Worship Arts April May June 2022

April – May – June 2022

Transforming the World Through Worship

Reaching out

The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts

Augsburg Music LEADING THE CHURCH’S SONG

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Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

worship.calvin.edu

FOR THE STUDY AND RENEWAL OF WORSHIP

April–May–June 2022 Volume 67 Number 2

WorshipArts (lSSN08915288) is a publication to the members of The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts. The Fellowship’s Calling We are Christians embracing God’s artistic gifts to create world transforming worship. Our Values Worship arts that lead to spiritual growth and faith formation. Relationships that lead to hospitality, fellowship, and nurture. Annual membership dues: Member PLUS : $100 (All member benefits for one person) Sustaining Member: $150 (Member PLUS and $50 contribution to Annual Fund) Church/Group Membership: $240 (Three Member PLUS memberships at the same church) Member BASIC: $75 ( WorshipArts and basic member benefits) Over 65 Member – BASIC: $75 ( WorshipArts and basic member benefits) Small Church Member: $75 (Avg. Worship Attendance under 100; Member PLUS benefits) Student Member: FREE (Member PLUS benefits) Join or renew online at UMFellowship.org/Join, or use form on page 26. Interim Executive Director Rights for reprinting articles in WorshipArts are retained by the individual authors. To get in touch with them, contact the editor. Contributions to WorshipArts, as well as ideas, are welcome and encouraged. Materials must be submitted by the 1st, two months prior to publication date (May 1 for July-August-September issue, August 1 for October-November-December issue, November 1 for January-February March issue, February 1 for April-May-June issue). WorshipArts Editorial Committee David Wiltse , Editor Emeritus 738 Clark Crossing SE Grand Rapids, MI 49506 (616) 724-4412, dmwiltse@att.net Tracy DePue Tom Taylor, Tom@UMFellowship.org, (412) 417-8283 PO Box 24787, Nashville, TN 37202, (615) 499-6390 email: info@UMFellowship.org Website: UMFellowship.org Direct all address changes to this office. Viewpoints expressed and materials included in WorshipArts are not necessarily endorsed by The Fellowship.

Inside this issue Why Jesus would love online church ................. 5

A case is made for continuing online worship even when it is no longer a necessity. Or is it?

We are not alone .................................................. 8 Conclusion of Fellowship members’ reflections on the past two pandemic years, sharing insights into online worship and visuals. What’s in your salad bowl? ............................... 12 What vegetables and fruit are in the salad bowl called your community? How will you celebrate the wonderful colors, shapes, textures, and flavors that God created? For young and for old ........................................ 16 How often have we watched children and youth get edged out of worship, and older adults get edged out of the imaginative future of the church?

Also ... From the President ...........................4 From the Editorial Committee .......4 From the Executive Director ........ 19 Fellowship Family Updates ......... 19 Reviews ............................................ 20 Contacts........................................... 26

45 Yazoo Circkle, Maumelle, AR 72113 (501) 944-3266, tracydepue@gmail.com Joy Lamb 10 Chapman Ln., Gales Ferry, CT 06335 (860) 464-7407, joylamb@snet.net Sara Collins, Reviews Coordinator 9324 Erie Tr., Shelby, MI 49455 (231) 861-4905, ssjcollins24@aol.com Rick Wiltse , Advertising Coordinator (269) 932-8151, worshipartsads@att.net

Cover: Pexels image by Djordje Cvetkovic

Thriving in a time of transition

D ear Fellowship Friends, The word of the year for Fellowship leaders seems to be “transition.” In tandem with our journey to hire a new Execu tive Director, WorshipArts is in transition as well. You have likely seen the an nouncement that Carla Swank Fox, The Fellowship’s Com munications and Publications

