Worship Weblog
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
General Assem-blog
A team of bloggers kept a group weblog from last week’s Presbyterian Church in America General Assembly in Chattanooga.
‘Tis the season of governing bodies; updates from the Christian Reformed Church Synod are at the denomination’s website.
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Monday, June 20, 2005
AGO Service of Evensong
Last night the 2005 American Guild of Organists Regional Convention began at LaGrave Avenue Church, in a service of evensong co-sponsored by CICW. The Calvin Alumni Choir was magnificent as always, and the specially-commissioned setting of Psalm 63 by Emma Lou Diemer was intriguing and richly textured, but perhaps what struck me the most was the congregational hymn singing. The LaGrave walls shook as LaGrave members, AGO attendees, and other worshipers raised Sing Praise to the Lord, What Shall I Render To The Lord, and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling. The hymns will echo throughout my week.
Update: article about AGO in the Grand Rapids Press
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Thursday, June 16, 2005
GC Update 18
With the stirring singing of Amazing Grace, with Jimmie Abbingdon on the piano, the 2005 Colloquium concluded. Pray for safe travel for the 200+ people returning to their homes across North America, for the relationships begun and strengthened in the past three days, for the fruition of the ideas and insights shared, and for the deepening of worship across North America through the Holy Spirit.
See the Grants section of the CICW website in the coming weeks for more wrap-ups and resources from Colloquium.
Earlier: GC Update 17
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GC Update 17
In a wrap-up session before closing worship, John Witvliet said one of the most important pages in the program booklet is page 74. He introduced a time of silent reflection and writing.
RESOLUTIONS
People Back Home to Contact/Meetings to Schedule
People I’ve Met Here to Contact
Books and Resources to Buy
Websites to Visit
Prayer Requests
Scripture Texts to Study
Earlier: GC Update 16
GC Update 16
In her morning plenary on “Effective Leadership for Worship Renewal” (p.48 of the program booklet), Kathy Smith talked about adaptive leadership—not leadership that adapts to whatever the group wants, or whatever the loudest voice in the group wants, but leadership that “helps the congregation do some adapting,” to close the gap between the congregation’s ideal and its reality.
GC Update 15
Here’s an early version of a book list, with titles and authors mentioned in the plenaries. We’ll follow this up soon at the Grants section with a more polished page of books and resources.
Update: It’s Here!
Earlier: GC Update 14
GC Update 14
News and notes from staff after Wednesday:
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
GC Update 13
Handouts for the four evening breakout sessions (listed below) are in the program booklet; some of them will be posted on the Web after the conference; stay tuned.
From the Heart to the Heavens (Music Sampler), College Chapel
Conference and Event Planning Betty Grit, College Chapel Undercroft
Visual Arts in Congregations Betsy Steele Halstead, Meeter Center Lecture Hall (bibliography)
How to Teach Worship in Congregations and Schools John Witvliet, President’s Dining Room
GC Update 12
Comments from my table at the 4:30 session:
impressed/inspired at the poster session by:
-visual arts represented
-commitment of project directors
-number of lives that were touched
GC Update 11
I’ve been in the Calvin Fieldhouse countless times—mostly for basketball games—but I’ve never seen it like I did today at the poster session. For one thing, the elegant piano playing of Kent, Erin, and Rachel set the mood for peace and reflection. But ultimately, the cumulative energy, commitment, prayer, and learning of the 70+ projects, represented by 70+ posters, was overwhelming and inspiring. Too much happened to recount briefly here, but much more will come from the conversations that began this afternoon.
GC Update 10
Betty led a late-morning session for 2005 recipients. Here are some of her suggestions; keep an eye on the Grants section of our website for a more formal version of this advice.
GC Update 9
In a plenary on worship planning based on the book Designing Worship Together (p. 18 of the program booklet), John said that Calvin College is currently reviewing each department, asking three questions:
1. What knowledge are you teaching?
2. What skills are you developing?
3. What virtues are you cultivating?
He commented: “In the last 293 job postings I’ve seen for worship-related jobs, the vast majority focus primarily on skills. What would it be like to add to the job descriptions—not just formal [postings], but also for volunteers on a grant project—what are the virtues that need to be embodied or extended?
A suggested list on page 18 of the program booklet, taken from Designing Worship Together:
GC Update 8
After morning worship, John led a plenary session on the theology of worship, as explored in the book A More Profound Alleluia. Here are some highlights from this session:
GC Update 7
News and notes from staff at the end of Tuesday:
Earlier: GC Update 6
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Tuesday, June 14, 2005
GC Update 6
Tonight’s panel of five speakers addressed “The Grant Form You Didn’t Have To Fill Out”—in other words, the revised application form for next year on page 7 of the program booklet. The speakers were asked questions 1, 6, 11, and 16. Here are highlights from their answers (for more about their grant projects, see the list of 2004 recipients: