Old Worship New

Of Culture and Arrangement

2012-01-27T17:30:00.000-06:00

A few months ago, I was listening to a friend talk about his "weekend off." The church where he serves has a bluegrass-esque group that plays on the 5th Sunday of the month and this was a 5th Sunday.

"It would have been fine," he said, "if they wouldn't have chosen 'Siyahamba'!" I asked why he thought that way. He said something to the effect of it being blasphemous for an African song being played on a banjo.

Now, before I continue, I would like to tell another story. I think this will make my mind a little clearer.

A church I used to serve has a partner congregation in Tanzania where they give support in prayer, finance, and other gifts. One of those gifts is that the congregation in the US annually visits the Tanzanian churches, for there are many churches, but one congregation.

My musician friend, Kirsten, who leads the group goes nearly every year. Upon her return, I asked her about the music. "Oh, Sean, I wish you could have heard it!" she exclaimed, "It was so great!"

It turns out that they sing, without accompaniment, both songs from Tanzanian culture and more Western hymns. Apparently, they sang "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty," a favorite hymn of hers. There was percussion. Do you think she turned up her nose and said, "It's blasphemous to sing that song with djembe!"? No, she talked about how fun it is and a great way to bring the old hymn some life to people in a very different environment from Joachim Neander, who wrote the hymn.

Now, I know that these are two different people about two different topics. However, why is there excited about the use of native instruments in Africa, but disdain for the use of native instruments in America? Or another way to look at it: Why is it weird to play African music on an organ, but not organ music with a drum and choir?

I think part of being engaging and "relevant" in this day and age may not be getting rid of old music, but making it new again. If your context is guitars and banjos, go ahead and play African music. Honestly, it might not sound good, but try it and see how it works. If your culture is organs, go ahead and play "Siyahamba" on the organ and see how the assembly likes it. If your culture is electric guitars, please don't throw out all the old hymns because they are old. Let's just teach the faith with new some tools.

Would you ever play a song from Africa on a banjo?

Remembering Baptism

2012-01-05T21:07:00.001-06:00

With Baptism of our Lord this Sunday (for lectionary-keeping churches), it’s a great opportunity to explore your denomination’s baptismal theology in worship, or simply explore the imagery.

If your font is movable, consider locating it near the entrance to the sanctuary to highlight the symbolism.

Consider placing bowls of water throughout the worship space and encouraging worshipers to trace the sign of the cross on one another with the water.

If your font is a bowl, consider using something larger in it’s place: an artificial pond, a kiddie pool, a claw-foot tub—what could you use to heighten the extravagance of the symbol? Jesus was washed in the Jordan; how can you emphasize the large volume of water as a testament to God’s abundant grace?

Consider a rite of “affirmation of baptism” for the whole assembly, concluding with sprinkling the congregation with water from the font via an evergreen branch.

For Lutheran congregations, consider using the questions and answers on Holy Baptism from Luther’s Small Catechism in worship. The pastor could ask the questions and the congregation could take the answers, or vice versa. Alternatively, you could read through it twice, with the congregation asking the questions the first time through, then answering them the second time through. Or, recycle this again on Transfiguration Sunday to bookmark this season; for Baptism of our Lord, have the congregation ask the questions, and on Transfiguration have the congregation recite the answers.

Finally, brainstorm ways for worshippers to take this theme home with them. How can they remember the significance of their baptism daily? Is there something tangible they could take home, say, a seashell (traditionally used to pour water over the head of the baptized during the rite)? The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

What does baptism mean to you? How will this Sunday’s theme be significant in your own faith journey?

Name Above All Names

2012-01-02T23:17:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, being both a Sunday and January 1, provided lectionary-abiding congregations with an option: to celebrate it as the First Sunday after Christmas or to celebrate the festival of the Name of Jesus, commemorating both the naming of the Christ-child and his circumcision on the eighth day after his birth.(Luke 2:21).

I suspect that most worshipers in so-called “liturgical churches” are not cognizant of the plethora of scriptural references present in the formal liturgy. In light of this, and to connect this post to yesterday’s feast of the Name of Jesus, I offer a cursory look at the various times and ways in which the Name of God/Christ is invoked or simply referred to.

invocation. “In the name of the father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen”
Preparatory prayer for confession. “Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open…though Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Prayer of confession. “Most merciful God…For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name.”
Absolution. “In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Apostolic greeting. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Kyrie. “…let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.”
Gloria. “Glory to God in the highest and peace to God’s people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father. […] Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father. Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.”
At the conclusion of the readings. “The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.”
Announcement of the gospel. “Glory to you, O Lord.”
Conclusion of the gospel. “Praise to you, O Christ.”
Nicene Creed. “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty…We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father…We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified…”
Prayers of Intercession. “Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.”
Sharing of the Peace. “The peace of Christ be with you always.”
Sursum corda. “The Lord be with you; and also with you. Lift up your hearts; we lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God; it is right to give him thanks and praise.”
Preface. “It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, O Lord, Holy Father, almighty and everlasting God…”
Sanctus. “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”
Words of Institution. “In the night in which he was betrayed our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me…”
Lord’s prayer. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…”
Agnus Dei. “Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world. Have mercy on us…”
Nunc dimittis. “Now, Lord, you let your servant depart in peace…”
Aaronic blessing. “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord’s face shine on you with grace and mercy. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.”
Dismissal. “Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.”

This, in my opinion, is the joy of the formal liturgy of the Church catholic. It is easy, in the spirit of cultural accessibility, to start pruning the liturgy of it’s formalness and “Christian-ese.” But the danger is one of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, pruning so severely that the service is left with little to no invocation of the name of the God we are there to worship.

You have a name; I have a name. We get anxious and embarrassed when we forget someone’s name, knowing that names are important, part of that person’s identity. To forget someone’s name makes us feel as though we’ve forgotten them as a person, that we’ve not considered them important enough to even keep track of who they are. The name of our God should be no less important, no less impersonalized by monikers like “Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer” and the like.

The centuries-old liturgy will have none of that, as evidenced by it’s constant invocation of the name of Christ. To that end, the feast of the Name of Jesus is one we celebrate virtually every Sunday. Paul calls Jesus the name “that is above every name” (Phil 2.9). Peter preached to his captors that “there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4.12).

Christ’s name is central to our faith and to our worship, and no visitor to such worship should leave wondering who is being worshiped or even why.