How that informs this issue: As we combed the archives for possible repeat articles, we found the task quite difficult. Not that we couldn’t find enough material; quite the opposite: we had too much. A nice problem to have. Yet, it seemed unfortunate to use only a handful of the 25 we considered worthy of repetition. So, we decided to include a couple of those in this issue. Our lead article argues for continuing online worship to reach out to those who desire to worship with us but can’t. We’ve added pieces from our “repeat” list that reinforce/expand the idea of more inclusion. We hope they will stimulate some thinking and perhaps discussion in your worship team. “From the past will come the future,” as Natalie Sleeth so aptly reminds us (Hymn of Promise, UMH 707. One last look – farther ahead In addition to the recommendations from some of our regular reviewers, to help in planning for the next choral year, Robert Anderson has provided reviews for a year’s worth of seasons. We offer those in this issue in case you want to get a jump start. Blessings on your ministry as we head into summer. In music, a transition is a momentary modula tion from one key to another. We are excited to an nounce that Dave Wiltse has agreed to serve as interim WorshipArts editor as we journey through this momen tary modulation. Dave wore the WorshipArts editor hat for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2019. The Fellowship Board is grateful for his willingness to help us out by leading the creation of our 2 nd and 3 rd quarter publications in 2022. Your Fellowship Board is committed to helping us all move smoothly and seamlessly from past to future leadership. We feel the Spirit’s presence among us, and I have faith that God is leading the way as we discern who will serve as the next WorshipArts editor. Please keep us in prayer as we go. I continue to hold you all in my prayers as you plan and lead worship for your congregations. Blessings, Nancy

From the President Nancy Farrington

Director, has resigned as of April 30. With ever-growing responsibilities as a new mom and a full-time lecturer at Middle Tennessee State University, Carla found that continuing to fit Fellowship work into her life became a challenge. I am grateful to Carla for the leadership, creativity, and friendship she has shared with The Fellowship over the past ten years. You can read more about Carla’s impact on The Fellowship in the next issue of WorshipArts .

F R O M T H E E D I T O R I A L C O M M I T T E E

A look where we are

“[A]ll are welcome in this place,” says the text of Welcome ( Worship & Song 3152), co-authored by Laurie Zelman and Fellowship member Mark Miller. During the pandemic we learned to expand our understanding of “this place” to include wherever our online worship is experienced. In this issue, Dr. Joel Jupp urges us to retain that understanding. By providing both in-person and online experiences, we are welcoming those who worship with us outside the walls of our building. It’s a matter of inclusion, of reaching out, of drawing our circle as wide as possible. A look back In the last issue responses to a reader survey were shared, reflecting experiences with worship during the pandemic. With our thanks for their willingness to share, we conclude those responses in this issue, focus ing primarily on preaching and visuals. A look ahead by looking back To understand the reason for the rest of our feature content, we need to share our plans. The summer issue will bring back past WorshipArts content that we feel is especially pertinent and useful at a time of the year when worship leaders transition, assessing where they have been and are going.

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R E A C H I N G O U T

Why Jesus Would Love Online Church by Dr. Joel Jupp

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Just as ‘children’s church’ ... is not seen as a separate church but part of the church , so should online services be viewed.

O nline church remains a necessity. erwise, saying that online church is physically wrong (due to the lack of embodiment) and “should” cease. However, such a perspective not only takes a short sighted view of the pandemic but will cause confu sion (at best) and division (at worst) at a time when churches should be united. As a church leader who has dedicated over 4,000 hours during the pandemic to planning, designing, and editing online services – and with a wife fighting cancer, who has not attended services for two years – I find the idea of cancelling online services not only callous but uncalled for. For two years, churches have been saying “Join us in person or online,” but I would argue churches should go even further. Not only should “or online” stay, but we should start to say, “and online.” Congre gants should be invited to both, not one or the other. Rather than creating a false dichotomy between in person and online participants, ministry during the Perhaps this seems obvious to some, but a recent New York Times article 1 argues oth

pandemic should be viewed as a spectrum, within which churches integrate offline and online experi ences. Online experiences are no longer isolated. This is not 1995, when you would sit secluded at a desktop and wait for your 56k modem to connect. In con trast, online experiences are integrated into “nor mal” life – video calling a relative, paying for dinner, catching an Uber, or reading The New York Times – using a phone that you carry with you everywhere. The realization that “online life is real life” has even become a podcast. The viewer decides The critique that online services somehow dimin ish worship misses the bigger picture. The internet modified, not diminished, worship. (God is not so measly as to be “less worshipped” during the pan demic.) As Marshall McLuhan observed, the medium changes the experience, but it does not necessarily improve or ruin it – that’s up to the users to decide. Precisely, the decision to worship is ours, and there is no large-scale movement within orthodox Christianity to replace normal church with online church. Instead, online church is an activity of the church – an expression of the greater body. Just as “children’s church” (the time when children gather) is not seen as a separate church but part of the church, so should online services be viewed. Online will not replace the full church experience, but it is one part of many parts. An opportunity for better health Embodiment of individuals, of course, remains a legitimate concern. Few would argue with that. Human beings obviously have bodies, and should anyone doubt it, the pandemic has reminded us. Not only do we have bodies, but we have fragile bodies. Precisely because we are embodied, the internet provides not an obstacle but an opportunity for better health. Thus, perhaps the best way to be an embodied person is to worship safely alone, with

