Worship That Works

At a Ballou Channing District Fall Conference in 2009 I got my first glimpse of transformative worship at a workshop led by Rev. Ken Belden of Wellsprings Congregation in Pennsylvania. This feeling of excitement for the potential of “worship that moves the soul” was reinforced through reading Worship That Works by Revs. Wayne Arnason and Kathleen Rolenz.

By the time of the Ballou Channing District Annual Meeting in spring of 2010, the urgency of “change or die” was driven home in moving fashion by church leaders like the Rev. Erik Wikstrom. The Pew Institute had just published its findings on how mainstream churches are fading into oblivion while people who identify themselves as “spiritual but not religious” is growing rapidly.

I felt a need to do something to contribute to my Unitarian Universalist faith, and I have come to believe that worship is the answer. So I read voraciously, attended workshops, and traveled near and far to find excellent worship so I could contribute to transforming lay worship at my congregation in Kingston, Massachusetts. Along with my fellow travelers, Rosemary Donahoe and Ellen Snoeyenbos, we listened, learned and tried some new forms of worship: pastoral, healing, intellectual, and community-building. We hope to share them with others who are looking for innovative forms of worship.

Take away messages from the Salt Project Retreat

It was wonderful attending the inspiring worship and practical lessons given by the Salt Project team this week at Andover Newton Theological Seminary.  Many good points were made and here are some of the highlights:

• Worship is not about lecturing or being talked at. In this day and age people need worship that moves them, gives them an experience with the Holy, is excellent in quality (well-rehearsed, evocative, content-rich), and challenges them to work on being better people.

• Worship can be multi-media without being hokey. Carefully chosen images can enhance a reading and bring people to various connections - not necessarily the same one. Words on a screen make reading the fine print unnecessary and voices can harmonize freely without reading the music.

• People need to feel understood in an honest way, flaws and all, then given the affirmation of community and/or God's unconditional love in order to bring transformation into their lives. It can be done. People need to know that they are capable of great things.

• Social media is a great tool if used judiciously. Using tools such as "hootsuite" frees administrators up to schedule updates and still be relevant to their online community.

• Watch http://www.saltproject.org/  for more ideas and inspiration!

Prayer: what are we afraid of?

Prayer seems to have taken a back seat in modern worship. I wonder why?
Can we discover the value of prayer? Does prayer always require an object to whom to pray?


Check out Erik Wikstrom's book, Simply Pray, for some interesting answers.
Wikstrom identifies the four major types of prayer that are practiced by all the world's major religions: 

• "Naming" the many ways in which the holy is present in daily life and the wider world 
• "Knowing" the self introspectively--both in its strengths and weaknesses 
• "Listening" to the "voice of quiet stillness" that resides in each individual
• "Loving" by reaching out to the world

These might also identify components to an Arc of Worship.... I wonder....

http://www.ucc.org/feed-your-spirit/your-life-better/remembering-prayer/

Worship can lead from facing the past to creating the future

"You are more than the sum of what's happened to you so far. 
You are also what could happen to you in the future, the sum of your hopes and aspirations."
Still Speaking Daily Devotional
Christina Villa is on the staff of the United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Ohio