Growing Older

2011-12-31T11:25:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite hymns is this one, penned by hymn writer William Gay:

Each winter as the year grows older,

we each grow older, too

The chill sets in a little colder;

the verities we knew seem shaken and untrue.

So even as the sun is turning

to journey to the north,

the living flame, in secret burning,

can kindle on the earth and bring God’s love to birth.

This day, New Year’s Eve, is where Christmas meets Advent again—not Advent in the liturgical sense, but a secular one, our pregnant waiting for the new year to come in. We make new year’s resolutions; we gather with friends and family to watch the ball drop at midnight. Our culture has ritualized this time of new beginnings, of welcoming in the new year.

But, as the hymn text above reminds us, another year means we’re another year older, a reminder of our mortality. Still, the fact that days have been getting longer for over a week now as the sun makes its annual journey back to the north is a reminder of the renewal of life, the cycle of death and resurrection that we easily gloss over in holiday festivities.

As churches await Epiphany on January 6, these twelve days of Christmas become difficult for us to wrap our liturgical heads around. What do we do in this time? How do we continue to celebrate the birth of Christ while the rest of the world has moved on to celebrate the new year? There are no easy answers. Perhaps this is where worship must come home with us as worshipers:

O Child of ecstasy and sorrows,

O Prince of peace and pain,

brighten today’s world by tomorrow’s,

renew our lives again; Lord Jesus, come and reign!

As we celebrate the new year, let us also continue to celebrate the One who makes all things new. As we welcome 2012, let us welcome anew the One born to us in the fullness of time. As we make new year’s resolutions, let us remember the One who makes alive by killing, who brings death to the old self and resurrects the new.

May your new year be filled with God’s richest blessings.

A Case of the Bah-Humbugs

2011-12-28T20:48:00.001-06:00

I’ll admit it. Part of me is glad Christmas is over. Sure, part of me laments the demise in our Western culture of celebrating the full 12 days of Christmas. But there’s a part of me that finds Christmas to be my least favorite holiday in the church year.

Yes, there’s the over-commercialization, and we would do well as churches to fight against it. But that’s not why I tend to dislike Christmas. For me, Christmas is irksome because it tends to come across as dripping with sappy sentimentalism and nostalgia, focusing way too much on the cute little baby in the manger.

Don’t believe me? Well, when was the last time you saw a Children’s Good Friday pageant? When was the last time your congregation clamored for singing just one Easter hymn during Lent? Easter just doesn’t have the same emotional pull that Christmas does.

So what’s a congregation to do? I have no answers, only questions. How can we take Christmas deeper than just sentimental trappings? How can we involve children in more meaningful ways than simply throwing them onto a stage to sing our favorite carols, or dress them up like angels and wise men? Is baby Jesus really what Christmas is all about? Making a big to-do about the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger may be missing the point. After all, it’s surely not insignificant that only two of the four gospels record a birth narrative. Is there not more to Christmas that we can focus on?

Perhaps you disagree with me. Perhaps I’m just venting frustration, but I think these questions deserve real thought on all our parts. How does your church stay countercultural in the face of the holiday season? Does your church hold a “blue Christmas” service to minister to those for whom Christmas is not filled with “good tidings of great joy?” Or what about an end of the year healing service? What other ways might congregations transcend the trivial during this time?

The Participatory Church

2011-12-12T18:04:00.001-06:00

I stumbled across this blog post by Steve Knight over at Knightopia. In it, he quotes Eric Weiner in a recent New York Times op-ed piece:

“We need a Steve Jobs of religion. Someone (or ones) who can invent not a new religion but, rather, a new way of being religious. Like Mr. Jobs’s creations, this new way would be straightforward and unencumbered and absolutely intuitive. Most important, it would be highly interactive. I imagine a religious space that celebrates doubt, encourages experimentation and allows one to utter the word God without embarrassment. A religious operating system for the Nones among us. And for all of us.”

Knight argues that this movement is already here, with such people as “Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Rob Bell, Shane Claiborne, and Peter Rollins (among others)” leading the way. Going on, Knight challenges worship leaders across denominations to consider this idea of “participation” seriously, pointing out that many churches do things to people rather than inviting them to participate in the doing.

I’m a bit torn by all of this. Part of me sees the Church throughout history, at its most faithful and life-giving, as just this sort of thing: engaging people, inviting them, making room for them, being “interactive” and “experimental.” In other words, there’s nothing new under the sun in his assessment—this is what the Church, at its finest, simply does. Good liturgy is truly “the work of the people”: it is participatory, interactive, experimental. Good liturgy also flows into mission, sending people out into the world to be Christ—how much more interactive can you get than people feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick, etc.?

On the other hand, part of me disagrees with the assessment of Knight and one of his sources, Dr. Bolger that we live in a “participatory” culture shaped by the internet. At least in my experience—and therefore this is purely anecdotal evidence—the context of my ministry has been rarely a culture of participation. It’s more like pulling teeth to get people involved. It is a small fraction of people who actually sing in worship (assuming they even show up for worship) and truly interact with one another in the ways that would truly transform the world were they to do so.

In the book Habits of the Heart, Robert Bellah writes about Joe Gorman, a dedicated volunteer in Joe’s community of Suffolk:

"As a traditional American patriot, Joe Gorman deeply cherishes the American ideal of freedom, even though in many ways it is precisely the ideal of freedom that makes his dream of a united Suffolk family impossible to achieve. The success of Suffolk's family spirit depends, as he has discovered, on the willingness of a few people like himself to volunteer freely to sustain community life with their own efforts. Yet he recognizes that very few people in Suffolk are willing to undertake the burdens of sharing community life, and that a man like himself is therefore likely to become exhausted, repeatedly finding himself the only volunteer."

The sort of participatory culture required for the Church to engage the world in a “ministry of reconciliation,” as the apostle Paul wrote, requires the sort of hands-on, in-the-trenches work that the internet culture tries to avoid: people shop online so they don’t have to deal with real people in a store; people give offerings to missions so they don’t have to volunteer at the soup kitchen; congregations hire full-time staff to do the work of ministry that would otherwise require the coordinated efforts of laity. In other words, the culture of participation needed by the Church is, I would contend, incompatible with the participatory culture shaped by internet and technology, one characterized by privatization..

To summarize: I think the Church, at it’s best, is precisely what Weiner wants—straightforward, unencumbered, intuitive, interactive, experimental, participatory. It has always been that in one form or another. But the culture around is is not one that can support the sort of corporate work ethic that the Church requires, a disparity that I suspect will only continue to worsen.