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loved ones, or within a bubble, rather than attending a large gathering with various people of unknown vaccination status. Further, online worship can embrace bodily elements. Some online services incorporate songs (to sing, clap, dance with), sign language, readings, silence, communion, and more. In other words, ac tivity on a screen does not eliminate the body of the viewer. Certainly, screens excel in some areas of com munication more than others, but despite obvious limitations, they can still form a bond of closeness. This is because presence involves far more than physicality. Online educators have known this for decades (dating back to The Social Psychology of Tele communications in 1976), but it’s not only educators who know this. Any lonely person can relate. You can be surrounded by people and still be separate. Loneliness, even when physically proximate, can be a disembodying experience. A vehicle for more inclusion Feeling “close” involves engagement, and online services offer unique opportunities to connect. For example, our church uses video submissions from congregants, incorporating different ages, families, personalities, backgrounds, and more. Compared to a “normal” service (i.e., prior to March 2020), such videos allow more diverse voices to be expressed and heard. Some worry that online services communicate the “implicit” message that embodiment is optional, but this need not be the case. Church leaders, of all peo ple, know how to communicate the implicit. Thus, the warning should be well heeded, and churches should shape online experiences into an invitation – not into dualism but holism. After all, we are em bodied as individuals but also embodied together . As with most of our pandemic debates, the minority gets left behind. As has been known for months, some cannot attend due to heath conditions. Yet, in most of the pandemic debates, the most vul nerable receive a brief mention, perhaps a sentence, maybe a paragraph – and are soon forgotten. When appropriate and safe, visiting the vulner able is welcome, but even still, most cannot receive visitors yet. Further, if the homebound would benefit from an online gathering, why remove access? The vulnerable have already suffered enough; we could

Photos: Dave Wiltse

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better spend our time giving rather than taking away from them. While easy for healthy people to forget, online gatherings may not be as “isolating” to others as may be thought; for some, they may provide the only op portunity to see, hear, and emotionally feel all week. A quick glance at TikTok will introduce you to individu als of all kinds, some of whom have physical or health limitations. In short, your online experience may not be the same as everyone else’s. Developing community In this debate, we must not confuse “assembly” with “assembly in a building.” Indeed, Christians should not forsake the assembly, but during a pan demic, that need not be inside. As churches have thought creatively, assembly can happen at public parks, church parking lots, even boats – and the same goes for gathering online. For as previous research has shown, online experiences can in fact develop com munity, especially aspects such as encouragement. Lastly, some may forget that the pandemic does not strike people fairly. Depending on age, geography, class, politics, and a host of other factors, some indi viduals face greater danger from the pandemic than others. Even now, parents of young children struggle with knowing what to do, and young families com prise a significant portion of church membership. So any policy, program, or other church decision should consider all believers, especially those who may suffer. Jesus came for the least of these (Matt. 25:40) – the weak, the vulnerable, the fearful, the sick – which is why Jesus would favor not a singular form of institu tionalism, but creative methods to reach all people. So let us not backtrack, learning nothing from the pandemic. Instead, let us lean into our context, loving not some but all – for “this is the way to love God and our neighbors” (ironically, the very phrase the Times article used to argue for dropping online services). NOTE 1 www.nytimes.com/2022/01/30/opinion/church-online-services-covid. html?referringSource=articleShare)

‘We are not alone’ Fellowship members reflect on the past two pandemic years, sharing moments of hope and inspiration, sorrow and loss, offering lessons learned along the way.

