Agenda Summary

Worship Advisory Group Meeting - October 2nd
Begin 12:30 Wrap up by 2:30

1. Prayer

2. Reality check.
-Are we focussing on the right issues?

3. Broadening Participation
- Update from Nat on Worship Community Initiative
- Feedback from group
- Lay leadership assistance

4. A Call to "Contemplation"
- Elements
- Ways to implement
- Lay leadership assistance

5. Strengthening and Encouraging Diversity.
- Is the body well represented?
- Lay leadership assistance
- Other tools, ideas

6. Feedback Mechanism
- WAG participation

7. Administration
- Next meeting date
- summary of action list
-lunch volunteer
-minutes volunteer

8. Prayer

agenda for next meeting

Greetings,

The time spent thinking about some of the broader issues was very beneficial, in that it has highlighted some of the important issues that we can start to take "action" on. Moving into a more practical phase, we want to do two things... strengthen the positives and respond to any negatives. Here are a couple items on my list. Please let's brainstorm:

1. There was consistent feedback from several independant sources that our service needed the contemplative elements on a more regular basis. I suggest we spend some time identifying those service elements that fall into this presently vague category and also discuss how often these elements need to appear. For example do we advise that silent prayer occur every week, every month? Scripture reading? Communion? Confession?

2. With "broader participation" as one of our stated goals it seems obvious to me that some structures need to be put in place to facilitate this. Nat presented the idea of the "worship community" as a way to break down the more exclusive participation of those with worship leading/artisitc gifts. With potentially more participants in leading worship it seems obvious that administrative responsibilities will be increased. I am recommending that someone with administrative strengths be identified who can assist Nat in the task of resource mangement.

These are a few ideas of some of the tasks that could provide assistance:

- compile a list of those in the “worship community” phone numbers, emails etc.
-Schedule participants to allow for reasonable advance notice in making plans for practices and Sunday mornings.
-Keep track of who does what and when so opportunities can be distributed in a fair and equitable manner.

Other ideas to help broaden and maintain participation?

3. We have also confirmed over the last couple months that the CHBC is a body that is very diversified in worship style preferences. This diversity and richness is a strength and can be compared to a beautiful tapestry with many colors and patterns. Some have a deep passion for hymns, some love contemporary music, some really connect with a good dramatic presentation. It is very clear to me that one of our responsibilities as the Worship Advisory Group is to identify the worship style preferences unique to the CHBC and recommend approaches to service planning that respond to these preferences in an effective and equitable manner. Here are a few ideas open for discussion:

- Make sure that the broad interests of the body are well represented in the worship advisory core group. (Mary Fran has been recommended by several as a well qualified candidate to represent some of the interests of the Heritage Group. I am recommending that we invite her to participate. Is there somone from the youth group that could assist in broadening representation?)

- Compile a "worship resource book" that can be used as a planning guide. The book will be a proactive way of increasing the likelihood of diversity and breadth in services. This "guide" will be compiled with the assistance of the Worship Advisory Group members that represent the varied interests of the body. (see first idea) This guide will not just have songs, but perhaps other worship elements that we think will bring richness and variety to our worship experience.

- Identify those gifted leaders that very naturally, through their own unique passions and sensibilities, will bring variety and richness to worship at the CHBC. I would also recommend that these alternate worship leaders are scheduled, (ie. every fourth week), and that their responsibilities include not just the actual leading on the Sunday, but assist in the planning of the service as well.

- provide a feedback process for service plans (before and after the service), as a way to broaden sensitivity to the whole body. I am not sure that everyone on the WAG needs to do this at the same time, but I would like to create some structure to this feedback process.

Again, these are just some ideas, intended to get the discussion flowing, so please feel free to agree or disagree, add or subtract.

All for now.

In His Amazing Grace

Andrew

Observations on Sept. 11th service

So I had some thoughts during Sunday's service. Now that we have been talking about worship, it's on my brain, so most of what I see passes through that filter now. I don't think that our commenting on each service as as sort of approval poll is a good idea, so I don't offer these thoughts as any such thing. Instead, these thoughts are just lines of thinking that interested me.

We talked at the meeting about the importance of making space in the service for reverence and time to encounter God and his holiness. There was also discussion about the place for light-heartedness and fun. We discussed the balance between having fun (as joy in the presence of God) and also preserving reverence for people to truly encounter God's forgiveness and have His word speak in their lives and situations. I felt that, thanks to God, the service this week struck that balance nicely.

I am usually turned off by wackyish skits; they tend to feel like entertainment to me. For some reason, this week, it didn't feel that way. I laughed and enjoyed the hilarious video (I always enjoy them), but somehow it seemed a part of worship, not an entertaining side-show to bring people in. I don't know what the difference was; it was probably just me and my changing moods and attitude. Maybe it was the way Scott Vermillion came forward so directly and earnestly afterwards. His message was plain, simple, and truthful; I didn't feel at all like he was tring to convince the college crowd that CHBC is a hip place.

I felt the same way about SpencerAcuff. Their song was wonderfully performed, but they were so simple in their presentation (again, I didn't feel like I was being entertained) that I found myself focusing on the words and feeling God's truth in them.

Mark's sermon had a driven feel to it as well. Of course, the Katrina circumstances played a large part in that. Tragedies and crises help to cut through the haze in which we (or I, at least) live most of our lives. I like it when preachers come at me straight, spare no punches, and just preach God's truth to me in a way that cuts me. Regardless of how fun and funny the anecdotes are, the message should always come right back to the plain truth, I think.

The worship team seemed to share this great balance of light-heartedness and reverence this week as well. The songs were potent and beautiful, and they pushed me towards singing to God (as the Psalms tell us to do).

It's a bit weird of me to feel this way, but I'm always annoyed when we clap in church for a performance. It's not that I don't want the performer to feel appreciated; I just think that, especially in church, it should be clear that the person on stage isn't singing for us; she's singing to God. I feel more appreciate to the purpose of the song when I reverently and silently honor it as a gift not to me but God.

Thus, I thought it was a neat, God-honoring service that balanced between somewhat serious reverence and ebullient joy. I'm sure that many were praying for it to be that way. I like to think that God blessed those prayers and gave our leaders what they needed to honor His name.

So, there are my thoughts, mostly unrefined or edited, on recent worship. Is that what we are supposed to be doing on this blog?

PS On a completely practical note, did anyone think that all of the audio was very loud? Both my wife and I felt that the volume was quite piercing to the ears.

-- Walker Hicks