{"id":199,"date":"2017-03-13T21:15:49","date_gmt":"2017-03-14T01:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/candlerdmin\/?p=199"},"modified":"2017-04-26T10:40:15","modified_gmt":"2017-04-26T14:40:15","slug":"finding-god-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/candlerdmin\/2017\/03\/13\/finding-god-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Reimagining Worship: Finding God In What We Love"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Picture<\/a>

Christ Church, Manlius, NY \u00a0 \u00a08:00 a.m. Easter service \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Photo by Jim Hughes<\/p><\/div>\n

Let the peoples praise you, O\u00a0God;\u00a0let all the peoples praise you.<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Psalm 67:5 NRSV<\/h4>\n

Christians come together as the Body of Christ to praise and worship God; to learn from Scripture and traditions of the Church; to share in the Holy Eucharist and prayers; and to build community. Good worship not only attains these goals, it also prepares Christians to go into the world and live as witnesses to their faith. As James K. A. Smith says, \u201cThe capital-L Liturgy of Sunday morning should generate lowercase-l liturgies that govern our existence throughout the rest of the week.\u201d1<\/sup><\/p>\n

Many priests and pastors find themselves in a conundrum when worship services seem to be successful in the Sunday morning setting, yet do not appear to generate the desired weekday connection. This may be especially frustrating when participation is minimal in ministries such as Bible study and Christian Formation, which are designed to enhance the correlations between Church on Sunday and everyday life.<\/p>\n

In this project we created thematic worship events that integrate an alternative worship service with Christian Formation. \u00a0 Each event was offered as a complement to traditional worship, was developed and led by lay people, and was given a framework by the priest or pastor. Each worship event was based in a subject the group of lay leaders love, and in which they find a connection with the Holy in their everyday lives.<\/p>\n

The intention is that the worship events provide a way to change the culture of the Church without harming the existing good, resulting in transformation. The process would: engage people in identifying something they loved; help them either affirm or shift their perception of the part of their lives where they encounter God; provide a distinctive environment in which they could share their experience as part of a worship event; and integrate worship and Christian Formation in a way that attracted the interest of others and revitalized faith, particularly as it is lived on an everyday basis. By having lay people lead the event, it would demonstrate the many ways in which ordinary talents, abilities, and interests could be understood as spiritual practices and be used to deepen faith, glorify God, and reach other people.\u00a0 The worship events were named Finding God In\u2026 to highlight the myriad ways in which people might encounter God in their everyday lives.<\/p>\n

\"Photograph<\/a>

Christ Church, Manlius, NY Photo by Jim Hughes<\/p><\/div>\n

The project was carried out in an Episcopal church in Upstate New York.\u00a0 The parish is near Syracuse and reflects the village demographics as over 90% white, middle and upper middle class, and well educated.\u00a0 The average Sunday attendance during the program year is about 100 people.\u00a0 The project began with an explanation of the premise, along with asking members of the congregation to volunteer to speak about their experience of finding God in something they loved. In response to a parish email, newsletter article, announcements, and personal conversations, a number of people volunteered.\u00a0 Groups were formed for music, nature, and service to others in response to the three topics in which the most people had expressed interest. These groups became the leaders for the worship events.<\/p>\n

A parish survey was distributed in order to test the initial observations of happiness with traditional worship services, sense of connection between worship and daily life, participation in Christian formation, and level of comfort in leading or participating in ministry. The questions were refined based on the initial responses and used as the foundation of subsequent surveys that followed each worship event, with one set for the leaders and another for those attending.<\/p>\n

The project tested whether people are willing to share what they love as a way to connect with God once they better understand this dynamic themselves, and whether others would be drawn to listen based on an interest in the topic and a desire to support the presenters. Often people are not motivated to participate in a regular adult Christian Formation class, a problem echoed poignantly by The Rev. LeeAnne Watkins in a video entitled “The Way We Do Formation is not Working.”2<\/sup><\/p>\n