In February our Worship and Music ministry brought worship consultant Marcia McFee to work with members of our worship and music lay ministry and staff. Peter Ilgenfritz, Heidi Blythe and Kris Garratt had all studied with Marcia previously, and her model of worship-leadership including: long range planning, worship series, and multi-sensory worship has long been part of our worship shaping. However we knew that to continue to grow and deepen in our worship life, that we needed some guidance on strengthening particular parts of our worship life and structure.
Marcia encouraged us to try some new ways to strengthen how we structure our worship ministry life. She celebrated the gifts of the many talented artists we have in the congregation, and helped us look at new meaningful, and easy ways to get the congregation involved in making our worship life truly a “work of the people.” We have jumped into beginning that restructuring, and will be evaluating how this is going in June.
Marcia encouraged us to do a walk-through of the Sunday morning worship service with our worship staff, and we have been doing that on Thursday afternoons. We are practicing better ways to lead flow between elements of worship, and keep alive a consistent worship theme. We hope to explore ways to do this walk-through with our lay liturgists before Sunday mornings as well.
Finally, Marcia also encouraged us to try on some new ways to bring alive the different theological and worship emphases of each liturgical season. You may have noted already differences between the seasons of Epiphany, Lent and Eastertide. We will hold to a consistent order of worship during each liturgical season, but between seasons you may notice some changes in order and style.
We were reminded in our work with Marcia that worship is about building up the people of God for the body to do its work in the world for encounter with the holy, living God. We know that we all come to worship with our particular likes and dislikes, and we celebrate that we have grown as a community in our appreciation that though something may not be the way we like things done, that this way may speak
deeply to someone else here. Marcia encouraged us to continue to do e-value-ation of our worship – to look for what is of value in helping us worship God that we want to do more of. We welcome your feedback along the way about what is of value to you!
Want to learn more?
Want to become engaged in the shaping of our worship life?
We have opportunities for brainstorming worship ideas, helping develop worship resources for each liturgical season and joining our Worship and Music Ministry.
Contact Yale Lewis, Worship and Music Board Chair or Peter Ilgenfritz, Leadership Staff liaison to our Worship and Music ministry.
See you in worship!
Navigating Through Change 