Symposium ‘06 4
After a stirring sermon by Rev. Thomas Long at morning worship, four presenters gave a “plenary sampler” session—each were given 8 minutes to express a primary consideration of worship renewal from their viewpoint. A brief outline, including quotes supplied by Kent Hendricks:
Carolyn Brown—The church needs participation in all aspects of worship by all worshipers, “age 5 to 95.” Too often we “bowl down the middle,” leading and gearing worship towards the middle aged, hoping to “hit” the middle, less worried about the outsides.
Tod Bolsinger—The worship leaders are not the performers for us; we are all performers for God. “Before there were choirs, organs, or liturgies, there was an offering. You take your best, bring it to God, put it on the altar, and then you kill it.”
Albert Aymer—The profession of historic creeds is essential to worship in all traditions, to add theological depth to worship, remind us of the core tenets of our belief, invoke biblical authority, safeguard against being led astray by false doctrine, link us to the church of past and future, and enfold us into the body of Christ. Aymer said:
In the liturgy we speak of joining angels and archangels and the company of heaven. I can hear my mother, my grandmother. So when you sing, you should hear voices other than those beside and around you. Worship is not of just this generation and this time, we have a sense of God’s past and God’s future, and already we worship with those yet to come, and we’re anticipating the worship at the heavenly banquet. …There’s something of eschatology in every service of worship. The end time has been breaking into the present moment, God’s future is now.
Jane Vann—Questions to ask: “How do we make worship the central most participatory act of the Christian life?” “How do we make reflection on that encounter with God a natural part and defining feature of congregational life?
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