▼

(continued from the previous issue)

DR. JOEL JUPP, an alumnus of Asbury Theological Seminary, has taught at Moody Bible Institute, Judson University,

and Aurora University. As a resident of Chicagoland, he leads worship and designs online services, and his origi nal music can be heard on Spotify and Apple Music. He is also the Executive Editor at PaperBlazer and edits research for Wheaton College.

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How have you adapted your preaching to an online audience/congregation?

“ As youth minister and “back-up,” I’ve found that I am far less likely to be a “talking head.” That has never really been my style, but I think the online aspect has made it more important to relate personally when you’re not in-person. Carla Hale Stroud UMC Stroud, OK

I’m not the preacher. We tried to make the online services short er. As days and months went by, the sermons got longer which elimi nated the point of brev ity. We discovered that those watching at home would often watch the opening music and then log out! ToddWilson Germantown UMC Germantown, TN Direct preaching to the camera, using a tele prompter . Douglas Grove DeJarnett Munsey Memorial UMC Johnson City, TN

Our pastor has a sign on the pulpit to make sure she looks at the camera at least some of the time. She also makes sure she uses inclusive language for both the in-person and online worshipers. Karen Booth

I am not the pastor, but I did preach a few ser mons. I delivered these sermons from my living room, but fortunately I had an audience of one (my husband) so it didn’t feel quite like talking to a computer screen.

Our pastor has made more of an effort to include the online audience . Janice Hinnant Earle Street Baptist Church Greenville, SC

Lake Harbor UMC Norton Shores, MI

Eileen Johnson El Sobrante UMC El Sobrante, CA

What will you carry into a post-pandemic ministry with worship that is new to you?

Hybrid worship is here to stay.

Not my primary responsibility, but overall I think we need to be more in tentional about offering worship in as many different ways as are practical for our setting. Carla Hale Stroud UMC Stroud, OK Not sure. We are always making small changes in how we do things from one series to the next. We never, ever, ever want to hear “but, we’ve always done it that way,” and probably haven’t heard that for the past 10 or 12 years. Karen Booth

Eileen Johnson El Sobrante UMC El Sobrante, CA

Awareness of what is being seen on camera and thus streamed. Our sound techs have done a better job of hitting marks and being pre pared since we have paid attention to streaming. We’ve gone back to review services , we’d only talk through review on occasion in the pre-COVID past. ToddWilson Germantown UMC Germantown, TN

Lake Harbor UMC Norton Shores, MI

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Do you use the altar as the primary place for visuals? No. We use our whole space , including the area surrounding the congregation. Karen Booth Not totally. We have also used the area behind the altar which includes a wall behind the choir loft. That has been very helpful on the streaming video, as the depth perception is not as good on line. It has been problematic as the choir has come back because we’ve been dealing with climbing over a lot of wires, lights and decorations. Lauri Nair Shenendehowa UMC Clifton Park, NY Yes, but for streaming we use a wider view with large banners on both sides behind it. A new com munion table using heritage wood beams was recently consecrated. Banners change for seasons and special Sundays. Rev. Dr. Betsy Schwarzentraub Elk Grove, CA Lake Harbor UMC Norton Shores, MI If you are worshiping outside, how have you used visuals? When we were outside, visuals were either on tables or on stands or on the ground .

How has the role of visuals in worship changed for your church during the pandemic? Many more videos of members reading the scriptures or talking about what they were doing or how they were volunteering in their area of ministry were used in our streaming while we were shut down. C. Christian (Chris) Dederer Christ UMC Greensboro, NC Moved the altar so it is behind the pastor for online viewing. Ellen Page More important in our online worship – we tried to use multiple venues to record and make sure the visuals were changed regularly to fit the season/text. Douglas Grove-DeJarnett Munsey Memorial UMC Johnson City, TN Switching from a 3-D to 2-D format to look better on livestream. Lauri Nair Shenendehowa UMC Clifton Park, NY My context is very traditional with no screens. One thing we’ve done with choir members back in worship is to process with a cross bearer and acolytes . This is visual and aural. ToddWilson Germantown UMC Germantown, TN First UMC Howell, MI Additional slides to compensate for there being no handout. Jim Sheldrake St. Peter’s UMC Wellington, FL

RickWiltse Aldersgate UMC Grand Rapids, MI

Parament draped over mobile pulpit in courtyard. Pentecost streamers hung from building gutter for Pentecost Day and season. Rev. Dr. Betsy Schwarzentraub Elk Grove, CA

Moved altar outside in meditative garden setting of our church.

