Love Feast

To wrap up our church retreat we decided to have a Wesleyan Love Feast today instead of Holy Communion. Since no one on the retreat had done a Love Feast before I wasn’t sure how this would go over, especially the part where we share with one another our experiences of God’s love. The participants had been sharing in their small groups (squadrons) during the weekend, but now we were all in one group, one big circle.

Needless worry. No all shared, but many did. Soon all eyes were moist as young and old alike stood to tell about their experiences of God’s presence. Some shared thanksgivings and new folks told how they felt welcomed into the “family of God.” In this setting the love feast was the right service that opened us up to a powerful, shared spiritual experience. I guess we just had a different kind of holy communion today.

Tailgate Sunday 2008

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Had a great day for our annual Tailgate Sunday. Maybe a little windy, but otherwise excellent weather. There's always a few of our older members who just don't care for the outside casual worship, but on the other hand, we always have several visitors. And as usual, there was plenty of food at all the tents.

Magnificat

My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit has rejoiced in God my savior.

For he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden

for behold, all generations shall call me blessed.

For he who is mighty has done great things to me;

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them who fear him

from generation to generation.

Thank you Sumter High School Choir and director, Eric Wilkinson, for a delightful experience of Bach's Magnificat. You allowed me to hear with fresh ears the hope of salvation in the words of Mary.

Exposed

At MOSAIC last night we focused on the Holiness of God. Someone read the story of Moses and the burning bush and we all took off our shoes as a sign of being on holy ground. No big deal. Except walking on the cool marble of the chapel, I couldn't ignore being barefoot.

There came a time in the service when we talked about being vulnerable before God. I even felt that way, with my feet exposed. And afterwards Mitch suggested I ought to have the congregation at the traditional service remove their shoes one service. Yea, right!

But it brings a question to mind. Have we lost the sense of being exposed, vulnerable before God? We come into worship pretty secure in who we are, and what is going to happen in the service. We have our emotional defenses in place and our masks on. Any given Sunday, 95% of those in a United Methodist worship service are basically untouched by God. Why? There's no exposure. Going bare footed is just a ploy. How do we get people to go bare-hearted before God?

Mr. Dan's Encounter

There are some small moments in life you just don't want to slip away. Here's one of them. At Trinity the choir processes into the sanctuary for the second service. I do the announcements and centering prayer at the front. Then during the congregational greeting I go down the side aisle to join the choir and liturgist for the processional hymn.

As the first words of the hymn are sung, the cross bearer starts down the aisle, followed by two torch bearers, then the choir and finally the worship leaders. If we have an infant baptism, the family walks in between the choir and worship leaders.

A third of the way from the front, on the left side of the aisle, stands Mr. Dan, a kind man of medium statue, in his 90's. He and his wife always sit in that pew and he likes the aisle seat. During the processional, Mr. Dan makes a three-quarter turn in his seat so he can watch. With the smile of anticipation on his face each week, he reminds me of a child at a parade. Once I pass him by, he turns to the front and begins worship.

Occasionally the procession comes to a halt near the front as choir members ascend the steps to the chancel. This happened just this past Sunday when a family was in front of me, entering for their infant son's baptism. They stopped for a moment right beside Mr. Dan. The child was facing Mr. Dan and it seemed as if both their faces lit up with delightful recognition instantaneously.

The child kicked as Mr. Dan reached out tentatively to touch his booted foot. And then in a moment it was over. The processional continued. The family entered the front pew. As I passed by Mr. Dan, he had turned to say something to his wife. I supposed he was sharing his joy of his encounter.

It was just a small, easily unnoticed moment, yet I stepped up into the chancel a different man than when I began the processional in the narthex. Maybe it's stretching it to say I'd witnessed a holy moment of encounter, but the delight on Mr. Dan's face was imprinted in my mind. Perhaps it's just the sprinkling of grace on the family of God.

Let the Children Come

A 30-something parent issued a unique request for her infant's baptism today. She asked if I'd use the ritual out of the "old hymnal." She didn't have one handy, but she remembered that the words seemed much more appropriate for the baptism of an infant than the ritual we now use in The United Methodist Hymnal.

