Posts tagged ‘Worship’
Worship ideas: Lenten hymn sing
(Proper acknowledgement: This is a good idea. But it’s not mine.)
This year, many Mennonite churches are using the theme “Becoming Human” to shape their worship services during lent. We are created in the image of God, but sin causes us to be less than human. And so, we look to Jesus as our example of how to become truly human.
In January, I attended the Lent planner at AMBS where they were sharing various ideas for worship during this season. Rebecca Slough suggested that we consider a hymn sing for one of our services. She proceeded to lead us in a selection of hymns that helped us reflect on the different ways in which we observe Jesus’ humanity.
Yesterday, I led such a service at our congregation and structured it in this way:
The Image of Jesus in the Prophets
The Image of Jesus in the Psalms
The Image of Jesus in the Gospels
The Image of Jesus on the Cross
Becoming the Image of Christ to One Another
Sent in the Image of Christ
I tried to follow the lectionary readings as closely as possible. The Old Testament reading was about David being anointed as king. I decided to replace that with a passage from Isaiah (“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse…”). However, I kept the psalm (Psalm 23) and the gospel reading (John 9 – the blind man is healed). Each of these was included in the appropriate place, as well as one or two appropriate hymns. At various times throughout the morning, we sang a chorus entitled “¿Quién dicen que soy yo?” (Translation: “Who do you say that I am?” For you Mennos, it’s Sing the Story #51.) This song re-centered us on the theme for the morning – deepening and broadening our understanding of Jesus. (This idea also came from the Lent Planner.)
In addition to the singing and the readings, one person shared a faith story (as we’re doing every Sunday during Lent); there was a children’s story; and we had our usual time for congregational sharing. I was assisted by an incredible group of musicians whose contributions made everything flow smoothly.
This is an idea that could be used during any time of the year, but it works especially well when there is an appropriate theme (as we have now). From my biased perspective, the congregation found the service to be very meaningful.
For better or worse, when you pick the songs, you get to choose ones that are meaningful to you. There were two yesterday that especially reflected the way I think about faith, both from the “Sing the Story” hymnal.
The first is entitled “Helpless and Hungry” (StS #26). It was written to be in conversation with the Christmas carol “What child is this?” (and to be sung in conjunction with it). So we have questions such as, “Who is this who lives with the lowly, sharing their sorrows, knowing their hunger?” And then we hear the response, “This, this is Christ the King…” Very powerful.
The second song was entitled “On The Journey to Emmaus” (StS #98). I think that what I appreciate about that song is summarized by the final line: the one “who welcomes the stranger shall welcome the Lord.”
Now – go plan yourself a hymn sing!
Worship ideas… Advent/Christmas/Epiphany bulletin covers
Many congregations within the Mennonite Church will be using the theme of “An Unexpected Hour” during the coming Advent/Christmas/Epiphany season this year. Some of the resources provided for the season describe how we need to develop a new sense of time… to shift from our hectic, inwardly focused time to a God-focused conception of time. In keeping with some of these ideas, I created a series of bulletin covers for the six Sundays of the season.
If you find these images compelling and would like to use them, contact me. I have higher resolution versions that you’re free to have.
L to R: Advent I through Epiphany
Image credits:
Orion nebula, alarm clock, street clock, Big Ben, wrist watch, clock radio, digital clock radio, another digital clock radio, sundial, and another wrist watch.
Car conversations
(I promised this post a few days ago…)
Ordinary Spouse and I enjoy road trips. Well – maybe “enjoy” is not really correct for Ordinary Spouse. She puts up with travel and is happy to get to the destination. But at least we value those times for the chance to talk (especially those times after dark when the Ordinary Daughters fall asleep).
I was thinking about this after our recent vacation trip to visit my parents in West Virginia. On the trip east, the topic du jour seemed to be theology. (Well – I suppose that I probably drive many of our conversations in that direction, since I seem to find theology interesting right now. So maybe it’s the conversation of the week. Or month. Or year…) And I found our conversations that day fascinating, as well. Check out what we covered:
How do we understand the Bible? If we see differences between the beginning and the end of the Bible, do we (to use mathematical concepts) take an average? Or maybe we think that the changes represent an unfolding understanding by God’s people, so we construct a vector (or trajectory) pointing to an ultimate ending. Or maybe we deny any changes at all.