Perhaps you have a different take on the issue. If so, please share it!

Waiting in Anticip...ation

2011-12-01T14:26:00.003-06:00

Here we are: the first week in Advent. With Black Friday madness fading in the memory, we're reminded still that the busy holiday season is upon us. In Year B, the weeks of Advent transport us from themes of watching and waiting (week 1); to preparing ourselves, our families, our community, and our world for Christ (week 2); to joining John the Baptist as a living proclamation of Christ’s coming (week 3); to assurance that God is truly at work in the world (week 4). As we prepare to tear open our gifts on Christmas, may we also find ways to prepare our hearts, for God promises to “tear open” the heavens and come down (Isaiah 64.1; Mark 1.10).

What does your Advent look like? Perhaps your songs may be in more minor keys than usual, tempos may be slower than usual, and the energy and excitement may be less intense than usual. To those for whom Advent is a foreign concept, this shift in the affect of worship is all part of the rhythm of life as it is lived out in our worship. To some, this may seem dry and lifeless, but these value judgments prevent us from embracing Advent for what it is: a time to reflect, to slow down, and to prepare. As any good musician knows, the rests are just as important as the notes. Advent prevents the Christmas season from overtaxing us. If we simply charge ahead into Christmas at full throttle, we will be burned out before we ever get to the celebration. How many of us really maintain the joyous holiday spirit for the full 12 days of Christmas that last until January 6? I don’t know about you, but some years, by the time December 26 rolls around, I’m ready to turn off the Christmas music, box up the decorations, and burn the tree!

Advent calls us to a different way of living, one of patience, confession, and personal reflection. Watch for Christ. Prepare for Christ. Proclaim Christ. Live Christ.

Christ the King, 2011

2011-11-15T22:16:00.001-06:00

Of all festivals in the liturgical year, I find this one to be the most…provocative…

First, it’s the most recent addition to the church calendar, being instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in the midst of Mussolini’s rise to power—Mussolini had become prime minister of Italy in 1922, and by early 1925 had asserted himself as dictator and turned Italy into a police state. Pius XI established the feast of Christ the King in a letter on December 11 that year, and on Christmas Eve, Parliament passed a law declaring Mussolini no longer prime minister but “head of the government” and accountable only to the King.

Second, though originally observed on the last Sunday of October (immediately before All Saints), in 1969 Pope Paul VI relocated it to the last Sunday of the liturgical year, falling in late November. Liturgically speaking, this locates in the midst of a series of Sundays with a strong eschatological focus (Advent included). But I cannot fail to notice the coincidence that, in American churches, this locates a feast about the sovereignty of Christ right around election time, creating prime fodder for sermons about where our loyalties as American Christians must ultimately be, and it also is an opportunity to wrestle with your congregation about those ubiquitous American flags in our sanctuaries…

Provocative as it is for me, I find plenty of musical material for it, unlike some other days of the calendar. Better still, the texts for this day lend themselves very well to many contemporary songs, due in large part to the contemporary worship movement’s ties to evangelical Christianity, and evangelical Christianity’s strong theological themes of Christ as victor and conqueror. Songs such as “Ancient of Days,” “Mighty to Save,” “You Are My KIng (Amazing Love),” and “Lord, Reign in Me” are all excellent choices thematically for this Sunday, and they are also among the more congregationally appropriate of the genre.

What are your favorite hymns/songs that proclaim Christ’s kingship?

Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ

2011-11-10T09:23:00.001-06:00

This week’s gospel lesson (for those that follow the Revised Common Lectionary) is the parable of the talents, a great illustration of stewardship. How does worship connect with stewardship?

There is a multitude of ways to empower people to use their gifts in worship. Pastors could set aside a group of lay preachers to read through the texts and process the material; these lay leaders could preach on Sundays when the pastor must be gone, or they could lead worship for the homebound or those in care facilities.

Assisting ministers are another great way to empower worship leaders in your congregation. Assisting ministers can lead the prayers and other parts of the liturgy and help serve communion. In my congregation, we have a senior pastor, an associate pastor, but we still make sure we have assisting ministers so that the “work of the people” is still central to worship and it has a fringe benefit of allowing us to designate a presider and a preacher—that way, the one giving the sermon doesn’t have to focus on all of the other logistics of worship that day.

I’ve also been tempted to do weekly or monthly worship planning meetings and open them up to the whole congregation—whomever wishes to participate and share their ideas is welcome. This lets the congregation get a behind-the-scenes look at how we plan worship, and it also affords them some ownership of the process.

Another idea: Thanksgiving is coming up shortly, and my congregation actively contributes to the food pantry in our community. As a way of connecting worship with stewardship, during the offering at our Thanksgiving Eve services I typically have the ushers bring up the grocery bags of food that have been donated that week. It helps people recognize that offering is more than money, and that the gifts we have to offer extend beyond the four walls of the sanctuary—it’s not just about keeping the lights on and paying people’s salaries.

How do you live out connections to stewardship in your worship? What other ideas might you suggest?

The Challenge of All Saints Sunday

2011-11-04T10:57:00.002-05:00

For many churches, worship on Sunday will be a remembrance and celebration of "saints." For some denominations, this will include a focus on particular "heroes of the faith." For others, it is a chance to focus on the "cloud of witnesses," the "invisible Church" of all times and places.

In my congregation, we have had a tradition for the last few years of celebrating Reformation and All Saints by planning our two Sunday morning services to be identical. Typically, we have an 8:30 "traditional" service and a 10:45 "contemporary" or "blended" service (depending on how you define those terms). On Reformation Sunday (last week), I included this note in the bulletin:

To celebrate our Lutheran heritage for Reformation Sunday, both services today are “traditional” in order to highlight the 500-year foundation on which our worship is built. In contrast, All Saints Sunday (Nov. 6) worship will be “contemporary” for both services as a reminder that our work as saints takes place in this particular place and time. Please use the communion cards to let us know where you saw God at work in worship today!

I include a similar note on All Saints Sunday. But here's the dilemma: Reformation Sunday is easy to plan as a pull-out-all-the-stops, high-church service; All Saints, on the other hand, is far from easy to plan with contemporary resources. The state of contemporary Christian pop music (at least the small slice of the available music that I'm able to keep up with) is notably lacking in "saints" language. The vast majority of it is highly focused on the level of personal relationship--what God does for me and what I do for God.

