Abandon Yourself to Worship

 [ Back ground music - click here]

One of the great joys of any given Sunday is when Faithlift starts an upbeat tune, there are couple of our younger members who start dancing with all abandon in the aisle in front of the choir. They have the greatest joy that just ERUPTS from them in movement, their feet are bouncing and kicking, their arms waving, their smiles are wide and electric.  Every adult within eyeshot cannot help but have a wide grin.   Perhaps worship is best approached with a bit of childlike abandon!

 

Worship is expressed, as Susan notes in the previous blog, in prayer, music, ritual and giving. These are all expressions that can be merely observed, but when they are lived and experienced they can reach deep into your soul. Marcus Borg refers to these times as the “thin places” where the kingdom of God and our plane of existence come closely together. It’s a little uncomfortable. You are a little vulnerable. You are seeking to make a connection to God. If you are coming to worship with a closed mind or a closed heart, no matter how friendly the greeters, how good the music, the reading, the sermon, the wine at communion – worship cannot happen if you don’t open yourself to the experience.

Ask any three people about what makes a good worship service and you’ll get 4 answers. Like any other church we try to make worship a significant experience for all who join us.

ELC has a Worship Council – a group of dedicated people who are committed to that task.  The Worship Council has adopted some definitions, a vision, and principles to guide ourselves as we plan -- which I will share below with some annotation.

What is worship?  ELC’s working definition is “ God’s people receiving God’s gifts and responding with praise and thanksgiving.” Worship is the main reason why we come together in community – it has been the reason ever since the first followers gathered in small house churches. They met to be together, to hear the Word, to share a meal. Pretty simple really. It was a way of strengthening each person to go out and be God’s hands at work in the world. Our worship takes many forms, but the main things are still there – Community, Word and Sacrament.

What is quality worship? “At ELC, worship shall be diverse, participative, inspirational and transformative” – so states our vision.  Quality, like beauty, may be in the mind of the beholder. But as a community, we strive to achieve the above attributes within the design of our worship. We bring different styles of music, different ways of presenting scripture, different ways of looking at/hearing the Word to make our worship experiences vital and authentic. If you particularly like (or dislike) something that has been done in worship, please let me know.  Everyone has different tastes and has different ways of “getting into” the worship mindset, so as a community we continually seek to find new ways of supporting each other in our mutual desire to worship in community.

What are the Principles for Worship? There are 4 primary principles we believe:

 1)   God is the center of worship

 2)  The chief aim of worship is to praise God

 3)   Liturgy is the work of the people - we believe worship is to be participative, intergenerational

                 and involving the whole person.

       4)   God speaks in worship and God’s Word comes in the forms of law and gospel.

Translation: worship is not a performance to be passively viewed. It is an experience/connection with God to be participated in with heart, soul, mind, voice, and body.  Through worship then, we seek to abandon our “selves” (or ego if you prefer) to receive the gifts of God. It’s hard to receive the gifts of God with a closed mind or heart.

“Oh, but I can’t sing, I don’t know how to pray, I don’t understand the ritual, I don’t know these people very well.”

It’s okay. It’s not a performance, remember? No one is judging you (and if they are they shouldn’t be!). You are a welcome member of our community if this is your first visit or your 201^st. Start small, learn a couple of the tunes. If you can’t really carry a tune, move with the music , say the words in rhythm and clap. It’s all good. Pray a simple prayer - “Lord help me get through the week” and build on that. Follow the ritual. You’ll understand it as you do it over and over and over again. That’s how ritual works. It becomes a part of you and in it you find YOUR meaning. Then meet one person. Ask them how they are doing. Then ask another.  Pretty soon you’ll know LOTS of people.  Give a little something and you’ll receive way more in return. 

Dance with the children and you’ll find yourself by abandoning yourself to worship.

Paul