Worship Weblog
Friday, June 30, 2006
Recent History 5
Report from the ”Recent History of Christian Worship” seminar:
“In meeting each other we see the content of the history we’re studying embodied.”
We continue to explore the vast variety of the body of Christ. We briefly concluded our discussion of To God Alone be Glory through recognizing the great passion of this “prayer book spirituality” and thinking about how prayer books inform how we understand and approach God.
Jimmie Abbington’s seminar, The Many Languages of African-American Christian Worship and Music, showed us another aspect of the body of Christ through sharing some of their discoveries from the past two weeks. One acknowledged the temptation to add a multicultural song without looking for the deeper wisdom the community can share. Another raised the issue of dealing with novelty and nostalgia and pointed to the importance of giving space to validate our history and experiences. Many commented about the need to listen to the young people, the need to empower them in worship, and discoveries about hip hop. One expressed gratitude for the safe environment for discussion and racial reconciliation and stressed that she learned the need to listen. Still others emphasized the importance of honesty, openness, and authenticity.
Worship Seeking Understanding sparked a discussion of the non-negotiable issues of Christianity as well as the work of the spirit through preparation and spontaneity. As we transitioned into a discussion on Sargeant’s Seeker Churches, one participant asked, “How can we applaud the creativity and zeal behind the seeker movement while at the same time provide a loving critique?” Another cautioned against considering large churches inherently bad. He commented on the passion and commitment of many people in seeker churches for those who have had painful experiences in churches.
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Recent History 4
Report from the ”Recent History of Christian Worship” seminar:
Our attention shifted away from the Charismatic movement to mainline liturgical developments with a presentation from Arlo Duba. Along with providing a history of the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship, Arlo explored changes in the theology of the sacraments and developments in understanding the nature of liturgical language.
Although the Book of Common Worship is not often found in pews, Arlo argued that it was intended to be a worship book of the people. It came out of the Reformed tradition of putting prayers in the hands and mouths of the people in the pew. It was also intended to “express a fully orbed Baptismal theology.” According to Arlo, this is why the book includes such a breadth of prayers for daily, weekly, and occasional services.
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Indonesian churches pick up pieces after earthquake
Our prayers are with worshipers in churches in the area of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, whose churches, homes, and lives were ravaged by a May 27 earthquake. From the Reformed Ecumenical Council:
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Koster takes post at BTGH
Congratulations to Rev. Steven Koster, longtime CICW assistant, who has been appointed as English Language Ministry Leader for the Back to God Hour. Read the news release from the Christian Reformed Church.
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Thursday, June 29, 2006
Recent History 3
Report from the ”Recent History of Christian Worship” seminar:
Our focus shifted today from the Liturgical movement to the Charismatic movement and Worship and Evangelism. We began the day with a whirlwind tour of magazine articles from the 1970s to get a general feel for the emphasis on healing and speaking in tongues. One of the participants questioned the centrality of speaking in tongues, and another responded, “It wasn’t as significant that the Charismatic movement freed me to speak in tongues. It was significant that the Charismatic movement freed me to speak spontaneously in prayer and about scripture.”
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Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Recent History 2
Report from the ”Recent History of Christian Worship” seminar:
Joyce Ann Zimmerman began the morning by continuing her presentation on Vatican II. She moved from history to exploring major shifts in the theology of the liturgy. She pointed out the strong emphasis not only on the crucifixion but also on the resurrection as part of the paschal mystery. She also explained that one of the significant results of Vatican II was the recognition of four liturgical presences of Christ. Christ is present in the Eucharist, his Word (scripture), in the priest when he is presiding as the head of the body of Christ, and in the assembled congregation. This last one presents a huge change! Through baptism we are members of the body of Christ. Together the church forms the presence of Christ. And as the body of Christ, we should be active in worship, which appears in one of the most familiar phrases of Vatican II, that of “full, conscious, and active participation.”
Later discussion turned to Cardinal Ratzinger’s book The Spirit of the Liturgy. One participant suggested this book would best be used as a tool to begin conversation, rather than as a guidebook that declared how to do the liturgy. The conversation it sparked for this group revolved around two main questions.
First, we discussed the role of tradition compared to creativity in planning/preparing a liturgy. (Even the word we choose to describe what we do—whether we plan or prepare—indicates how much of the liturgy is established or may be designed.) How do we, or should we, discern within tradition?
Second, a comment about the Psalms as displaying “the whole range of human experience” sparked a discussion about the role of worship as expressive. Certainly, we bring our human experiences to worship as communal prayer. But, does our worship merely reflect our experiences, or does it form us for further living? In what ways should it?
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Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Grants Colloquium ‘06 Reports
Here is an index of weblog posts from last week’s Grants Colloquium:
Thursday:
-Closing reflections
-Leading renewal amid change
Wednesday:
-Scripture and worship
-Poster session
-Vertical Habits and worship as anti-idolatry
Tuesday:
-Goals and definitions of worship renewal
-Welcome: ‘Psalm 133 unity’
Also see:
Weblog reports from 2005 Colloquium
Recent History 1
Report from the ”Recent History of Christian Worship” seminar:
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6
A seminar began today to explore the recent transformation of Christian worship. About 20 preachers, worship planners, and professors from numerous different denominations gathered to explore our personal concepts of church, discuss 5 major movements since Vatican II, and harvest from all the varied interests in the seminar profound yet practical theological observations that reminds us there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.”