This is not necessarily bad, but it does pose problems for finding music for some days in the lectionary. All Saints Sunday is almost the opposite of that aforementioned theme. I would argue that, to a certain extent, All Saints is a recognition of what we do for each other. It's about passing on the faith to other generations; it's about being in service to the neighbor; it's about walking along side one another in the midst of suffering and trial. In some respects, it is the one day that the Church gets to celebrate its own self, the one day when the Church gets to celebrate what it means to be the Church. But in my opinion, that's a concept that seems to be foreign to the general theology of contemporary Christian pop/rock music.

There are some musical exceptions out there, and I'm hoping y'all can suggest more. I have been drawn to a couple of songs that work very well for All Saints in a contemporary context. One is "Let It Be Said of Us" by Steve Fry. The second is "Find Us Faithful" by Steve Green. As contemporary songs go, they're old, but they are the best songs I've found for getting at the heart of All Saints Sunday.

Perhaps you'll find them useful in your own congregations, and if you have other suggestions, please let us know in the comments below.

Accepting My Limitations

2011-10-21T10:27:00.001-05:00

This post is a complement to my previous one, titled, “Becoming a Better Worshiper.”

I was having a conversation with a relative a couple weekends ago. She was discussing how she sometimes doesn’t feel like her pastor’s sermons motivate her, and she leaves worship not feeling energized for the week. Then, the other day I had a conversation with a former pastor who suggested that a pastor’s primary role in preaching should be to motivate.

Should this be the musician’s role as well? Should this be worship’s role? I’m inclined to disagree. I’m convinced that for musician’s and pastors and even worship itself to take responsibility for the participation and motivation of our parishioners and worshipers is to doom ourselves to endless stress, disappointment, and failure. Hence the title of this post, “Accepting My Limitations.”

It comes down to boundaries. There is a difference between being responsible to others and being responsible for others. In other words, my responsibility as a leader is to stay connected to the people, to encourage them, to walk alongside them, to challenge them, but to avoid taking on their personal responsibilities. If I start taking responsibility for constantly emailing my song leaders to remind them of the schedule I’ve already sent out, or taking responsibility for planning music that will “engage” certain people, or constantly catering to the comments I get from people about how they didn’t like some aspect of worship, I have taken responsibility for them. What results is leaders under constant stress who feel burned out in the short term, and congregation members who aren’t challenged to grow and mature.

I believe that I, as a worshiper, am solely responsible for my participation and for life-application of the Gospel, and I believe that I, as a worship leader, am responsible for ensuring that I do not take the responsibilities of the worshiper for myself. The worship leader or preacher cannot and should not be a spiritual motivator. In an ordination service, the pastor receives his or her stole, a symbol of their office of Word and Sacrament. What they do not receive are pom-poms; they are not called by congregations to stand on the sidelines and cheer us on as we “run the race.” They are there to walk along side us with compassion—literally, “with-suffering”—and this is our calling to one another as Christians.

There is a story by David Griebner called “The Carpenter and the Unbuilder.” The king of a kingdom invites the carpenter to a banquet. The carpenter spends six months preparing for event: learning about current events, studying the rules of etiquette, etc. Finally he packs his bags and takes off, taking his tools along to build shelter as needed. But when he stops to build shelter, he gets caught up in it. What begins as a simple shack for a night’s stay becomes an elaborate house under perpetual construction as the carpenter constantly adds on and improves the structure. The king, recognizing the carpenter’s delay, sends out another citizen whom he invited to go out and check on the carpenter. This citizen finds the carpenter and challenges him to continue on the journey. Calling himself the unbuilder, the citizen reminds the carpenter of the journey when he gets distracted, explores options with him when he is overwhelmed by decisions, but never stays inside the shelter with the carpenter, knowing that they must continue journeying to the banquet—the king will keep the food warm until they arrive.

Leaders, like the unbuilder, are not called to make all their people’s decisions, or do all the work. As John the Baptist said of Christ, “He must increase; I must decrease.” So it is with leaders and followers. Leaders walk alongside, explore options, challenge preconceptions and misconceptions, and do their best to avoid getting “caught up” in staying stuck in one place. In the end, it is the people who must choose the path.

So let us take responsibility for our own journey of faith, our own worship, our own service to God and the neighbor, and walk alongside our leaders as they walk with us. And as leaders, let us take responsibility for our leading, but not for others’ following.

Becoming a Better Worshiper

2011-10-17T17:44:00.001-05:00

When I’m worshiping outside my own congregation (and even in my own congregation) I sometimes find myself thinking the strangest things: the tempo of that hymn was too slow, the pastor preached too long, the reader kept stumbling over words, the microphones weren’t turned up enough, the pew cushions aren’t soft enough, the service felt sluggish, the song leader waxed philosophic, etc. I soon discover I spent the whole worship service evaluating the worship service instead of worshiping.

I suspect I’m not alone in this. Too often I think the problem is the service itself. Rarely do I focus on my self rather than locating the problem in a million other things over which I have no control. Worship is as much about my attitude as it is about the liturgy in which I’m participating—or refusing to participate… It’s easy to spend the 60+ minutes brooding over what I didn’t like than feasting on the words of eternal life that were offered.

Also, if I spend the whole service expecting to be inspired, moved, empowered, fed, or energized in some obvious or glorious way by the simple trappings of the liturgy (the “praise band,” the organ, the preacher, the sacraments, the hymns, the prelude, etc.) then I am sure to be disappointed. A God who makes himself known in a manger bed, as a carpenter’s son, as the One who dies a criminal’s death on a cross is not a God who reveals himself in the obvious or the glorious (by human standards). He comes to us as one unknown, unexpected and mysterious.

My worship is worked out in relationship—to God and to the neighbor. Being open to the proclamation of the Word in foreign and unexpected ways requires a humble heart. Being willing to participate in worship fully for the sake of the other requires a certain death to self, putting my own wants and desires aside and participating in something I may not like, solely out of love for the brother or sister in Christ who sits beside me in the pew. The trappings of worship, regardless of style or appearance, are simply tools provided for me for the working out of my own worship on Sunday morning. They are the steps for the ballet, the 60+ minute dance with the Lord of the Dance that I am invited into by the host of the wedding feast. My spiritual attitude will determine how freely and joyfully I will enter into it.

Instead of focusing on how “good” the service was or how well I “liked” or “disliked” it, I will seek to focus on how well I worshiped, knowing that I alone am responsible for the “goodness” of my worship.

Children's Choir

2011-10-17T15:43:00.004-05:00

What is the point of a children's choir? It sounds flippant, but I actually believe it to be a hugely important question.

