The awareness of Evensong can always do with wider dissemination in the local community- please invite your friends along with you to show them what a jewel it is.
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If your church is interested in our Reception scheme, I enclose a template for organising such an event below:
BEFORE RECEPTION:
Record numbers of people attending Evensong in the weeks running up to your Reception Event, and then also in the weeks/months after the Reception, for a “scientific" comparison then that will hopefully be useful data for convincing other churches to get on board with the Reception idea in the future…
Send out invites
to your MP & Mayors, representatives from the local press, local schools, hotels, B&Bs, pub landlords, residents’ associations, universities, historical preservation societies, other religious denominations, chambers of commerce, the local tourist offices, doctor's surgeries and the county council.
(see this example Google spreadsheet, and a template email invitation)
Invite all people with a vested interest and/or who help the choir in any way (e.g. choir parents)
*For those repeating a previous reception, perhaps ask those who came last time to forward the invitation to people they feel would enjoy coming.
Chase non-replies with at least another round of emails at some point, at least a week or two before the date
Book reception venue (if different from church) - ask for the most elegant and impressive room you can!
Book catering
Organise photographer for the purpose of gaining images of the event for local press/your own publicity etc.
Prepare press release by acquiring brief quotes from local (or national) VIPs (and see template press release)
Contact all local press outlets with press release a week before the event (this has the advantage that if they publish online immediately, this can bring an extra wadge of people to the Reception, so be warned re catering!)
DURING EVENSONG & RECEPTION:
Have someone at the door who can greet guests and tick them off as having arrived on a printed sheet so you know who came, and perhaps have a sheet for people signing up with their email address to hear about special Evensongs.
Have a spoken 'welcome' 5 minutes before the official start of the service, to allow for an uninterrupted service from then on. We suggest something like:
"We welcome you to our service of Evensong. For those of you unfamiliar with how things work during the service, we'd like to run through a few details. We will let you know when you have to stand or sit, so you don't have to guess. Your hymnals should be in front of you, and we will announce the number of the hymn/s at the appropriate moment towards the end of service, so you can find the right page in the hymnal then. You do not need to say the confession at the beginning of the service, or the creed later on, if doing so would make you feel uncomfortable- such things are completely optional. You may find some of the language very beautiful, but unfamiliar to the ear- this is because it is written in 16th-century english; however, it should be comprehensible nonetheless. We will now proceed with the service in all its glory."
Make sure readings and sermon in Evensong are “on message” for perhaps a majority-secular congregation (preferably not a particularly judgemental Old Testament reading, or one with long, obscure lists of names, or sermons that assume belief (better that they assume non-belief)). Obviously the Lectionary has to be followed re: readings, but if there are several options for that Sunday, please may these considerations be borne in mind? Also, do see our link to introductory sentences for the old testament reading on our Words page.
Choose really great hymns that everyone knows
Choose popular evensong choral favourites that offer the most accessible 'shop window' to the musical repertoire of Evensong.
Organise someone who is responsible for giving a speech at the Reception who can contextualise what is going on, let them know about this ChoralEvensong.org website and what it does, and ask the various stakeholders present to tell their respective networks about Evensong to seed awareness in the community!
AFTER:
Follow-up afterwards to get quotes from important people, and keep a record of testimonials from email thank-yous
Record Evensong attendance numbers in weeks/months following
