During the five Sundays in Lent, we featured worship in very different styles and invited you to tell us how you experienced God.  The full survey results are on our website: www.stlukesjamestown.org.  But here are some highlights.  By the numbers all of the weeks scored at least 4 points out of a possible 5.  Week four (joyful praise) was the most popular Sunday with a 4.5, followed closely by weeks two (transcendence) and three (contemplative) at 4.4.  Next was week one (family) at 4.3 and last was week five (expansive imagery) with a 4.0.

Overall, I was struck by the number of people who commented that communion itself, no matter what style or form it takes, is what brings them closest to God.  Other generally positive comments included the participation of children and youth in music and liturgy and the extra silence in week four, though a few people mentioned the difficulty of pulling it off in a large group.  Some critical comments mentioned confusion as we dealt with some unfamiliar weekly changes in words, music and movement.  Other people liked the different elements, but wouldn't necessarily want them every week.

Also some of the same elements that some found the most helpful and meaningful, others found the least helpful and meaningful.  For instance, the more upbeat contemporary music in the last two Sundays was mentioned as both a strong positive, but also by a couple people as a negative.  In week two the Great Litany and high church Rite I elements had a few strong enthusiasts, while more found it off-putting to have the priests facing away from the congregation.  And though many loved the Taize-style prayers of the people, one person thought the organ accompaniment evoked "doom and gloom."  There were positive comments about the expanded imagery and new prayers and hymns in week 5, but some found it disjointed and many found the Message version of the psalm too jarringly different.