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Monday, June 26, 2006
Teaching Hymnology 5
Bethany Meyer, assistant to Dr. Bert Polman, kept daily reports from Polman’s Teaching Hymnology seminar, hosted by Calvin Seminars in Christian Scholarship. Here is her concluding entry. Also see a list of related resources.
Our last devotions today were based on the final consummation, when Christ will return. We read Scripture from Isaiah 35 and I Corinthians 15, and we sang songs such as Soon and Very Soon and Jesus Shall Reign. This morning’s session began with some details for the participants, and then Dr. Polman led the discussion on hymns. As a side reflection on Isaiah, Dr. Polman commented that it would be wonderful if the Internet would be used as the highway for our God mentioned in Isaiah. It is a resource at the fingertips of people around the world – what if it was a biblical resource? These comments were provocative and insightful. Dr. Polman also commented this morning that 30 years ago, a teacher could assume that some hymns were universal or common to many denominations; this is not true today. There are very few hymns today that span the denominations. Another topic this morning was accompaniment, tempi, and how to choose them for hymns. Some of the factors provided by the participants were the size of the congregation, the acoustics of the church, the time of day, the tradition of the church, the liturgical season, and the purpose of the song. This was a helpful discussion on the use of hymns.
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Friday, June 23, 2006
Teaching Hymnology 4
Bethany Meyer, assistant to Dr. Bert Polman, is writing daily reports from Polman’s Teaching Hymnology seminar, which is hosted by Calvin Seminars in Christian Scholarship.
This morning’s devotions centered on the topic of teaching as our vocation, to present the Gospel to our children, particularly through our worship. Following devotions, the group began in a computer lab in the Fine Arts Center. One of the seminar participants, David Music, led the group in a discussion and exploration of online resources for hymnody. We explored Calvin’s Hekman Library databases, as well as a resource in Baylor University’s library, and an online hymn tune index open to general public use. Prof. Music walked the group through several examples on finding information on specific topics, and he gave some example problems to answer using one of the several databases. It was an interesting learning experience, and it was very beneficial to discover new ways to prepare for teaching hymnology (or any subject).
GC ‘06 Update 7
Update from Grants Colloquium:
We closed yesterday morning with a moving session of sharing our gratitude for the blessings, questions, and fellowship that God gave us this week. One after another, grant recipients rose to say that they sensed a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood this week that broke barriers of denomination, race, and geography. Many said they were surprised and glad to meet people from another part of the country that were dealing with the same area of worship renewal (intergenerational worship, multicultural worship, arts in worship, scripture in worship, to name a few) that they were. After a time of open prayer, we dismissed with prayers for the safety of recipients as they travel back to their homes and churches. We’re grateful for a week of fellowship and learning with so many different leaders and worshipers, united in Christ, and united in their prayer for worship renewal in their congregations and organizations.
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GC ‘06 Update 6
Update from Grants Colloquium:
Yesterday morning, Rev. Kathy Smith led a session on Leading Worship Renewal in Changing Congregations. She pointed out that a congregation is a living organism, and biologists tell us that living organisms need change to survive; they die in static environments that never cause them to adjust or adapt. At the same time, congregations have built-in resistance to change, in part because “the things of faith are so close to our hearts.” Rev. Smith wisely led project directors through a time of discussion and reflection of how to be a discerning leader in the midst of change.
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Wednesday, June 21, 2006
GC ‘06 Update 5
Update from Grants Colloquium:
I just came from a lively session entitled “How Doctrine Nourishes Worship.” You might not expect to read the words “lively” and “doctrine” in the same sentence, but it was. Joyce Ann Zimmerman and Rev. Doug Brouwer of our Grants Advisory Board outlined a method for reflecting on the words of scripture in a way that sheds insight on our worship practices.
We’ll be posting an outline and audio of their presentation under Theology, but for now, here are two texts whose insight about the theology and meaning of worship these speakers said is underappreciated:
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GC ‘06 Update 4
Update from Grants Colloquium:
For nearly two hours this afternoon, we gathered in the fieldhouse for the poster session. One lap around the gym took you to a variety of regions, settings, issues, ideas, and ministries represented in the 2005 Worship Renewal Grants recipients. At dinner, a 2006 recipient said her conversation with an ‘05 director on the floor today led her to book that person to speak at her church’s conference on worship renewal; it was gratifying to know within about an hour of concluding that the poster session had already born fruit!
Posters for the 2005 recipients will be posted on our site in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can have a poster session of your own by viewing the posters of 2003 and 2004 recipients. And we can already dream, hope, and pray about what will appear on the 2006 recipients’ posters next year, with God’s blessings.
Teaching Hymnology 3
Bert Polman appearing as Charles Wesley
We started today with devotions in the Meeter Center Lecture Hall, combined with the participants of James Abbington’s seminar, and anyone on campus who came. The topic today was redemption, and we sang songs such as “In Christ Alone” and “I’m so Glad Jesus Lifted Me,” and read from Isaiah and Ephesians. The devotion time today was very meaningful.