I had the opportunity over the summer to take a two-week long class at St. Thomas University on the Orff Schulwerk approach to music education. The program's information is here, and you can find more information about Orff-based music education here. It was a great program - exhausting, too.

Orff is a fairly loose approach to music education; music-reading skills are not overtly taught, nor is performance a big deal. Rather, children are encouraged to experiment and make their own music. Near the end of the class, my fellow students started to ask about endgoals - for example, at what grade level should all of your students be able to clap a rhythm of half- and quarter-notes? So our teacher shared a comprehensive chart that worked through each grade (1-5) and different parts of musicianship (Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, Form/Expression). So for example, our teacher expected that by May, all of her second graders should understand eighth notes through whole notes, be able to sing So, Mi, Re, Do melodic patterns, and be able to play a 2-part canon on the xylophones.

I was intrigued by this. Should I make some goals for my children's choirs? If I did, what would they be? Because my choirs consist of a fairly wide range of ages, I cannot create a chart for each grade level like our teacher did. How to teach basics when I have one child who is a Suzuki recorder prodigy, and other children who have never done anything musical in their lives?

Even more fundamentally, what is the final goal of a children's choir? The purpose of an adult choir seems obvious to me: to lead, teach, encourage, and enhance congregational worship. I'm not sure that this purpose applies to children's choirs. As I thought about it, I realized that I actually have several goals for my children's choir (the older one, grades 3-8)

Learn basic music-readings skills - including sight-singing
Learn texts worth memorizing
Learn music worth learning
Lead worship
Learn about the traditions of the church and the meanings and stories of the church seasons
Have positive, quality musical experiences

Back to my Orff class. One of our teachers works at a private elementary school where she (as the music teacher) sees her kids everyday. That's incredible. People asked her, "Do you have a lot of kids that go on to be music majors?" Her answer was unexpected: "No. We have a lot of kids that go on to be good people." All the music educators with me cheered. In a room surrounded by teachers, I got to thinking: a history teacher's job is not necessarily to create new historians, but to form people who understand history and will improve the world through their understanding. An English teacher's job is not necessarily to raise up the next Shakespeare, but to form people who are able to write well and appreciate literature. Is not a music teacher's job to create, if not musicians, then at least people who understand and appreciate music? And what about church musicians, when engaged in their teaching role?

Is our goal, like Christian Youth Directors, to create well-developed young Christians?
Is our goal, like music teachers, to create young people who appreciate music?

In typical Lutheran fashion, I have to answer "both".

In a later post, I'll talk about how I try to carry out this dual goal.

The Trouble with Tempi

2011-09-30T13:10:00.001-05:00

I suspect we’ve all experienced it: a hymn or song that was too fast, too slow, too mechanical, or too unpredictable in its pace. I’ve encountered stories of pastors grumbling about their organists who refuse to play a hymn faster. I’ve personally experienced the problem of trying to lead a song with drums and guitars, which forces you to be creative about how you leave enough space at the end of the verse or chorus so that the congregation can catch a breath before the repeat. And I’ve struggled to sing hymns accompanied by organists who leave no space between notes so that you can’t tell how fast you’re moving from one note to the next, making it easy for a whole congregation to rush the next beat or fall behind simply because they can’t tell where the organist is at in the hymn. And I’ve tried to sing along with worship bands who play too fast for the acoustics of the space and the group their leading, dragging the assembly along behind them.

Whether it’s “traditional” worship or “contemporary” worship, the trouble with tempi must be addressed. If the song is worth singing, it’s worth considering a tempo that will enable singing with a minimum of frustration.

For example, sing through the first two phrases of “A Mighty Fortress.” Try singing it at a tempo slow enough that the pulse you might tap your foot to is every single note. Now sing it faster, so that the pulse is every other note. Personally, the first one wears me out by the end of the first verse—it makes singing the hymn feel like work! The second is easier; even though the tempo is faster, it feels more relaxed and at ease.

Another issue is that tempo is a fluid and nuanced concept. A tempo that works for “Shout to the Lord” for 10 people in a carpeted room with virtually no reverberation will not be the same tempo needed for “Shout to the Lord” for 300 people in a spacious, hard-surface sanctuary with very live acoustics. The tempo can be faster in the first case because the acoustics aren’t in the way, and a small group can keep up more easily. In the latter case, however, the acoustics make a fast tempo impractical; the 300 voices would be competing with their own sound coming back to them slightly behind the beat they’re on—the space is larger, and the live acoustics will turn 300 voices into a cacophony of sound at too fast of a tempo.

A third issue is breathing; singers need to breathe. A hymn sung too slowly may force people to breathe at unnatural places in the musical phrases; too fast, and people won’t have time to catch even a quick breath between phrases. With contemporary songs accompanied by drums, one doesn’t have the luxury of stretching the time between phrases or verses—the song must keep going and will not wait, which sometimes means adding an extra 2-beat or 4-beat space at the end of a line or verse (this is particularly true if one is “contemporizing” traditional hymns).

Finally, we as musicians need to get our egos out of the way. We sometimes think we know the best tempos (and sometimes we do), but the tempos that work for us to play do not always work for congregations to sing, and the tempo that worked last Sunday for “Be Thou My Vision” may not work the next time. The temperature in the sanctuary may be colder or warmer, there may be more or fewer people, they may sit closer together or father apart, they may be extra tired or alert, the hymn or song may fall earlier or later in the service than last time, and so on. Accompanying for congregational singing is a dance, a give and take between leading and following that happens constantly over the course of a single song, a single verse, or even a single phrase or measure. As musicians, we must be sensitive to the needs of the assembly and the music, and make the occasional sacrifice of personal taste or even stylistic considerations for the sake of the Body.

How have these issues been present in your own context? Have you encountered stubborn musicians who led singing with troublesome tempi? How did you address the issue?

Worship Meets Education

2011-09-16T11:19:00.002-05:00

Worship and Christian education are perhaps the two most central aspects of congregational life in Western churches. In my experience, however, congregations do not readily ensure that these two actions flow into and out of each other.

For example, much to my delight, two years ago my congregation adopted a lectionary-based Sunday School curriculum. Prior to that point, we had been using a more general thematic-based curriculum; as a result, Sunday School lessons were often unrelated to the lectionary readings for the day. By allowing both worship and education curriculum to be lectionary-based, kids enter worship and encounter the same readings they have just heard in class. Their education time flows into worship, and worship serves to reinforce the gospel that was proclaimed to them in the classroom.