Carol A. Mariano Mercer Island UMC Mercer Island, GA

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If you are live in-person and live streaming, do you have more than one visual focal point? Tell us about your experience.

We have a fairly large “stage” area three steps up from the congregation. The projection area is above the musicians to the left side of the stage. The altar is in the center of the stage as are our big visuals. A large stained glass “window” hangs above the right side of the stage. Karen Booth We’ve added cameras. Ini tially we had a single camera fixed in the balcony. We now have two other cameras. All can now pivot allowing multiple changes of view during the service. Lake Harbor UMC Norton Shores, MI

The company that installed our streaming equipment set up several different shots for our streaming operator. Over time, we learned how to make more of our own, and which ones didn’t work as well as others. There are basically five different shots : one for altar, one for choir, one for pulpit, one for lec tern, and one farther-back shot that captures the praise team. There are three cam eras.

We have multiple cameras (cell phones and tablets) and we use a switcher for live stream im ages; unfortunately, it has taken staff to operate as lay members are uneasy about learning the technology.

Jim Sheldrake St. Peter’s UMC Wellington, FL

We installed several cameras to give us different angles when recording our services so we could focus attention on differ ent groups more adequately. C. Christian (Chris) Dederer Christ UMC Greensboro, NC

Mary Jane Crail Clear Lake UMC Clear Lake, IA

Lots of camera angles, but only one altar display. Lots of variety in the background images, but always related to the seasonal or weekly theme. Mary Scifres Santa Clarita UMC

ToddWilson Germantown UMC Germantown, TN

“ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ April-May-June 2022 • WorshipArts • umfellowship.org 11 How has your creation of visual art in worship changed since the pandemic began? We are much more conscious of representing the sermon content rather than just having something nice to look at. Lauri Nair Shenendehowa UMC Clifton Park, NY Not much for the services I participate in. During the time we spent making recordings we intentionally avoided the Hollywood Squares videos and used images that captured the texts of the music. More of a mood maker than a highlighting of the participants. ToddWilson Germantown UMC Germantown, TN

Reprinted from WorshipArts September-October 2012

What’s in your salad bowl? by Debra Tyree

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R E A C H I N G O U T

Who is my neighbor and who will be my neighbor? W

• Who is the “other” in your community? This will be a pretty easy question to answer if you have done your demographics homework. • Who is not in your worship services now? This is hard to face – it is admitting that we have not been open to all of those God has placed within our community. • Who will be in your community in 2020? Again, demographics will help you here. What are the implications of these changes for your church? In many communities, the question is an impor tant one. Migration will have a major impact on demo graphics by the end of 2020. How will you begin to pave the way so that these new neighbors will come to your worship services and become involved in your vari ous ministries? How will they know that you desire to celebrate their unique cultural traditions? This conversation will take time and sensitivity. Does this mean you need to wait until everything is fig ured out before you begin to explore incorporating the world within your worship? No! Go ahead and begin to move forward with small steps now. First consider what you are currently doing. Evaluate it, do it well, and with integrity. Celebrate the ways you are already in ministry with the “other,” the “stranger” in your neighborhood. Celebrate the many ways you are praying with the world already. Then begin to journey towards more intentional incorporation of the “salad bowl” of your community and the world into your worship. Use resources at your fingertips. C o llect several resources to add to your “possi bilities” when looking for prayers, hymns, and liturgies. This isn’t a matter of “either or” – this is the wealth of “and & and.” Become aware of the heritage of the resources you currently use. The United Methodist Hymnal, The Faith We Sing , and The United Method ist Book of Worship include many resources from the world. Simply note the heritage of the author/compos er in your bulletin when using these resources. Other denominational hymnals include Mil Voces (Hispanic

hen I was a youth, we were taught that the United States of America is a “melting pot.” Really? A “melting pot”? I sometimes have

