Monday, November 13, 2006
Report from Grants tour
Report from Betty Grit, written from Georgia, where she and her husband Nelson are in the middle of a tour of grant recipients. (More reports)
With cheers and cannons from the nearby football stadium at Virginia Tech as a backdrop, we walked to churches in downtown Blacksburg, learning about the history of the city and of the emerging ecumencial collaboration of five congregations. Through a Worship Renewal Grant to Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, representatives of each congregation, the RTT (Renewal Together Team) meet monthly for study and planning. Last weekend they invited other leaders of their congregations to join them for a presentation and discussion with Constance Cherry to talk about what renewal might mean in their congregation. (See page 5 of the Nov. 8 issue of the BPC Newsletter at this link for a report about this gathering.)
After we had concluded the walk and enjoyed a lovely dinner at the home of Greg and Anne Campbell, members of Blacksburg Presbyterian Church, pastors and lay leaders joined us for dessert and conversation about worship renewal. The energy and excitement for the project was evident in the room. Sunday morning we were grateful to worship with Samantha Quesenberry, project director for the grant, at Luther Memorial Lutheran Church and experience evidence of the renewal that we had been hearing about.
Prior to worship on Sunday morning, we visited Glade Church, a recipient of a Worship Renewal Grant in the year 2000. The congregation has focused on visual art in worship and invites artists to submit pieces based on liturgical themes. Worship is planned so that words, music and art join to help worshipers engage in worship.
In the front of the sanctuary, the eye is drawn to a large circular mosaic. Pastor Kelly Sisson explains that the pieces in the mosaic were pottery that she created during a six-month sabbatical. The night before they were to be shown to the congregation, a construction accident distroyed every piece. Another member of the congregation created the mosaic with the word JOY in the center, to symbolize new life that comes out of brokenness. While the piece was first created for Lent, it has so much meaning for the congregation that they have requested that it hang permanently. In the basement of the church, a stone carver has created a studio where people of all ages can come to create art that often becomes part of worship. Kelly tells us that plans have been made to build additional space. The congregation is growing as worshipers come from throughout the Blacksburg area.
Before arriving in Blacksburg, we visited Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh. They shared exciting reports of the parish retreat which brought together 300 people of all ages for a weekend of learning. Project director Robin Capcara explained that through the grant they hope to more deeply embody their congregational statement: “A Worshipping community; equipping God’s people; sharing Christ’s healing with a broken world.”
Leaving Pittsburgh, we drove about an hour to Vandergrift where we met with an ecumenical gathering of pastors and young people. Led by project director Phil Gustafson, these congregations are seeking to teach young people to plan and lead worship and to engage with youth who are outside the church. Through a grant to New Hope Lutheran Ministries and building on a 2004 Worship Renewal Grant project, these congregations continue to learn and create opportunities to worship together.
Through these visits we are reminded of the commitment of church leaders in many places to invest time, energy and resources in seeking renewal in worship. In each conversation, a time of prayer for wisdom, encouragement and for God’s Spirit to work in new and unexpected ways have joined us together in recognizing that renewal is God’s work and we are privileged to be used by him.
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