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Word and Music in Worship

Seekers Church

Seekers Church: An Intentional Community
in the Tradition of Church of the Saviour

Washington, DC

This provides a framework for those involved in preparation for Sunday worship at Seekers Church. "Guidelines for Selecting Music", "Guidelines for Preaching" and "Guidelines for Liturgists" were prepared by Celebration Circle; "The Children's Word: Tips to Consider" was prepared by the Journeying with Children mission group. All are based in the experience of the community, and are offered with love and with the understanding that sometimes the Spirit of God moves us to ignore all rules and guidelines.

Guidelines for Selecting Music

"In the metaphor of centuries of hymnody, ancient and modern, we discern that God is always more than our human words are able to express. Our reverence for the mystery of God's being invites humility as we seek language that opens human hearts to the good news of God's love for all creation. We acknowledge the limitations of our words while we confess that in Jesus Christ the Work of God became flesh and lived within history.

Where language fails us, we live with confidence that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. Our hymns are a testimony to this ministry of the Holy Spirit. Hymns are far more than the sum of their parts. They become for us a language that transcends human speech. They are the poetry of eternity within time. They are signs of grace that comes from beyond ourselves."

- from the Forward to The New Century Hymnal

Based on the experiences of those who have selected music for worship at Seekers, the responses by members in the congregation to that music, and ongoing conversations with other interested Seekers, Celebration Circle offers the following guidelines to those who will be selecting music in the future.

Music should undergird the season's theme, the week's lections and/or the sermon. Preachers should be consulted when selecting music, but those who select music need to keep the larger picture of Seekers worship in mind.
Consider the variety of hymnals available:
- Methodist Hymnal
- New Century Hymnal (UCC)
- Joy in Singing
- Everflowing Streams
- Rise Up Singing
- Inserts of lyrics or music from other sources that include proper indication of copyright permission from CCLI, GIA or copyright holder.
Remember that the hymns are what people are praying. Teach any new hymns during Circle Time, so that people will have a chance to enter fully into them during the rest of worship.
Consider the timing and function or place of each piece of music in the liturgy

a) Prelude

3 minutes
bring us to a common, worshipful state

b) First hymn

understood as part of the Call to Worship
spirituals or other songs easy for children to learn
worshipful, theological content appropriate for both children and adults
generally upbeat

c) Second hymn

preparation for the Word

d) Offertory

2 - 3 minutes
bring closure to the Word
match tone/complete images/....

e) Third hymn

bring closure to the service
send us forth to action/mission
short, or with verses that may be omitted
not the place to try new hymns

Language and style considerations

style may be contemporary, classical, traditional, folk, etc. as fits the occasion (see #1)
language should reflect the theology of Seekers as found in the Commitment Statement:

"We worship God as triune being. We believe:

that the Creator - father and mother to us all, ground of being - loves, sustains and calls us;

that Jesus Christ, who for our sake lived, was crucified, died, rose from the dead, and now bids us to a ministry of love and justice'

that the Holy Spirit, as the empowering presence and breath of God, confronts and inspires us to do God's work in the world."

be inclusive - speak to and for all God's people
be mindful that people come from a variety of traditions and differ over theology
be willing to explain musical choices rather than just springing them on the community

"Our interest in singing hymns is not antiquarian but communitarian - singing to God from where we are... It is traditional for hymn-texts to be altered.... Language, like music, has formative power....[like] invisible mending, elegant changes [are] close to the spirit, language, and theology of the original."

from "Why Do They Keep Changing the Good Old Hymns" by Brian Wren

Always leave room for the Holy Spirit

Revised 1/26/2004

The Children's Word: Tips to Consider

The Children's Word at Seekers Church is a time when we intentionally communicate our Christian perspective with the children of our community. We hope that the following points will help you in your preparation.

The Children's Word should be geared primarily towards the children even though adults always enjoy listening too. Consider your audience to be the 5-6 year olds and use words and concepts that they will be able to understand. Try to keep it simple. If they understand then you know that everyone will understand.
The time allocated for the Children's Word is five minutes. Because of this time limitation it is best if you have only one or two ideas that you want to cover. Stories, concrete examples, or using objects are good ways to build interest and communicate your ideas.
Try to consider the lectionary scriptures in what you have share with the children. If you wish you may want to coordinate with the preacher forth for that Sunday.
Be sure to take the offering and have a brief prayer before dismissing the children. On Communion Sunday it is not necessary to take the offering since the children will be in the service for the offering.

Thank you for being willing to share with our children.

Guidelines for Preaching

These are guidelines, not rules. Each of us who offers the Word to the community during worship must, in the end, be guided by God's Spirit as we prepare and present what we have to offer. The Celebration Circle seeks to encourage your creativity, while maintaining a sense of our faith journey together as a community.