This year, we're going one step further. We do a midweek service year-round, and are seeking to integrate even more the education and worship components on Wednesday nights. Our Sunday School curriculum includes age-appropriate music connected with the lessons. Our goal this year is to begin our wednesday service, now led by a band, with one or two of the songs that the kids will have encountered in their large group time.

For Advent and Lent, we'll shift gears to something more appropriate to the entire congregation rather than something specifically targeted at children and families, but our hope is to reinforce as much as possible a connection between worship and education.

How do your congregations connect worship and Christian education? If it's something you've never thought about before, consider these possibilities:

Encourage one or more of your adult bible studies to be lectionary-based.
Encourage worshipers to read through the texts prior to the upcoming sunday.
Consider using a lectionary-based education curriculum.
Use lectionary readings for devotional material for meetings, rehearsals, etc.
During Advent, lead an adult forum exploring that year's primary gospel.

As always, the possibilites are limited only by your imagination. If you have other ideas, please share them!

My Fellow Worshipers

2011-09-06T00:02:00.001-05:00

It’s less than a week out from September 11th. If you’re still contemplating what to do with worship, consider this video:

Especially when the texts for Sunday are about forgiveness and refraining from judging one another, this video, available on the website http://www.myfellowamerican.us/, is a poignant illustration of those themes, recognizing that Muslims are our fellow Americans.

If you choose to use the video, respond at Old Worship New with how it was received, how you used it (prelude, sermon illustration, etc.) or anything else you feel moved to write.

Remembering September 11

2011-08-22T11:30:00.001-05:00

This year presents congregations with a unique opportunity: to observe on a Sunday the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks. I suspect most churches will want to acknowledge this overlap, and there are many ways in which to go about it.

For example, my own congregation will be having its second annual joint service with our Methodist brothers and sisters across the street. This service was a great way to both kick-off the start of the new program year (choirs resume, worship schedules change, and children’s education programs begin) and to lift up the ELCA’s full communion agreement with the United Methodist Church. This year, however, allows both of our congregations to celebrate not only our unity but our solidarity with the victims of the September 11 attacks with a time of remembrance and a tolling of our church bell 10 times, representing the ten years that have passed since that event.

Other congregations might consider using their entire Sunday service to observe the day’s significance. A service of healing might be especially meaningful. A service of morning prayer would also be appropriate—those congregations wanting a more explicit remembrance of September 11 might decide that this service, with the absence of Holy Communion, may be a better option than a typical Sunday morning service.

A Saturday evening vespers or compline service may also appeal to some congregations wishing to formally remember September 11 but maintain the usual content of their Sunday morning services. Alternatively, Saturday evening could also be set apart as a time for a simple prayer vigil rather than a formal service—worshipers could spend the time in silent prayer.

Similarly, congregations might also consider designating a room for prayer throughout the week prior to 9/11, inviting worshipers to spend time in the room in silent prayer, coming and going as their schedules permit. Candles, incense, instrumental music, a makeshift altar, etc. could all be employed to establish a contemplative mood for the space.

All of these ideas could be easily expanded and made more ecumenical. Local ministerial associations in your community could be called upon to host more large scale versions of these services with invitations extended to the entire community to participate.

There are a multitude of possibilities. Pastoral need and feasibility should be considered in your particular context for implementing these or other ideas. If you have other suggestions for ways of observing September 11 in worship, please post them!

Commemorating the Saints, September 11, 2011

2011-08-03T12:14:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, Old Worship New reader, Meridith, posted on Facebook that we should discuss Sunday, September 11, 2011. Here is one set of ideas related to the US holiday “Patriot Day” and the regular Sunday worship.

Back in the day, the Church celebrated the death date of every saint that had died. By the 7th century, it dawned on people that there were more saints than days and we should just have one day to commemorate all the saints’ death dates on one day. This simplified things.

Commemoration days are tough, because there is always something else to commemorate and there will always be something to commemorate that we forget.

As we all know, on September 11, 2001 two hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center, another hit the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., and another crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. In total, around 3,000 people died that day. It was a very tragic event. This year is the tenth anniversary of that horrific event.

This was a terrible event for many, especially in the US. However, without detracting from 9-11 or the massive loss of life on that day and the massive loss of feelings of safety for all of the US, here are some other events that we could remember:

On December 26, 2004 an earthquake occurred off the coast of Indonesia creating a Tsunami that resulted in 230,000 deaths throughout countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Haiti was struck with a massive earthquake that killed 316,000 people January 10, 2010.
15,641 people died as an earthquake and a tsunami hit Japan on March 11, 2011.
Every day, nearly 10,000 people worldwide die of water-related diseases. In the time it took you to read that sentence, 1 person died of water-related disease.

All of these events have occurred more recently and have greater death tolls than 9-11, however, few are advocating for an commemoration of these days for our liturgies. Moreover, if we did, soon every Sunday would be a commemoration of some event.

Before you call me heartless because of my mentioning of this, please note that my church is asking this question. The pastor is on one side and a coworker, who was working a few blocks from the World Trade Center on 9-11, is on the other side. My coworker does not think that we should celebrate it at all, my pastor, I believe, thinks it should be a whole commemoration.

As you might guess, I’m in between, both as the worship leader in between the two coworkers and in my opinion. I am not advocating for a whole day to 9-11, nor do I think we shouldn’t mention it. Instead, I am advocating for a day that we remember 9-11, Haiti, Japan, Indonesia, water-related deaths, starvation, etc. Have a day where we remember all those who have died in tragic ends, whether they perished at the hands of terrorists, earthquake, water, or something else. I’m not sure how this will work, nor what we call it, I hope to hear from you all.

My plan is to mention 9-11 on September 11 this year, but September 18, we will have our day of tragedies (hopefully the service won’t be a tragedy). In this, we will memorialize many tragedies, look for God in those tragedies, and pray for the families of the victims and the survivors. I think this is healthier than the day of 9-11, because the focus will naturally be on 9-11 solely.

Do you have plans for 9-11? What are you doing?

Technorati Tags: worship. commemoration,9-11,tsunami,earthquake,Haiti,Japan

Worship meets John Cage (and Yoga!)

2011-08-02T14:33:00.004-05:00

Maybe I'm crazy, but something compelled me to introduce my congregation to two unlikely visitors in worship: John Cage and yoga.

