I was interested to read John Bell’s reflection on the impact of layout on worship in the February issue of Life and Work and thought our experiences at St Matthew’s in Perth may be of interest.
We refurbished our church in 2016 but it was only during the Covid-19 lockdown when we needed to socially distance that we started setting out our tables and chairs in a “cafe” style. This has proved so popular that we now set out our church in this way regularly.
We find that this layout (see photo below) does indeed “encourage active engagement in worship and a sense of mutual belonging” with more people also remaining in their seats following the service to enjoy some hospitality at their tables.
Fiona Bruce, Perth