As you select the form of your preaching offering, consider the variety - teaching, prophecy, visioning, participative, non-verbal, etc. We encourage variety, and want you to use a form that empowers you. If you want to talk over an unconventional approach, call the Celebration Circle.
Make an explicit connection to the Lectionary Scriptures for the week.
Consider how your sermon can be related to the theme for the worship season.
Consider how your offering is grounded in your personal theological understanding: use your own story as one part of our story as a Christian community.
Consider how your offering can build the life of the Seekers. Encouragement, teaching and prophetic confrontation all have a place, but the goal is to engage with us as a community and help us be on our journey.
Consider how you can invite us to an encounter with God, and a relationship with Christ.
Consider how you can invite each of us into a deeper connection with the Seekers' Church.
Consider how you can invite us to an outer journey in mission as well as an inner journey of spiritual growth.
Consider how you can link us to our Christian tradition.
Consider how you can shed light on the meaning of Christian Discipleship in terms of our heritage within the Church of the Saviour - servant leadership, committed membership, mission, call, gifts, etc..

Guidelines for Liturgists

Introduction

When Seekers Church worships, a different person preaches each Sunday. To model gender balance in leading worship, when a woman preaches we have a man serve as liturgist, and vice versa. Most of the time our liturgists are members of Celebration Circle mission group. Occasionally, though, we invite other members of Seekers Church to serve as liturgist.

In our worship, the liturgist carries these key functions:

Hold the space so all who are worshiping can relax and open themselves to the unexpected movement of the Holy Spirit.
Lead the community in prayer by offering poetic bidding prayers that hold up images for praise, thanksgiving and intercession, images that are grounded in the lections for the week as well as events in the world and in the life of the community.
Allow for and honor unexpected opportunities for improvisational response to the movement of the Spirit.
Bridge any gaps in the flow of worship to minimize disruptions for those worshiping.
Gently bring our worship to completion within the expected time.

It is a tall order, and we often fall short of the mark somewhere along the line. These guidelines are an attempt to capture our almost 30 years of experience in this approach to facilitating worship. They are not rules, but those of us who frequently serve as liturgist have found them useful as a reminder of what we have found that works for us.

General

When speaking, honor the rhythm of what you say; allow time for people to hear.

Chronology (Assuming 10:00AM Start of Worship)

10:00 Finish Circle Time

PRELUDE

All sit in silence through prelude

Candles lighted during prelude

Stand at lectern as people settle down

Liturgist reads silent reflection paragraph

Hold short silence (~15 seconds)

10:05 CALL TO WORSHIP

All stand for call to worship

If 2 voices, identify them before beginning call to worship

INVOCATION

All remain standing for Invocation

Addressed to God

Acknowledge presence of God

Lead us into awareness of God’s presence

Include some Trinitarian reference

FIRST HYMN

All remain standing for first hymn

WORD FOR THE CHILDREN

All sit for word for the children

Liturgist stands while children and teachers leave

SILENCE

Liturgist stands for silence

Invite time of silence and reflection

Hold silence until quiet returns (~1 minute)

RESPONSIVE READING

Liturgist stands, people sit for responsive reading

If 2 voices, identify them (or remind people) before beginning

SILENCE

Liturgist stands for silence

Hold silence for longer time (~3 minutes)

PRAYERS

Liturgist stands for prayers

Liturgist invites all to continuing prayer, and common confession

If 2 voices, identify them (or remind people) before beginning

All say common confession

Liturgist invites individual confession; holds space

Liturgist offers assurance

Liturgist invites prayers of praise and thanksgiving

Invitation prayer opens breadth of things to pray for

Invitation prayer is long enough to let people enter in more deeply

Include references to lectionary readings when appropriate

Liturgist invites individual prayers of praise and thanksgiving; holds space

Liturgist invites prayers of intercession and petition

Invitation prayer opens breadth of things to pray for

Invitation prayer is long enough to let people enter in more deeply

Include references to lectionary readings when appropriate

Liturgist invites individual prayers of intercession and petition; holds space

Liturgist invites all to pray as Jesus taught

10:30 Finish Prayer time

SCRIPTURE

Liturgist announces readings; invites readers by name

Liturgist remains standing at lectern

Readers offer lessons from within congregation

Pause between readings for short (15-30 second) silence if time permits

After reading Gospel lesson, reader brings Bible to altar table

SERMON

Liturgist introduces preacher

Liturgist sits down as preacher comes to lectern

11:00 Finish sermon

SILENT REFLECTION

Liturgist remains seated; holds short silence

OFFERING

Liturgist stands and invites giving gifts to God

Liturgist hands offering plate to designated offering taker

Liturgist sits with preacher while offering is gathered

Liturgist stands at lectern after offering gathered

(and music finished if possible)

Liturgist silently invites all to stand as offering is placed on altar table

Gatherer offers prayer/movement as desired

Include other “gifts” during offering time

(blessing ribbons, etc. as part of offering)

SHARED REFLECTIONS

Liturgist introduces reflection time

Reflect on lessons, worship …

Call on individuals (by name)

Insure newer/more reticent people are recognized

Liturgist actively monitors time remaining

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Liturgist introduces as part of worship “…our ministry beyond this place…”

Liturgist monitors time

11:10 Finish announcements

FINAL HYMN

All stand

BENEDICTION

All remain standing

LEAVING THE SANCTUARY

Liturgist greets visitors

Collecting bulletins gets you to all parts of the sanctuary

11:15 Worship complete

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