equivalent to a non-family service sermon) geared for all generations present, or is it for the adults only or the children only? If your answer is the latter and not the former, then I suggest the essential of accessibility is missing.

Another essential is the essential of every service: God is worshipped.

Sounds sensible, does it not?

Here, then, is a test question for your parish's family service: does it include songs which are fun, loud, cool, noisy, offbeat, whatever but which stretch any meaningful sense of the word 'worship' - giving God worthship - being applied to them? If you answer 'yes', I think a question is raised: has the service lost its sense of purpose in the greater scheme of parish life which is about trans-forming the lives of parishioners at each stage and age?