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Planning Grid Ideas:
The purpose of this grid is to help you identify wise use of media in your
general liturgy style.

The major sections of worship each have a purpose, and that purpose provides
parameters for visuals in worship. If we can articulate the main theme or
task of each section, accomplishing that task becomes the target for our
visuals. Visuals then are not mere window dressing or illustration, but part
of the way we do what we do in worship. Ideas can then be generated and
evaluated using the themes as the key criteria.

The chart lists some of the basic sections of worship that tend to
recur each week. Some basic themes and key ideas are listed for each
section, along with potential types of visuals that address those themes and
ideas. Using this grid as a model, your church should develop your own grid
of the sections you use regularly, the themes and ideas that are central to
each section, and visuals that fit the theme well.

Planning Grid Simple:
The purpose of this grid is to plan a given worship service.

Each week, the sections of worship are colored and interpreted by a specific
text or topic. The key task in planning a service is to articulate what each
section looks like in light of a specific text or topic. If, for example,
today's overall topic is the "global church," what does the Gathering look
like? What do we confess as a global church? Then, using the topic-specific
theme for each section, ideas for songs, prayers, scripture texts, litanies,
and visuals can be generated and evaluated. The specific themes become the
target for all liturgical choices, and the liturgy is unified in purpose and flow.
Song ideas in one area may stimulate visual imagery in another, but since the
theme is the target, visuals do more than simply illustrate lyrics or Bible
passages.

Using this grid as a model, your church should list the basic sections of
worship you use in a given service and articulate the theme of each section
in light of a given service's topic or text. Then write in ideas for songs,
spoken words, and visuals for each section. Write down all the ideas, and
then begin to look for threads or metaphors that run throughout the service.
Eliminate ideas that do not fit the theme for each section as well as the
others.

Planning Grid Detailed:
The purpose of this grid is to plan a given worship service in more detail
than the simple grid.

Like the simple grid, the key task here is to articulate a theme for each
section of the service. That theme can then be used to generate and evaluate
ideas for song, spoken word, and visual choices. But this grid highlights the
dialogical nature of worship. The down arrows represent God's words to us,
and the up arrows indicate our response to God. This dialogue shapes our
worship, and can guide our choices. The dialogue can also be represented
visually through some form of contrast. God's words and our response can be
contrasted through alternating colors, text styles, text placements, or
visual images.

Using this grid as a model, list each step in your worship, and give it an
arrow. It may be wise to add or remove lines to enhance the dialogue.
Articulate a theme for each line in light of the service's overall topic.
Then fill in ideas for songs, words, and visuals. Let ideas in one area
suggest ideas for another. Then eliminate ideas based on how well they fit
the theme for each line.