Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor. –Ps. 29:2

Our worship during this Season after Epiphany is off to a fabulous start! When we read Psalm 29 out loud in worship (January 10th) – each one at her/his own pace and interpretation – it was a moment of “holy splendor.” One person emailed me and asked whether we had recorded ocean sounds playing as we read. We did not. But reading together created that sense of power and sound. It gave me chills as I felt God presence in the midst of our voice storm!

As we kicked off this series on “Things that Survive the Storm,” I sensed how much more engaged worshippers seemed. Worship happens when each person shows up authentically and actively participates. The word “liturgy” literally means the “work of the people”. Worship is not entertainment or a passive spectator activity. We create something different with God when each worshipper is fully engaged.

Many of you have commented recently that something seems different about our worship lately. I think it is because we have transitioned to a new way of planning and implementing worship. Traditionally, the pastors presented a sermon theme or ideas for series to a Worship Committee of people serving a 3 year term and then music and liturgical paraments were chosen accordingly. The preacher was the one who generated the majority of ideas.

We are now planning worship in seasonal Worship Design Teams. We have a core group that includes the pastors, music staff, lay leader, and three Worship Coordinators elected by the congregation. Other participants join the team to brainstorm, plan, design and implement a season that is typically 4 to 8 weeks in length. By bringing together a diverse group of people with different skills, gifts, ideas, life experiences and ways of being nourished by worship, we create a very rich environment for creativity.

Would you like to be part of a Worship Design Team? I know that some of you are thinking, “Oh, I’m not creative; I can’t do that.” Yes you can. All of us are creative in some way. God made us that way! We need extroverts and introverts; plan-ahead folks and extemporaneous; linear thinkers and organic thinkers; musical or artsy folks and engineers and mechanics; old, young and in-between. The more diverse we are culturally in our planning, the richer our worship will be!

A great example of the power of diverse skills is found in watching Bobbie and Bud Young work together with their daughter Mona Simas. Bobbie is the lead Worship Coordinator and she generates great metaphors and ideas that will connect with the scripture and theme of the season. Mona is a skilled Interior Designer and has a great eye for color, balance and other aesthetics. Bud can build anything and is a very skilled craftsman. The shipwrecked boat and accompanying stormy symbols that grace the sanctuary are a product of their creative teamwork!

Our next Worship Design Meeting will cover Easter Sunday through May 2. We will gather for brainstorming on Saturday, February 6 from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. If you participate (even if you don’t know exactly how), please email or call me and I’ll give you the details. I guarantee that you’ll find the experience very rewarding and it’s just a three month commitment. If you are interested but can’t make this planning session, let me know that, too.

As worshippers spoke with me after church, I was touched by the way God was speaking to them through worship and the connections they were making through the various metaphors we used in reflecting on the meaning of Jesus’ baptism and our own as part of our identity that survives and is honed through any of life’s storms.

Lynn Hansen went home and wrote a poem about her worship experience. She gave me permission to share it with you – even though she said it might continue to evolve as the series progresses.

Thank you for actively participating in meaningful worship. You never know how God is using you for good in the process!

Walking with you as we follow Jesus,
Debra

Thirteen Ways of Looking at Sea Glass

I Sea glass is one of the few valuable items created by actions of the environment on litter.
II Against the dulled background of beach sand, glitter of sea glass catches the eye.
III Once solid, bottles, glasses, plates,broken by the sea, polished fragments of sea glass become art.
IV Smoothed by battering against rocks, abrasion against others, sea glass loses the sharp edge of brokenness.
V In our own brokenness, sea glass reminds us that we are also valuable.
VI Though divided into many pieces and worn, sea glass adds color and dimension to an otherwise uniform landscape.
VII Fragments of their former selves, sea glass never loses its integrity. It is still glass.
VIII Sounds of sea glass clinking together in baskets, a joyful noise sings back into the storm.
IX Sparkle of sea glass reflects rainbow colors of light, we can envision new possibilities for this form.
X Each piece of sea glass is unique, no shape, size or form is exactly like another. So too are we.
XI Once a strong container or protector from the elements, each had its unique breaking point when it became sea
glass.
XII With each wave of the storm, sea glass is sorted and distributed along distant shores where it can engage in a new
purpose.
XIII Sea glass is a gift of the storm, made possible and delivered by the collision of violent seas with rocky shores. We too are gifts.

© Lynn M. Hansen
January 10, 2009