Longing for Advent
“I have a complaint,” she declared with arm raised to get my attention. The closing song had barely finished when she quickly came to the front of our sanctuary. “Why didn’t we sing any Christmas songs? And where are the Christmas decorations?” Continue reading
Filed under worship
Communion table at Calvin College, June 10, 2016
A few years ago, some of our worship leaders talked about different ways our worship gatherings could immerse our congregation within the narrative of scripture. As we talked, a consensus emerged that we could give more attention to the litanies and teaching times connected with baptism and communion.
I previously highlighted a Preface to Baptism that we often utilize. The following litany, Telling the Gospel Story, is a reading that we sometimes use in preparation for celebrating communion together. Continue reading
“Another luxury for an idle imagination is the writer’s own feeling about the work. There is neither a proportional relationship, not an inverse one, between a writer’s estimation of a work in progress and its actual quality. The feeling that the work is magnificent, and the feeling that it is abominable, are both mosquitoes to be repelled, ignored, or killed, but not indulged.” -Annie Dillard, The Writing Life
Dillard’s reflection on a writer’s idle indulgences applies equally to pastors and worship leaders. We have a tendency toward an unhealthy obsession with our own performance. For myself, I find that Monday mornings can be the worst for this. Continue reading
Filed under worship
Every now and then someone lets you in. They open their door and, with a bit of vulnerability, allow you to see and hear what they are experiencing. Several years back, a middle-aged couple in our church opened their door, when they told me: “We’ve been members here for 12 years and we still feel like outsiders.” They weren’t complaining as much as they were inviting me to stand next to them as they shared their story of our church. Continue reading
Filed under discipleship, worship
I went to the Ash Wednesday chapel service at Redeemer University College this week. I found a place toward the back simply to sit and be still. The house lights were down, making solitude possible even in a crowd of familiar faces.
The simplicity of the worship proved powerful. Song followed by a well read passage of scripture; another song with a two-part reading of scripture; an invitation to come forward while a the musicians led another song; and then a closing blessing and a final song. The darkness of the space, the richly voiced scripture readings, the soft rising and falling of contemplative singing allowed for surprisingly deep stillness in a short 30 minute service. Continue reading
Filed under devotional, worship
One of the challenges I experience around baptism is how to remind those gathered that the sacrament of baptism is bigger than the person being baptized that day. Though one person is receiving the mark of baptism, as a liturgical act, baptism is also a communal event in which the Spirit immerses all who are gathered more fully into a baptismal way of life. Baptism is both an extension of God’s covenant to one more person and a renewal of God’s covenant with all of God’s people. Continue reading
From the 2015 Candlelight Service at First Hamilton Christian Reformed Church, Hamilton, ON.
Over the past couple weeks, I have read several posts calling for a slower, more deliberate approach to worship. Chris Morton outlines a participatory approach to worship. Jonathan Aigner draws attention to how worship is something we do. Melissa Cain Travis observes a shift toward liturgy within protestant communities. This post on Other People’s Thought (OPT for short, see note below) highlights each of these three posts as potential resources for slowing down our communal worship. Continue reading
Filed under Other People's Thoughts, worship
Muddied Prayers 