In my book, Reconnecting
the Church: Finding our Place in Complex Culture, I have included 25
Action/Reflection Projects (one at the end of each chapter) for you to do in your church. This particular project is not in
the book, but follows the format, and will assist you in exploring the dynamics
of space.
ACTION:
When
your church prepares for a congregational pot-luck dinner, take several round
tables (at least 5 feet in diameter) and intersperse them with and equal number
of 10’ - 12’ rectangular tables around the room. During the event notice observe
each type of table and record the following.
- Which of the table-styles fill up first?
- Monitor the conversations at each type of table:
a. How many conversations are
there?
b. How many people are included in
the conversations?
c. How many people at each type of
table seem not to be included?
REFLECTION:
For a
better sample, you will probably need to do this experiment three or more
times. Remember that preserving silence about what you are doing is crucial to maintaining
the integrity of your outcome. The results of this experiment will normally be
pretty straight forward. When you reflect on the results, ask the questions:
- “What is the purpose of this gathering (outreach—getting acquainted—fellowship—have a meal and get back to a seminar—etc.)?”
- “What is the desired outcome of the gathering (incorporate new people into the church’s fellowship—get discussion going—etc.)?”
- “What course correction (as far as the kind of spacing is concerned) do we need make in order to make our desired outcome happen?”
- “How can we look at additional ways we use space to make the worship experience as fulfilling as possible for a diverse congregation?”
If you do any additional research,
please share it and your conclusions with the rest of us.
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