What is our liturgical responsibility?

There has been much talk around the country in these past few weeks about the state of our present times and the stability of the future. People are concerned about the debt crisis. Others are more concerned about health care. And others think our time and energy should really be spent on ending the war. The list goes on and on, as we are truly living in very complicated times.

Yet in all the conversations happening in our communities, on our televisions and even our our computers screens we hear very little about concerning ourselves with hope. Just this week a ninth grader said to me that she believed the world was falling apart. If the young in our country do not have hope, what kind of future can we expect to have?

As worship leaders, what is our responsibility in the issue of hope? How or even should we address this liturgically? Are we doing our part as the Body of Christ to uplift the hope that is so integral to our faith? Or are we simply existing as the Titanic - the last place for people to gather for one last toast singing "Nearer My God to Thee" as the ship goes down underneath us?

Where is your liturgical flab?

The liturgies we celebrate every week are, at their core, a spiritual exercise whose primary goal is to praise God.  One of the many benefits of this exercise is the deepening of our faith, which is critical to our health as members of the Body of Christ.  Just as we exercise our physical bodies so that we can be prepared for the rigors and fun of daily life, we must also exercise our spiritual bodies - we must exercise the Body of Christ in worship so that we are prepared for the rigors and fun that is serving our Lord. 

To exercise our physical bodies, we focus on different muscle groups so that the body can be strong and all parts work well together.  We must take the same care with our spiritual bodies when it pertains to worship.  Our worship is incomplete without prayers of intercession to balance our praise of creation.  It is incomplete without the lament of our pain and brokenness to balance our joy in resurrection and wholeness in Christ. 

Perhaps our greatest sin as worship planners and leaders is a lackadaisical and careless approach to the design and execution of our liturgies.  Just as a poorly designed and executed exercise routine can lead to a flabby body and even injury, a lackadaisical and careless approach to worship can lead to a flabby liturgy and could even injure the Body of Christ by not providing a complete picture of our Lord and our faith.  

Where is your liturgical flab?  If we are honest with each other, we must all admit that we have some.  Is it the preaching or the music?  The reading of the scriptures?  Or can it be found in less definable places, like hospitality?

What will you do this week to begin to burn your liturgical flab away?

The Liturgy of the Word is Prayer

I was cleaning out my Prayer Book the other afternoon and came across an index card that an old friend gave to me many years ago with a quote by Kathleen Norris from her book The Cloister Walk. See what you think.....

"The Liturgy of the Word is prayer. You pray the scriptures with, and for, the people assembled, and the words go out to them, touching them in ways only you can imagine. The words are all that matter, and you send them out as prayer, hoping to become invisible behind them."

Kathleen Norris
The Cloister Walk
page 68

True? How do the leaders of the Church lead those who read the scriptures to such a place of prayer?

Partnership in Liturgy

One of the most important (and conspicuous) partnerships in liturgy is that between the officiant and the music director. The most effective liturgy presents a synergy between music and liturgy, a sum far greater than its parts, but effectiveness does not arise as a result of casual discussion. It requires planning, experience, reflection, modification, in other words, a commitment to continuous improvement based on attentiveness to the Gospel and to the congregation. The essential rubric for a sermon applies as well to liturgy and music: "How does the Holy Spirit seek to use liturgy and music to bring people to the Gospel?"

What constitutes good liturgy?

What constitutes good liturgy?

The Reverend Tom Long in his book, “Beyond the Worship Wars”, published by The Alban Institute, offers nine suggestions. I think his work is splendid. Tom is a great teacher and a magnificent preacher.  When I finished his book I felt it was missing a tenth suggestion. I offer it with the utmost respect to the author.

1.       Make room for the experience of mystery

2.      Show hospitality to strangers

3.      Make visible the sense of drama inherent in Christian worship

4.      Emphasize excellence in all things – music and preaching

5.      Creatively adapt the space and environment of worship

6.      Forge a strong connection between worship and local mission

7.      Maintain a relatively stable order of service and a significant repertoire of worship elements and responses that the congregation knows by heart

8.      Move to a joyous festival experience toward the end of the liturgy

9.      Have strong, charismatic pastors as worship leaders

10.   In the end – It is not about the priest and it is not about the musician.

               Or to put it another way....

       It is not about You. It is not about Me.

       It is ALL about Jesus!!

First Thoughts

After the very first successful Festival of Liturgical Arts of the Western Reserve, the Board of Directors of FLAWR decided that we should have a blog to continue the conversation about worship and liturgy. Most importantly, to have a forum where clergy and musicians could have an opportunity to reflect on how we can work together in mutual ways that support one another and give glory to God.

So here is our forum. Post your thoughts about worship and how the bench and the altar work more effectively together.

My only request - be polite - speak the truth in love - place a post that will make a positive impact and will not tear down or injure - be the Body of Christ.

To begin..... what do you believe clergy and musicians can do to make the work environment more effective? How can we learn from one another?

Peace to you - Brian