Should we begin our theological conversations by stating our assumptions? Sometimes, when the Church starts discussing our controversial issues, it feels like we’re talking right past each other. Both sides wonder how the other side could come to its conclusions – they just don’t seem logical. But if, instead of arguing the controversies, we stepped back and discussed the basics (like “how do we understand the Bible?”), we might have a more productive conversation.
Is God non-violent? (You may notice that my questions are building on each other.) If we see Christ as non-violent and if we also view Christ as the fullest revelation of God, do we see God as non-violent? And based on this…
Do we need to rethink our concept of the atonement? I think (from my limited experience) that evangelical Christianity generally embraces a penal substitutionary atonement. Personally, I think that I absorbed this without really questioning it when I was younger. There is something nicely formulaic about this view: an accounting system for the debt of sin. On the other hand, it raises the problem of divine child abuse. Now, I am enjoying the exploration of non-violent theology with the help of writings from Denny Weaver* and Ted Grimsrud. Weaver and Darrin Snyder Belousek also take on the topic in a recent issue of The Mennonite.
Darrin also raises an interesting question about the Trinity…
Is God fully revealed in the story of Jesus Christ? Could we conceive that the first person of God (commonly “God the Father” – sorry for the patriarchal language) might occasionally be violent, while the second person of God (commonly “God the Son”) is non-violent? Or even, is the God the Son fully revealed in Jesus Christ? And what about now – does God the Son still retain aspects of humanity after the ascension?
To what extent is the Trinity “truth”? To be clear, our car conversation wasn’t questioning the existence of the three persons of God. But we wonder if God presents God’s self to humans in this way in order for us to understand something that is essentially unknowable. Sort of like trying to see a 16-dimensional object in a 3-dimensional world – maybe all we get is a projection.
What is non-violence? What is peace? This was Ordinary Spouse’s insightful and original question.** We talk about working for peace, but we really don’t know what that will look like. We can only speak in the negative: peace is the absence of violence and conflict. Unfortunately, we know violence and conflict intimately.
If you embrace a non-violent theology, what do you do with the abundance of worship resources that no longer seem worshipful? And, in addition, how do you raise children who share your values?
Well – that’s how we burned up the miles between Indiana and Pennsylvania during our July vacation. I guess it didn’t hurt that the CD player in the van was broken.
* This is a pretty old link. I should probably look for more recent writings, such as the link to the article in The Mennonite. Certainly, his book (The Nonviolent Atonement) has now been published, and I’m in the middle of reading that. However, I haven’t searched for other resources.
** With an emphasis on the ‘original’ part. I’ve heard our other questions posed in various other places. But I hadn’t considered this before.
On the road again…
Well – I’ll be on the road again if today’s big snow doesn’t thwart my plans. As my grandfather used to say, “God willing and the creek don’t rise…”
I’ve only been home from our Christmas travels for five days, but I’m leaving again for the east this evening. I’m going to Laurelville* for their annual Music and Worship Leaders Retreat. I’m really looking forward to an intense, jam-packed weekend. The resource people (Marilyn Houser Hamm, Marlene Kropf, Ken Nafziger, and Ted Swartz) will be outstanding. And Brian McLaren will be present as a participant. I’m hoping to come home invigorated with lots of ideas for Lenten worship.
* Did I mention that Laurelville may be my favorite place on earth? Oh, yeah – maybe half a dozen times.
In the meantime, I was looking over my blog reader recently at the things that others have written and I have found to be insightful. I wanted to share a few of them.
“War as Theft” by Michael Danner
Michael begins with this quote:
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
You might be surprised who said it.
“Hunger, food, obesity, starvation” by Brian McLaren
Check out the fat map.
“Evangelism will change the world” by Peter Rollins
Maybe not what you think of, when you think of evangelism.
“What’s in a joke?” by Michael Danner
One more by Michael. This one about poverty.
