Worship Weblog
Friday, April 15, 2005
Report on Healthy Churches
From the website of the Christian Reformed Church:
The Ministries Priorities Committee Report was adopted by the Board of Trustees at its meeting in February 2005. The report was prepared by a committee of the Board in support of the denominational priority to encourage and sustain the development of healthy congregations. ...
At this time in the history the Christian Reformed Church—as in many other denominations—there is a clear awareness that congregations need to be encouraged in spiritual vitality and effective ministry. ... We invite and appreciate your response to this document as the discussion continues.
To read the report, click here.
Leadership • News • Worshipping Communities • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Grape Juice Instead of Wine
How did grape juice replace wine at the communion table? Christian History magazine explains:
In the 19th century, temperance became “teetotalism” or “total abstinence,” moving all alcohol (wine included) into the list of forbidden beverages. Many began to question why a beverage considered dangerous to drink was still used on the Communion table.
Interdisciplinary Application • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Pope John Paul II and Protestants
As the global church prepares for the end of John Paul II’s papacy, CICW’s John Witvliet comments on the pope’s impact on Protestants.
“First of all,” says Witvliet, “one billion of the world’s two billion Christians are Catholics. So, the death of the leader of the Catholic Church is a significant, significant thing for all Christians, including Protestants, despite disagreements they may have with Rome.” ...
The Pope moved the Catholic Church to a more conservative position on theological and worship issues, says Witvliet, renewing an emphasis on prayers to Mary and limiting the abilities of local congregations to adapt worship practices to local customs for example.
“In these areas,” says Witvliet, “Pope John Paul II backed away from the spirit of reform associated with the Second Vatican Council. Vatican II was enormously significant for Protestants, creating new avenues for Catholic-Protestant partnerships. As Catholic worship moved closer to Protestant practice, some Protestants became more open to the ritual and symbol associated with the Catholic Church. Even the recent growth of the use of symbols in the new ‘Emerging Church Movement’ among Protestants reflects these influences.”
Interdisciplinary Application • News • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Welcome and Introduction: Towards Vital Worship
Every week, 100 million North Americans attend worship services. In basement apartments and vast cathedrals, in old village churches and sprawling suburban multiplexes, we join with others to pray, sing, listen to scripture and preaching, celebrate the Lord’s Supper and—depending on our particular tradition—also participate in healing rituals, testimonies, footwashing, and a host of other liturgical actions. Despite widespread skepticism about organized religion, public worship services remain one of the most common religious practices. For many, if not most Christians, “going to church” means, simply, attending a worship service. That means that worship is a key topic for Christian congregations today. Worship is also the locus of what several Christian traditions identify as the nourishing center of congregation life.
But despite this, Christian worship is often not well practiced. As Annie Dillard quips, “you’d think we’d be able to get it right after 2000 years of practice.” Indeed, on any given Sunday, the 100 million of us who wake up planning to go church have very different attitudes and hopes about the church we will attend. Some worshipers wake up with a sense of duty, but little joy. Their churches are energy-depleting. Worship is routine. Perhaps their congregation is embroiled in controversy. Perhaps it doesn’t communicate much at all. Yet, they persist in going to worship because it’s the right thing to do, because they always have, and because they hope against hope that they will experience a taste of God’s goodness despite it all. Others, however, wake up with eagerness and joy. They anticipate joining a congregation in which worship is vital and congregational life is relatively healthy. They find worship to be a source of insight, comfort, and strength. They are likely to invite others to join them. In sum, some experience worship in their churches as evocative, others as pedantic; some as vibrant, others as dreary and tedious.
Simply put, the overarching goal of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship is to help congregations make progress in moving from stagnation to renewal—from worship that is dreary to worship that is vital, from worship that is shallow to that which is profound, from worshipers who attend from duty to those who discover delight.
• For more, read our mission statement, browse our resources, and read our eight principles for a theology of worship.
Worshipping Communities • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink