Board of
Directors Meeting
of the
The Worship
Service
The worship space will be designed with a traditional alter in
front, with chairs arranged in traditional “pews” with a center aisle.
The opening music to gather people will be traditional
music: Baroque Brass: 01 Echo Fantasia (
After an opening quote and prayer, the tenor of the service begins
to shift. The congregation is directed
to the brightly colored cards placed on their chair. On each card they are to right a trait, role,
attribute, job, something that identified a piece of who they were. And then they are invited to locate where in
the room they placed that: All the way to the altar? In the
congregation? Or was it something
they left behind, altogether?
There is no bulletin or handout for those participating in
worship. All information provided here
is for the benefit of those leading the service.
Welcome and Gathering – Ceremony
by Leslie Marmon Silko
Greg:
Welcome, Let us gather in a spirit of worship. Please join me in a moment of reflection:
In this
book, the main character, a Lakota Indian in the southwest is struggling to
find healing after being in
“The people nowadays have an idea about the ceremonies. They think the ceremonies must be performed
exactly as they have always been done, maybe because one slip-up or mistake and
the whole ceremony must be stopped and the sand painting destroyed…
“But long ago when the people were first given these ceremonies, the
changing began, if only in the aging of the yellow gourd rattle, or the
shrinking of the skin around the eagle’s claw, if only in the different voices
from generation to generation, singing the chants. You see, in many ways, the ceremonies have
always been changing.”
Heather: Prayer.
Heather: Explanation Roles
and traits big picture. (For
explanation: see Optional
Guided Meditation)
More modern, electronic music begins
(Parallel Stripes by Aphex Twin):
Greg (while music is playing): “Let us begin with prayer…” Invitation to
prayer:
God help us to reflect.
To think about the many roles that we play, the many attributes that we
have – both positive and negative. Help
us to be present in the moment, to be honest with you and with ourselves.
People reflect:
Greg (music is still playing): “Let us continue in prayer… Prayer of confession:
God of all words and deeds, God of all justice and love, we
admit that we have fallen short, yet again.
We are not whole and we bring only pieces to you. In this season of Lent, as we journey towards
the Cross, we remain timid and frightened of who we are, and who we could
be. We have not yet reached our full
potential. Be present with us now, God,
as we think and pray about our pieces.
Help us to see how we have separated ourselves, fragmented our lives and
avoided the risk of being whole. God, we
are a scattered people, in our own bodies, and in our communities. Forgive us for our fears. Turn our confusion to confidence, and our
fears to courage. Amen.
…Now, or as you are ready, please place
your cards in the room according to where they are for you.”
People Move: Music:
Switch to Pulsewidth by Aphex
Twin
Message pt 1 “How did that
feel?” (For text see: Gathering
up the Pieces; Inviting the Outcast )
Parable of the Feasts “Someone once
gave a great dinner and invited many.”
Greg:
“Let’s practice that now…”
Heather: Blessing
Congregational
Song – Amazing Grace (start without invitation, without accompaniment).
Heather:
Passing of the Peace
The Workshop /
Focus Group (Version Two)
The key first step to young adult
ministry is that we must start the process of listening. In many ways, it’s helpful to think of young
adult ministry as cross-cultural ministry.
There is a different language, different questions and different
struggles. And even when the questions
sound the same, that doesn’t mean that the difficulty and the struggle is the
same.
We have created a model to begin this
process – A focus group. We are going to
do a shortened version of a Focus Group.
Introduce (quickly) the young adult
volunteers.
Answer the question: “What was your faith life at age 18? 25?
30? 40? Now?”
Have
the young adult in your group give the first answer.
What insights did you have? Group-by-group or just
free-for-all, depending on time.
We can do this.
1. Listening
2. No programming
3. Relationships
4. Resource
5. Help each other