Looking to the future
Here’s another blog entry that is mostly for my own benefit – something I’m jotting down now, so that I have a reference point if I ever wish to look back. In some ways, this is one of those areas where I struggle with discerning (like I blogged a few days ago). Who knows – maybe by throwing this out, someone will chime in with some wise new insight.
I have thought (for a decade, maybe more) that I’d eventually be involved more full-time in Church work of some kind. The seeds of this thinking may have been planted while I was camp counselor at Laurelville during the summer after my high school graduation. The next summer, I struggled between choosing a research internship or counseling again. I chose the science path, but I now I remember that summer as being more about spiritual than intellectual growth. After living in Costa Rica for a semester and being encouraged by my host family to consider pastoral ministry, I returned to Laurelville for a full year of voluntary service. I wanted some time to sort through things, and I actually ended up adding a second science major after that year was finished. And yet the questioning continued… Throughout the rest of my undergraduate time, I was prodded by an anonymous professor encouraging me to consider a pastor inquiry program.
Once I was in graduate school, I started thinking more seriously about seminary. It didn’t hurt that Ordinary Spouse and I were attending a congregation with a tradition of lay leadership and that we had the opportunity to actively participate in that. However, OS wisely pointed out that it’s not a good idea to make career changing decisions when you’re frustrated by graduate research. So we persevered.
While I was doing a postdoc, we were once again in a congregation that gave me a chance to be involved in leadership. However, we weren’t there long, and now the last five years have found us in our current home and congregation. The sense of nudging seems to continue, but I continue as a beamline scientist.
So, why is that? There are a few things which factor into discernment right now:
1) I enjoy my job. In fact, it’s the best science job I could ask for. It also pays well enough that Ordinary Spouse has the freedom to pursue whatever path she wants – including being a full-time mom. This is a good situation to be in when considering a change of direction.
2) Ordinary Spouse really enjoys the work that she is doing with our congregation right now. This is the story that I haven’t told above. My story is actually part of our family’s story. Both OS and I feel called to Church ministry, and she has found what seems to be a very good fit as our congregation’s Lay Minister of Worship. It suits her passions well. Whatever my future holds will compliment her future.
3) I don’t know what I’d pursue if I started seminary. There’s a decent chance that it wouldn’t be a traditional pastoring job. More on this below.
4) We live in a good place for raising a family. A good house, a good community, schools, etc.
5) I know that I’m susceptible to being distracted by whatever is new. Hobbies, music, etc. I’ll try something for a while and then I’ll try something else. I’m not sure that this is a good approach to vocational choices. This ties into my blog from a few days ago – how well am I able to judge my own motivations?
So, what might the future look like? Where are my passions? Why not pastoring?
1) First, I haven’t ruled out a traditional path, but I have the impression that there is a sizeable chunk of time that pastors put into teaching: preparing and delivering sermons, Sunday school lessons, other engagements. I enjoy being a learner, but I’m not sure about the regular teaching. But is that different from exploring things on my blog? We’ll see.
2) On the other hand, there is quite a bit that pastors do that excites me. In particular, I love worship planning and leading. Also, I am drawn to the actual pastoring – the pastoral care part of their jobs.
3) I constantly hunger for greater spiritual discipline in my own life, and I enjoy working with others, as well. Work with spiritual direction interests me.
4) Creation continues to draw me, as it did when I worked at Laurelville. In fact, the entire ministry of Christian camps is very attractive. When done well, these camps offer a very holistic approach to faith that integrates every aspect of life, rather than segregating them.
5) Recently, I have a new passion for community, with an emphasis on the unity of Christ’s disciples. Maybe there is room for mediation and reconciliation work.
So that’s where I am as the end of 2009 rolls around. If I could create my own job, I might do spiritual direction at a church camp for individuals or groups part time, while travelling to work with groups at direction or mediation work the rest of the time. Ordinary Spouse and I often say something like, “Who knows where we’ll be in five or eight years.” I guess we’ll see.
One body and one Spirit
I had the joy of going to a Taize-styled worship service at Ascension Catholic Church last night with some good friends. It was such a beautiful service in a wonderful space. A time of worship and healing.