the image of one of those health food blends of grasses, vegetables, juices, and spices. It may taste OK (although I have always questioned that!) but it is almost impos sible to find the individual colors, textures, and flavors of each ingredient. I am thankful that we are starting to recognize a new image for how we are trying to culturally describe ourselves in the United States – a salad bowl! Just think of a bowl of vegetables and fruit piled high, each retain ing its beautiful color, shape, flavor, and texture. Even when they are sliced and mixed together they retain the crunchiness of the pepper, the softness of a mushroom, and the sweetness of a strawberry. How does that impact who we are and who we are to be as a church? Demographics of your commu nity are available from your county or city government. Start by googling “demographics in [insert zip code.]” Remember to look at many factors: age, heritage or cul ture, education, income, percentage of those living in poverty, size of household, and make-up of household (single parents, families with children, elderly living alone). Dig deeper and search out projections of migra tion into your community based on the 2010 census. 1 What is the expected difference in cultures, ages, eco nomic status, number of children, number of elderly, and percentage of those living in poverty for the year 2020? Look at all of the information with the approach of having discussions in your church. Here are a few starting questions: • What does it mean to be inclusive, diverse, and/or multi-cultural? It helps to have a commonly formed definition as you begin your work together. What is the make up of the “salad bowl” in your community?

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Worship resources from cultures other than the primary culture of your faith community need to be discerned with the same criteria you use for any worship.

hymnal) and Come, Let Us Worship (Korean hymnal). Global Praise, a ministry of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, offers many global songbooks, all of which are available through Cokes bury. There are also interesting articles and downloads about global worship and music on their webpage. Many of these articles give practical suggestions of ways to incorporate a global song into your worship with integrity (www.globalpraise.org). Join the Global Praise Facebook page to be alerted when new articles or resources are in print. Discipleship Resources pub lishes the “Africana Worship Book” series. This collec tion of books is organized by the lectionary and also includes special celebrations in the African American community. The new Worship and Song Worship Resources (Abingdon Press) book includes worship resources from many places. Worship resources from cultures other than the primary culture of your faith community need to be discerned with the same criteria you use for any wor ship. Does it fit the theme/Scripture of the day? Will it enhance worship? Will it work where you are planning to use it in worship? How will you prepare the lead ers/choir to be able to lead this? If you are considering using resources from other denominations, study them carefully to confirm that they reflect the theology of our Wesleyan heritage. Keep track of the variety of music styles, worship arts, and global diversity that you use as you design worship. It isn’t about doing it all in worship every Sun day, but about creating balance carefully over a period of time. Look at your bulletin and welcoming ministries. A re your bulletins printed in church “code words” that only your church members understand? Are there persons who can help those whose language is not the primary language of your congregation to partici pate in worship? Do you truly listen to the “stranger” in your community to discern what their needs are so you can be in ministry together? Collect visuals from the world. Fabric is an easy way to include the cultures of the world in your worship.

Ask church members and friends who are traveling to bring home four yards of the traditional fabric of the area they are visiting. It is easy to mix and match the fabrics to create a worship table display. Kathy Toole, Minister of Music at Bon Air UMC in Richmond, VA, shares that “Gift giving is indigenous to places our people go in mission. It seems very natural for those people who go into other parts of the world to bring gifts back to the church. This is one of the means they have to share their experience with the rest of us. One of the gifts brought back to the church from our people in mission has been fabric, which offers a vivid representation of the culture. At the suggestion of our pastor, a seamstress in our church made paraments from the fabrics which we have used primarily on World Communion Sunday. While not incorporating the red associated with Pentecost, we have also used these on Pentecost as representative of the Spirit com ing to the global church.” Don’t stop at fabric! Members can bring home handmade baskets from the world to hold the com munion bread or glass/ceramic chalices and pitchers to use for the juice. Just ask them to check with the potter to confirm the glaze is food-safe. Tall baskets turned upside down can become candleholders. Any time you hear of someone traveling, go have a conversation with them about some of the needs you have. And you don’t have to travel to find wonderful cultural art forms. There are artists in every community that celebrate their cultural heritage. Consider asking them to bring several of their art works and hold an art show. Develop relationships with these wonderful artists so you can include them in your visual plans for worship. Listen and learn from the sister churches in your community whose membership comprises a culture other than your congregation. Call and ask the music director/pastor of that church to meet you for a cup of coffee. Ask about worship traditions that are important in the culture where they serve. Consider ways you can begin to be in music and worship ministry together. Listen to them and learn from each other. You will dis Use local resources.

