[Dialogue] Contemporary Worship Service

[RevMcLeod@aol.com]

I initially responded to Vance's posting "back-channel"
but Karen's post jogged me into realizing it would be good
to share it with the whole list.

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Dear Vance:

I saw your Dialogue posting about Contemporary Worship.

Some thoughts...

The UCC is beginning to explore using "praise music" styles with texts more 
in keeping with a Progressive theology.  One song in particular, "Every Step of 
the Way" is pretty good.  You can probably get a copy of this CD/booklet from 
a local UCC pastor or from the Worship folks in Cleveland.

"New Thought" churches, notably Unity, are also branching into this "praise 
music" style.  Check out resources at Unity Village.  
http://www.unityonline.org.  I recently went to a New Thought Congress meeting and was struck by the 
interesting "counterpoint" between fervant, sometimes almost Pentecostal, and 
words I as a Progressive Christian could sing without choking.  I did a quick 
look at this website and didn't see links to music at the bookstore, but you 
could write and ask for referrals.

Gordon Cosby and the folks at Church of the Saviour are posting some of their 
liturgical resources (but not musical ones) at 
http://www.seekerschurch.org/liturgies/

Jim Ahrend and friends are publishing interesting choral/vocal/congregational 
stuff at http://www.lionandlambmusic.com

My own compositions are often more "contemplative" (ala Taize).  
http://members.aol.com/stfrancissong/ServantSong.pdf or based on "world music"
http://members.aol.com/stfrancissong/FollowLeadSheet.pdf ... in the works? a 
setting of the so-called New Zealand Lord's Prayer... "Eternal Spirit, 
Earth-Maker, Pain-Bearer, Love-Maker".  If you want to pursue using these materials, 
please write about rights/permissions.

Finally, when breathing "contemporary" and "worship" in the same phrase, 
don't get caught in the trap of thinking that historical resources are somehow 
"not contemporary".  Liturgy is a form of "performance art" that's at it best 
when centuries of resources are at hand, planners are and worshippers alike are 
well rooted in them, and everyone enjoys combining old/new/borrowed/blue 
resources in new and interesting ways.

Louis Sullivan, architect, got it right.  Form Follows Function. 

     Discern what *function* a given worship service looks to fulfill.
     Discern what life-themes or spirit-themes are to be expressed in the 
service,
     Look to the culture within which that function is to be acted out
     Draw on resources (scriptures, writings, rituals, poetry, music, 
movement, 
          visual images, practices, etc., etc) that serve the function and 
express the themes.
     Design a service and use it for worship.
     Evaluate the effect of the choices for a service to learn from them.

     Repeat process... longer the lead time for any given service, better the 
results.

     Do this planning work as a worship team including all the artists
          who might contribute to worship is a given place.
     Be playful about all this.  Taken too seriously or self-consciously,
          "contemporary" worship can be really deadly.

Enjoy!

Jeremy McLeod