Chalmers Presbyterian Church

Location: Elizabeth Street, Timaru. In the city centre near the library.
Denomination: Presbyterian
Website: www.presbyterian.org.nz
Church Services: 10am Sunday
Groups: activities shown include widow’s morning tea, friendship lunch, newcomer’s network, senior group, men’s group.

My own visit

Date: 3 October 2004

Service: 10am Confirmation and Communion Service

The building: This is probably one of the most visible churches in Timaru. Its tower is clearly seen by approaching ships. Painted in a stylish grey with a blue sheen the church has a picture-book look to it. The upper gallery of windows certainly make it appear more stately. The church is broadly symetrical in shape with the tower over the porch. Its elevated situation at an intersection make it clearly visible.

The décor: Inside the walls are white and contrast with the wooden ceiling. The apsidal sanctuary is backed by wooden panels and a large cross. The mezzanine floor appears to be of a newer style, finished in wood-grain. Plaques and framed needlework are displayed on the walls. The sun shines through large stained-glass windows.

Smiling face at the door: I was first greeted in the porch and then handed the hymn book and order of service a few metres further into the church. I was asked whether I am a visitor to Timaru. While the pews were not full, everybody sat at the edge of the pew so that it was difficult to get in anywhere.

Start of service: The minister started with a call to worship from the back of the church. The minister, the bible carrier and the small choir then processed to the front during the first hymn. The choir then sang the anthem.

Congregation (approx) 0-12: 2 ;13-20: 5 ; 20-40: 10 ; 40-60: 20 ; 60+: 25

Liturgy: There was quite some liturgy, but most of it was spoken by the minister. Some of it sounded vaguely similar to the Anglican service, and I had to constrain myself not to come out with the responses. The prayer of approach was said together.

The prayer of thanksgiving towards the end of the service included responses by the congregation. The communion liturgy was very short, but included the words of institution.

Music: Generally modern hymns were sung, especially New Zealand hymns, such as Colin Gibson’s. The congregation all joined in the singing so that they certainly made a joyful sound unto the LORD. During communion the organ was played, as well as a prelude and postlude. The choir’s anthem was nothing spectacular, but sounded nice and gave a good tone. However with only about 6 members one cannot expect too much from the choir.

Instruments: Organ and piano (but not at the same time).

Children’s Talk: Not enough children to talk to.

Sermon:
-Length: about 15 min.
-Method: the sermon was tailored to the occasion: the confirmation. Nevertheless the preacher continually referred back to the bible text. He also referred to current trends and worldviews in society to put the confirmation into context.
-Bible reading: 2. Timothy 1:1-10
-Content: Through the confirmation the two people have become part of the Christian church, a world-wide body of many denominations, and particularly part of this congregation. They have come from a God-fearing family.
As for Timothy faith is often transmitted through the family. It continues from one generation to the next. Faith is caught. We feel drawn to it by the witness of others. But God does not have grandchildren. We need to make the faith our own.

There are not many confirmations today in New Zealand’s mainline churches. This confirmation is something exceptional, even, one might say, miraculous. Many people in New Zealand today want to be rugged individualists and do not want to be part of an institution. This is even seen in the sports scene, where there has been a rise of gymnasiums while team sports have declined. The people confirmed have gone against the stream.

Chalmers church is a household of faith, aiming to express Christ’s love in all our relationships. By attending church we are encouraged in our Christian faith. The Christian life is not easy and sometimes we become frustrated and disillusioned. By coming together we find that the flame of faith is rekindled. Christian life is corporate, not individualistic. The preacher quoted from a message of his father, presbyter in Waiwhetu: “The worship service is the place of encounter. Here we meet with God.”

Other Highlights: Confirmation: a brother and sister in their late teens came forward to be confirmed. They had to affirm their faith and answer several questions with “I do”. The presbyter then prayed over them. The elders of the church and others then came forward to shake their hands in a gesture of welcome.

Wrap-up: A sign of peace was shared near the end of the service, with people shaking hands. After the final hymn the presbyter said a benediction followed by the sung Amen. During the postlude the presbyter, the bible carrier and the choir processed out.

After the service: I had to go of to work straight away, but shook the presbyter’s hand at the door.

Quality of morning tea: Unfortunately I was not there to sample the fare.

Reflection It was certainly good to witness a confirmation, a declaration of faith. This is not an easy decision in today’s world.

The preacher spoke about church being an encouragement in our faith. I have to admit that church often leaves me very discouraged. It seems often too much an expression of people’s own ambitions, a place in which power and opinions are played out. People often appear to go through a weekly ritual. Also a sense of superficiality pervades many services, and especially the time after that, when mostly polite questions are asked. On top of that the theology espoused in many services is doubtful. Where is the joy and love of Christian living? Where is the deepness of meaning in Jesus? Where is serious Christian thinking? Of course church will never be able to capture what it means to follow Jesus. We cannot expect too much from the church, but we can long for one that expresses the Christian gospel more deeply.
Segundo Galilea (a Latin American writer on spirituality) addressed the issue of personal difficulties with the church: “The mature person lives in any institution, if he has valid motives to be part of it, even though he may not agree with many issues. He knows that no institution is perfect. But he does not feel dejected, because he is able to live in ambiguous and provisional situations.”

Something else happened to me during the service: my cell-phone went off. It is a highly embarrassing situation, but really I should have switched it to silent if possible. Of course those of us who are on call on Sunday mornings, still need a cell-phone and may leave the church quickly, but at least it allows us to go to church.