I inwardly grimmaced, thinking there can't be that much difference. And I was biased against even considering it. I'm one of those who believe the rituals of the church are to help define us and aren't simply a matter of personal choice. That said, I don't feel bound to the precise words of the ritual, especially during eucharistic prayers. So I got out the 1964 edition of The Methodist Book of Worship and gave it a look.

She was right. Just note this beautiful phrase, missing from our present liturgy: Our Lord has expressly given to little children a place among the people of God, which holy privilege must not be denied them. Remember the words of Christ, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." The questions of faith to the parents are much more appropriate to the moment. For example: Do you accept as your duty and privilege to live before this child a life that becomes the Gospel; to exercise all godly care that s/he be brought up in the Christian faith; that s/he be taught the Holy Scriptures, and that s/he learn to give reverent attendance upon the private and public worship of God?

Why did we delete this from the present ritual, in favor of an all-purpose generic liturgy? (A liturgy that is awkwardly "wordy.") Should not an infant baptism be different from other baptisms, in that the teaching of what infant baptisms are all about be somehow included in the words?

There is a proposal coming to General Conference 2008 from the General Board of Discipleship for a new United Methodist Hymnal in 2013. What do you think? Should there be a sub-committee that updates the ritual section as well? I'd vote for it. Of course that would mean following up the new hymnal with a new worship book. Can you already see the smiles on the executives of the UM Publishing House?

MOSAIC Begins

Last night we began Mosaic worship. I really didn't know what to expect, and was worried we had not planned in enough detail. I rushed back to the church after a Gen Conf Delegation meeting in Columbia, to find the chapel set up for worship, looking great. Some folks were enjoying the coffee, water, and cookies set up in the narthex, and the youth praise band was waiting for me to join them in a prayer time.

But worship began and the different ones did their parts. I had to breathe deeply several times to settle my urges to step in and move things along, but actually it flowed well. I estimated about 60 present, the majority youth.

Our theme was Pilate's question to Jesus "What is truth?" After some singing and a "get to know you" ice-breaker, we watched a video clip with the kind of "person on the street interviews." Nearly everyone on the video expressed the postmodern view that truth is what each person believes is true, that there is no absolute standard of truth. Then everyone broke up into small groups for discussion on this. We had prayer time, then I wrapped up the discussion with a short talk on encountering truth, not just as knowledge, but as relationship, an encounter with the reality of Jesus Christ. We celebrated Holy Communion and closed with a time of thanksgiving and singing.

I confess I have mixed feelings this morning about the service. The big positive is that those who were present gave thanks that we had begun Mosaic. I have some disappointment about the absence of some parents and young adults who'd expressed interest in the service. Part of me wants to push toward a more "polished" look and feel to the service. But I also realize I'm the only one I know of with that issue. The participants seemed to be OK with the very casual nature of the liturgy. Well, we've begun, and we'll learn, and we'll see what picture of worship emerges for us.

The first pieces are put in place...

We're probably doing it all wrong. Sunday afternoon we had our first meeting to plan Mosaic, a new worship service. Six youth and five young adults met with the youth minister, the music minister, and me to see what we might do to create a new worship experience in our church. Most had never heard the term "emerging worship." So I gave them a brief introduction about the ancient-future orientation, emphasizing the goal of making worship highly participatory. I shared some stuff from the Gen. Board of Discipleship web site about the four movements of worship: gathering, proclamation, thanksgiving and Communion, and sending forth. Then I reviewed what the staff had already done: choosing a name, designing a logo, collecting the equipment we have available, and reserving a time on the church calendar. Then I turned it over to them and sat back, wondering what would happen.

The youth jumped in first, excited about the possibilities. Then the young adults started filling out what the service could look like. Then came a call to prayer and then they split into groups to work on the music and the worship. Mosaic is to begin in two weeks! Just two weeks.

I've read the books and I have considerable experience in how churches operate. Allow a minimum of six months to initiate a new worship. Build interest and gain approval through the right church structures. Pray, plan, design, incorporate, and communicate every step of the way. Well, we're out of the box on this one. We have six Sunday evenings lined up for the fall series of Mosaic, and for me, the big question will be whether leadership will emerge to sustain it. But I have to admit it was delightful to just be a participant in the plannings and to see the way the others jumped right in with ideas and commitments.