Outside, the hustle and bustle of everyday life carried but for a few minutes – precisely 15 actually – there was a little bit of space for a calm coming together and reflection in the church of St David’s in Swansea.
Regular worshippers were joined by commuters and families who had popped in to sample the first “micro service” being led by the Rev John Gillibrand, the vicar of Pontarddulais with Penllergaer.
The aim is to make church more accessible by drawing in people with busy lives for whom an hour-long service doesn’t fit into tight schedules.
At the start of his service Gillibrand smiled that one wag had characterised the initiative as: “Ready, steady – church!” He explained: “We live in a busy, busy world. People are under pressure – work family all kinds of things.” This was a chance to pause for a few minutes, take stock, perhaps feel the presence of God.
Gillibrand propped up an office clock against the front pew facing away from the congregation and he was off.
The reading was from the Gospel of Mark. Gillibrand said Jesus was a “very busy bloke” and in the episode he focused on had got up early, gone off to a “solitary place” and prayed. When the disciples found Jesus they told him: “Everyone is looking for you.”
Gillibrand said the feeling Jesus must have experienced was familiar to busy people. “It’s coming at you from all directions.”
He asked the congregation to “keep silence together … still ourselves … if thoughts pop into our heads, turn them into prayers.” There were a few moments of deep quiet before the clock ticked to the hour and Gillibrand declared: “Fifteen minutes bang on. Thank you God. Mission accomplished.”
The congregation was not huge – 22 – but the pleasing thing for Gillibrand was that it was a mixture of hardy regulars and people who wouldn’t normally attend.
Dorian Davies had squeezed the service in between the end of a working day in the probation service and a yoga class. He said: “Fifteen minutes is brilliant. We’ve got busy lives. This was a nice bit of grounding.”
His wife, Liz Newbury-Davies, who works for Public Health Wales, said: “I’m a vicar’s daughter and in the past I’d be involved in everything at church but it’s now a struggle with time.
“A short, sharp service is fab, an amazing idea, a real brainwave. It’s about fitting church around people’s live. I’ve worked today, travelled and we’ll go on to other things now. This was a good opportunity for quiet time and reflection.”
Dorian and Liz had bought along their daughter Millie, 15, who also appreciated the brevity: “I thought it was really good, not too long.”
Stephanie Williams, a council solicitor, said she had had a “hectic day” focused on her work computer. “It’s been nice to call in and have this,” she said. She is a member of a Welsh Baptist chapel. “It was good to have something different.”
St David’s stalwarts were impressed. Sally Freedman, the church secretary, said: “I like this as a stop and think for a few minutes thing. I equally like the longer services we have on Sunday.”
Gillibrand was beaming with delight. “I was very very pleased with the response – it’s something we can build on. I didn’t experience the time as a pressure. The important thing was that I watched the clock so the congregation didn’t have to.
“I was very glad to see the diversity of the group. We had members of our existing congregation and people we had never met who said they’d be back next week, which is great.”