At one point, we participated in candle lighting and later brought the candles forward and placed them in dishes of sand. We were sitting near the front, and I was able to observe the people as they came. Such a diversity. Sometimes you could read the stories in their lives. Two elderly parents pushing an adult child in a wheelchair. A middle-aged man, with a full beard wearing a “life is good” t-shirt (with sleeping bag and campfire) and sandals. A religious sister genuflecting at the cross. Of course, most were anonymous.
I thought how I probably wouldn’t choose to worship with many of these people on Sunday morning. Yet here we all were – a congregation of members chosen by the Holy Spirit and not by doctrinal statements. It was as if Jesus said, “Come follow me to Oak Park”, and we all just showed up. Somehow, the tax collectors among us managed to worship with the zealots. And I thought about how God wasn’t all that worried by all the baggage that we were dragging behind us as we came through the door:
God: Poverty? No problem. Addiction? I can handle that. Middle-class apathy? Well, to be honest, that’s a camel and an eye-of-a-needle issue, but I can get it done.
For some reason, I’ve encountered this idea in multiple ways this week (but I’m also sensitive to it, because of ongoing membership discussions in my congregation). It seems to me that we need to find new ways of identifying our members – ways of simply recognizing the work that the Holy Spirit has already done. Because it is that work that truly makes people members in our congregations. It’s not adherence to our doctrinal statements. It’s not contributions to the offering plate or the various church ministries. If we’re a congregation of zealots and a tax collector somehow manages to feel comfortable among us, for Heaven’s sake, don’t throw him out. Don’t worry about the purity of our zealous teachings. Rejoice!
This comes from today’s email meditation sent out from the Center for Action and Contemplation:
A Christian is someone who’s animated by the spirit of Christ, a person in whom the spirit of Christ can work. That doesn’t always mean that we consciously know what we are doing, or we formally belong to a church, or to Christianity. As St. Augustine said, “God has many that the church does not have, and the church has many that God does not have.”
It says in Matthew 25: “When have we seen you hungry? When have we seen you thirsty?” They were not consciously Christian or religious, but Jesus says, “Because you did it, you did it for me.”
Just imagine what that membership roll might look like…
A question of lifestyle
Right now my congregation is facing a challenging time (as other congregations have) as we consider whether to extend membership to same-gender couples in committed relationships. There has been some talk and some confusion about “that lifestyle”. My experience is limited – I personally know only four or five people who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. But I thought it might be helpful to bring some additional observations to this conversation about lifestyle.
In my experience, one common lifestyle trait that all of my friends share is a deep love of worship in various forms. They are singers, dancers, musicians, and artists. Many of them are worship leaders, inspiring devotion in others as they worship God, as well.
A few of them are preachers, proclaiming the Gospel and sharing the love of Christ with deep conviction.
All of my friends are incredibly hospitable and generous. I’ve been welcomed into their homes and lives. This was especially important to me during the times when my family had just moved into a new community. In addition, I’ve watched as two of them have made space in their home so that a refugee family would have a place to live.
They are all people of deep, authentic prayer and are not afraid to wrestle with God.
All of my gay, lesbian, and bisexual brothers and sisters love the Church. They’ve chosen their homes so they could be closer to the congregation and its ministries. They have been misunderstood, even at times persecuted, by the church, yet they continue to share their gifts and talents.
To repeat what I stated earlier: my observation of this “lifestyle” has been limited. However, I’m convinced that the Church would be a better place if we could live the same lifestyle that I’ve witnessed in my brothers and sisters.
In Acts, God pours out the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles in Peter’s presence. Later, Peter reports back to the Jews in Jerusalem and says,
If God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?
Amen.
Thoughts on worship
Currently, our congregation is having a series of sermons on “Practicing Our Faith”. During the series, we are examining five faith practices: testimony, prayer, worship, building community, and service. Every week (and not just during this series), we receive an email entitled “Preparing Our Hearts for Worship”. When this week’s email came and I had some extra time, I tried to be intentional about preparing. (My success at this varies from week to week.) This time, the result of my preparing is this post. Coincidentally, this week’s “Preparing Our Hearts for Worship” is in anticipation of a sermon on the topic of worship.
