Nine O'Clock Service
Encyclopedia
The Nine O'Clock Service was a youth-oriented alternative Christian
worship service started, before a 1985 John Wimber
Signs and Wonders
conference in Sheffield, in 1986 at St Thomas' Church
in Crookes, Sheffield
, United Kingdom
by a group of Christian musicians and artists. The service, and the group associated with it, grew to national prominence, but was shut down in 1995 following allegations of sexual and emotional abuse.
The average age of the members was 24 for much of NOS's life. The membership was significantly church backgrounds.
Starting with about 10 people who worked on designing and creating the services, the congregation grew to almost 600 members while resident at St Thomas' Church. Main themes included care for the planet and concern about its abuse, simple lifestyle and development of relationships with non-churched people.
By 1988 the Nine O'Clock Service moved to a new site at Pond's Forge. At the same time Chris Brain underwent training to become a Church of England priest. The Planetary Mass at Pond's Forge was marked by both bold liturgical experimentation and naive hopefulness. The suspended Roman Catholic priest and American Dominican theologian Matthew Fox
was consulted.
In 1995 a number of complaints began to surface of sexual abuse by Chris Brain on women in the group. After an investigation by the Diocese of Sheffield
the group was shut down in August 1995. Chris Brain was de-frocked from acting as a priest, and checked himself into a psychiatric hospital. The Diocese of Sheffield, through a seconded pastoral team led by Rachel Ross, the Reverend Andrew Teal and the Reverend Peter Craig-Wild, attempted to manage the pastoral care both of Brain and members of the community wounded by the scandal. A remnant of the community continued to meet, under different leadership, for some years afterwards in Sheffield.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
worship service started, before a 1985 John Wimber
John Wimber
John Richard Wimber was a musician, charismatic pastor and one of the founding leaders of the Vineyard Movement, a neocharismatic Evangelical Christian denomination which began in the USA and has now spread to many countries world-wide.-Life and ministry:John Richard Wimber was the son of Basil...
Signs and Wonders
Signs and Wonders
Signs and Wonders was a phrase used often by leaders of the Charismatic movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It is closely associated with the ministry of John Wimber and the Vineyard Movement...
conference in Sheffield, in 1986 at St Thomas' Church
St. Thomas' Church, Crookes
St Thomas Church, Crookes is an ecumenical church with united Anglican and Baptist traditions, in Sheffield, England, in Crookes. The building still retains most of its original architecture, although a substantial expansion was made in the 1980s where the worship area was rotated and a church...
in Crookes, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by a group of Christian musicians and artists. The service, and the group associated with it, grew to national prominence, but was shut down in 1995 following allegations of sexual and emotional abuse.
Origins
Beginning as a simple alternative format service under the leadership of Chris Brain, the group responsible for it developed a leadership structure that was endorsed by St Thomas' church leadership.The average age of the members was 24 for much of NOS's life. The membership was significantly church backgrounds.
Starting with about 10 people who worked on designing and creating the services, the congregation grew to almost 600 members while resident at St Thomas' Church. Main themes included care for the planet and concern about its abuse, simple lifestyle and development of relationships with non-churched people.
By 1988 the Nine O'Clock Service moved to a new site at Pond's Forge. At the same time Chris Brain underwent training to become a Church of England priest. The Planetary Mass at Pond's Forge was marked by both bold liturgical experimentation and naive hopefulness. The suspended Roman Catholic priest and American Dominican theologian Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (priest)
Matthew Fox is an American priest and theologian. Formerly a member of the Dominican order within the Roman Catholic Church, Fox is now a member of the Episcopal Church....
was consulted.
Demise
The number of community members stopped growing and service attendance plateaued at about 300. A significant practical weakness in terms of duty of care was the lack of accountability for NOS and its absence from diocesan accountability. This was allowed because of its perceived international significance - which in the end came to nothing. Plans for communities elsewhere were in talks.In 1995 a number of complaints began to surface of sexual abuse by Chris Brain on women in the group. After an investigation by the Diocese of Sheffield
Diocese of Sheffield
The Diocese of Sheffield is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York.The Diocese of Sheffield was formed on January 23, 1914, by the division from the Diocese of York...
the group was shut down in August 1995. Chris Brain was de-frocked from acting as a priest, and checked himself into a psychiatric hospital. The Diocese of Sheffield, through a seconded pastoral team led by Rachel Ross, the Reverend Andrew Teal and the Reverend Peter Craig-Wild, attempted to manage the pastoral care both of Brain and members of the community wounded by the scandal. A remnant of the community continued to meet, under different leadership, for some years afterwards in Sheffield.