"What?!?" I hear you cry. "What could you possibly be thinking?" Well here's the thing: Sunday's texts relate to God's presence in storm and calm. The Old Testament lesson finds Elijah on the mountain encountering God's presence not in wind or fire or earthquake but in sheer silence. The Gospel reading finds Jesus walking on the water toward the disciples and calming the wind and waves.

To capture and reinforce these themes, I have the congregation encountering yoga in place of a prelude. Through the leadership of a couple of yoga-proficient members of the congregation, the assembly will be guided through some relaxation postures and breathing exercises as preparation for our worship. This will segue into the Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness, which includes a moment of silence for reflection and self-examination. In place of the opening hymn, the pastor will lead the assembly in a time of meditation.

John Cage makes his appearance at the offertory in my performance of 4'33'', a piece in which the performer is instructed to NOT play their instrument--the music of the piece is comprised of the ambient sounds of the environment. The purpose of this piece is two-fold. It highlights the connection between music and silence (the rests are just as important as the notes) and between silence and worship. It also is a reminder that there is no such thing as "silence" because sounds are all around us. Just as there is sound even in silence, so there is God even in the midst of "storm and stress" and sheer silence.

Of course, I'll be warning the congregation of our avant garde worship prior to the service beginning, and I've included a program note in the bulletin to briefly explain both the history behind John Cage's piece as well as its intended liturgical function in the service.

But aside from reinforcing the texts, I hope the worship conveys another message: we should be willing to explore and experiment with the "avant garde" in worship, with the unfamiliar, with things that we might not otherwise find worshipful. It is often in the unexpected that we encounter God most powerfully, when God catches us with our guard down.

What are your thoughts on experimenting with "outside the box" worship? Would either of the ideas listed above work in your setting? What have you tried? How was it received?

What Is Good?

2011-07-29T22:09:00.001-05:00

Here’s something I wrote for out weekly e-newsletter. Feel free to let me know what you think.

This weekend I was reminded of the Creation Story of the first chapters of Genesis. You may know the story, but if not, here's Genesis 1:1-2:3.
Now, I'm not one who goes around remembering Bible stories, but I am one who has a kind of stream of consciousness thought pattern. What sparked this story was that my dad and I were building a fence in my backyard to keep my puppy from running into the busy street. It's a simple dog-eared fence, nothing fancy, but when we were done, we looked upon our creation and saw that it was good.
God does that in Genesis. God stopped creating, looked upon all that God created, and saw it was very good. Now, I don't know if God looked and saw it as "perfect," it only says "good." I certainly can find errors in my fencing, maybe God can find errors in Creation. I'm not sure.
Summer is the time when I get to think about creation and re-creation. The Season after Pentecost, the time that starts 7 weeks after Easter and goes all the way to Thanksgiving, is when we talk about our own growth in worship. That's one of the reasons the seasonal color is green–we are constantly growing.
When God looked at you, God declared you "good;" God didn't declare you "perfect" or "flawless." Good. This summer, as we go to the lake and recreate, please remember to re-create as well. Stop, look at yourself and all you create and declare it good.

Technorati Tags: creation,worship,Genesis

How Fast is Worship?

2011-07-20T08:57:00.001-05:00

If your congregation is like most, it probably tries to keep worship confined to a 55-minute block of time. The advantage of this is that it gets us all home before opening kick-off—pragmatic, yes, but not exactly the noblest of reasons for truncating worship. Or perhaps it keeps the clock-watchers happy; you know, those parishioners who will pull you aside sometime in the next week and ask you why worship ran over by five minutes.

Unfortunately, the hunger for short worship is an insatiable one, and allowing ourselves as worship planners to become slaves to it forces us to decide what is worth doing in worship. Should we cut two verses of a hymn? Omit the creed? Use intinction? Cut a song altogether? Go right from the sermon to the offering?

Of course, our Christian freedom gives us license to do any of these things, and sometimes, as in the case of large congregations with limited parking space, we must make concessions for the sake of the Body. But all things being equal, such chrono-centric focus teaches our worshipers that the elements of worship are ultimately unimportant and can be included or excluded as we see fit.

But is this really the message we want to send? Are there not things that must be done in worship? For lack of a better analogy, worship has an agenda—there are items of business that must be dealt with, and skipping over them does us a disservice, as does rushing through them haphazardly. It also tells our worshipers that their non-church-related business (the football game, their crock pot, etc.) is more important than giving God their sacrifice of praise as well as time. A congregation that cannot deal with a service longer than 55-minutes because it has “things to do” is a congregation whose loyalties need to be addressed.

But more than that, good worship requires an attitude of deliberateness. Worship that is confined to a time limit versus worship that is allowed to end organically after all is accomplished is the difference between McDonald’s and Olive Garden. It’s the difference between eating fast and eating slowly, which has some recently discovered health implications. And it seems to me to be the height of human arrogance to suggest to our Creator that prayer, praise, and thanksgiving for the promises of God are worth but one hour of our time—less than 1% of our week. Is that how much God’s blessings are worth to us? Less than 1% of our time?

How can the Church stay counter-cultural in the midst of pressures to simply “get worship over with”? How can we cultivate in our congregations a culture that understands that the divine drama that unfolds on the stage of worship is one that is worth our time? Or, put another way, that the cost of our discipleship—or the price Christ paid for our ransom—is something we should be demanding to get our “money’s worth” for, not rushing through as fast as we can.

Examining our Motives

2011-07-19T13:41:00.001-05:00

In conversing with parishioners about worship, and in particular with absent parishioners about why they are absent from worship, I’m struck by the reasons that are often given: “We’re looking for a church with a band.” “The music’s just not youth-friendly.” “The music’s not upbeat.”

That people aren’t coming to worship bothers me little; they are responsible for their own attendance. That people provide a host of reasons for not coming to worship also bothers me little; rationalizing our behavior is part of the human condition. What bothers me is where people set the criteria for when they would come to worship, because each of the three reasons in the above paragraph imply that if a church had a band (the implication being one with guitar and drums), youth-friendly music (an undefined, ever-moving, and nebulous target), and “upbeat” music (for the rhythmically gluttonous), then these lax worshippers would be as devout and regular in their worship attendance and enthusiasm as the pope is Catholic.

The problem with this is two-fold. First, for worshipers to draw this sort of line in the sand is manipulative, and for us as leaders to believe this sort of deal would actually produce the stated results is naïve. Second, and more importantly, these are all wrong reasons to be attending worship. Aidan Kavanagh wrote in his book Elements of Rite:

If one goes to liturgy for a discussion of current events or the latest ideology, one goes for the wrong reason. If one goes to liturgy for the organ prelude or choral anthem, one goes for the wrong reason. And once wrong reasons invade liturgy, or anything else for that matter, there is no end to it. For then all mutates into something else; liturgy becomes a lecture, worship little more than a crutch for culture rather than a critic of its defects or excesses.

What can be done? How should worship leaders address these issues? Have you seen this at work in your own setting?

Apostles' Creed Hymn Sing

2011-07-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

At Luther Seminary, all Master of Sacred Music students, in order to graduate, must perform some type of congregation worship service "masterpiece." For various reasons, some listed below, I chose a hymn-sing on the Apostles' Creed.

In the Lutheran Church, there are few statements that hold as much weight as the Apostles' Creed. Martin Luther wrote that The Apostles' Creed "sets forth all that we must expect and receive from God; in short, it teaches us to know him perfectly." [Martin Luther, "Large Catechism," ed. Robert Kolb and Timothy Wengert]. It is rumored that Saint Augustine once said that the one who sings, prays twice; then to sing the creed is to proclaim it and pray it—twice. I propose to craft a hymn sing centered around the text of the Apostles' Creed. The goal of this Hymn Sing is to illuminate the creed in a way that a sermon alone could not.The format of said Hymn Sing would be to read a segment of each article of the Creed, then sing it.

The proposed format is such:

Opening Hymn Come Join the Dance of Trinity ELW 412

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth,

Praise to the Lord arr.Distler

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

Of the Father’s Love Begotten ELW 295

Verse 1, Solo; 2-3, choir; 4-5, All

I believe He suffered under Pontius Pilate.

Ah, Holy Jesus arr. J. Ferguson

I believe He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.

Out of the Depths arr. Schutz

I believe He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Ride on King Jesus arr. Hogan

Crown Him with Many Crowns ELW 855

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

Come, Holy Ghost, G. P. Palestrina

Our Souls Inspire The Parish Choirbook

I believe in the holy catholic church, and in the communion of saint

For All the Saints ELW 422

I believe in the forgiveness of sins,

Wondrous Love arr. P Christiansen

I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

Panis Angelicus E. Barnum

Amen.

Hallelujah, Amen (Judas Maccabeus) Handel

Sending Hymn We All Believe in One True God ELW 411

Verse 1, Choir The Parish Choirbook

I also propose that a Psalm be sung or read in between the second and third articles with prayers of intercession. Exegetical homilies may occur before each petition and may include the reading of Martin Luther's explanation of the article. Having children sing the creed would be especially meaningful.

Anyway, that was my idea for a final project. I hope this inspires you.

Exploring the Tactile in Worship

2011-07-13T13:18:00.001-05:00

At this point in the lectionary, we’re being confronted by “seed” parables in the gospel readings. These Sundays are great opportunities to unpack the readings in more tangible ways.

For example, last Sunday’s gospel text was on the parable of the sower, in which a sower sows seeds which fall on good soil and rocky soil; some are picked up by birds and eaten; some are choked out by weeds which grow up later. This could translate into decorating the chancel with rocks, jars of sand, jars of seed, baskets of thistles and other weeds, etc.

This coming Sunday’s text is about the parable of the wheat and the weeds, in which weeds grow up in the midst of wheat and the servants aren’t sure what to do about it. Consider placing vases of wheat and weeds in the sanctuary in place of the usual flower arrangements, or pass the plants around during the reading or sermon as an illustration.

The following Sunday confronts us with the parable of the mustard seed. Pass out mustard seeds during the children’s sermon, or have ushers sprinkle some in people’s hands as they enter the worship space and use them as a visual and kinesthetic aid during the reading and sermon.

As other texts with similar imagery appear in the lectionary, consider visual elements as you plan worship. Brainstorm ways to engage the senses and reinforce the texts in creative ways.

Have you experimented with these kinds of ideas before? What have you done? How was it received? What might you do differently in the future?

Green Sundays in the Summer

2011-07-06T16:22:00.003-05:00

An astute reader asked me for more details about what I do to keep music alive during the summer when the choir is on break.

I have a different singer or instrumentalist come every Sunday - that's the goal, at least. I do this for a few reasons:

I get tired of picking repertoire to learn and play.
It creates a slightly more relaxed atmosphere for the summer.
I think people get tired of hearing me play organ and piano all the time.
It involves people in worship leadership roles.
It might get a few people into church to support the soloist (especially grandparents).
It is a great, low-pressure time for amateur musicians to grow by doing a solo.
It reminds everyone that I'm not just twiddling my thumbs all summer without a choir to rehearse.

Getting people to commit to a particular Sunday is a challenge - often folks don't know exactly when in August they're going on vacation when I ask them in May. So I tend to be able only to schedule people about 4 weeks out. Which is why it's great to have one person who is willing to be a "floater" - ready to step in at the last minute, but also happy to wait until the last Sunday of the summer.

There are three logical places to perform a solo in the Episcopal Eucharistic liturgy: prelude, offering, and communion. Placement of a given soloist depends on several variables. Is it perky? Not communion, then. Is it really quiet? Not prelude. Is it a young person who will be especially nervous? Probably not offering when there is nothing else going on to take the pressure off (such as quiet talking during prelude and communion). Singers never get put on for prelude, although it would be interesting to try. One important thing to note: I hate the term "Special Music" because it implies that the rest of the music in a service is not special. Music in liturgy always serves a purpose. So I opt to title it "Music at the offering".

Whether my guest musician is a recorder player, a singer, or a cellist, I always try to have him or her do something liturgical as well. This hopefully takes away the performance mentality and pushes the performer (it's hard to avoid that word...) toward a liturgical role. For singers, the easiest thing is to have him or her sing the Psalm in a congregational refrain/cantored verses style. Chanting other service music or the first verse of a hymn could work as well. Instrumentalists can do everything from play the melody on a few verses of a hymn, to a Taizé obbligato, to improvising their own part on a hymn, to playing the introduction to service music and/or hymns. After many years of swearing at Finale, I've become pretty adept at quickly creating instrumental parts for hymnody for those who need them.

One more note regarding singers: I don't worry too much about matching song texts to the lessons for the day. If they can complement each other in some way, I'm thrilled. But as long as it is a)sacred, b)not a Christmas carol, and c)of an appropriate style, I'm basically ok.

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2010-06-09T00:00:00-07:00

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