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in that community. Eventually, a few of them will try worship, and if you’re already doing some multi-cultural elements, they just might stick around and tell a few of their friends. If you want to become multi-cultural, you must get involved. Doing multi-cultural worship should naturally follow reaching out to multi-cultural communities.” Last year Kathy participated in the Jamaican Consulate’s In dependence Celebration. This August they will celebrate 50 years of independence and she plans on attending. The South Florida Caribbean Chorale comes to her church every Christmas to do a concert. Kathy shares, “Someone in the Jamaican community who is looking for a church might remem ber the church and visit.” What vegetables and fruit are in the salad bowl called your com munity? How will you celebrate the wonderful colors, shapes, textures, and flavors that God created? Each faith community has to listen, to share, and to discern together how they will allow the Spirit to work within and around them to cel ebrate each unique gift from all of God’s people. Thanks be to God for the opportunity to be in ministry with each other! NOTE 1 For current information go to census.gov and be prepared to dig. What’s in your salad bowl?

cover there are mission and service opportunities that will be deepened by serving together. After a discernment/listening time with the worship leaders of First United Methodist Church of Flushing, NY, it was decided to cel ebrate communion with the Kore an host community by incorporat ing the tradition of Bojagi as a part of the fall 2011 Missionary Com missioning Service of the General Board of Global Ministries. Bojagi (Bo-Jah-ki), traditional Korean wrapping cloths, were once used in formal ceremonies as well as daily activities in Korea. They were cre ated from leftover pieces of cloth or paper and then beautifully embroi dered together. The form and size of the Bojagi was determined by the planned use of the cloths and the result was a beautiful work of art. Bojagi protected and decorated items and gifts wrapped inside them – a wonderful tradition that preceded our cry today to “go green.” The cloths held precious objects, everyday items (clothes, bedding) and covered food in the home. For the commissioning service, the chalices and patens were wrapped in the cloths prior to the service. The bread was wrapped in a white cloth, placed on a paten,

and then covered within the folds of the Bojagi. The chalices were wrapped empty and filled after they were unwrapped in the chancel. Each missionary brought one of them in, placed it on the commu nion table, and unwrapped it in place so that the cloth of the Boja gis also became a part of the visuals for worship (see photo above). Get involved and reach out! K athy Nolesco, member of The Fellowship’s Multicul tural Committee and pastor of a multi-cultural church shares, “If you want to reach out to those of another culture, you have to go where they are. You can’t just do awesome multi-cultural worship and expect people from other cultures to come in the doors. What cultural groups live in the community around your church? Is there a group, organization, or event for that cultural group? IF so, GET INVOLVED! Does that group need ESOL classes? Do they need help with school supplies? REACH OUT! Partici pate in those communities beyond the church, meet the needs of those communities, and your church presence will begin to be known

REV. DEBRA TYREE (Debi) is an ordained deacon in The United Methodist Church. She is now

Minister of Worship and Mission at Bellevue United Methodist Church in Nashville, TN, and serves The Fellowship as Financial/Personnel Coordinator.

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R E A C H I N G O U T

young and for For

I have long loved Shirley Erena Murray’s text “For Everyone Born (A Place At the Table),” and one of my favorite stanzas has always been this one: “For young and for old, the right to belong.” What a powerful theology. And how often I have, sadly, not seen that played out, and have watched children and youth get edged out of worship, and older adults get edged out of the imaginative future of the church – both extremes relegated to their sticky nurseries and shut inside their dusty 1940s houses. How can we set more places at the table? I come from a “goodly heritage,” as the psalmist would say (Psalm 16, NRSV). My mom, Laura Garrett, retired from music and worship arts ministry after serving for over 40 years in churches of many shapes and sizes. Growing up I watched her navigate the complexities of that ministry: the joys of fruitful programming and community outreach, the strange hours (I mean really … an Easter Sunrise service on Time Change Sunday?! Who thought that was a good idea?!), the reality of planning Christmas in June and Easter in September, the underbelly of church politics that sever friendships and wound hearts forever. The whys of creating space As I have formed my own theology of ministry, theology of worship, and, specifically for this article, theology of intergenerational ministry, many of my grounding tenets come from my mother. Here’s one of my favorite parts of Mom’s theology that I have shamelessly lifted (with her permission): “Children have a right to every aspect of ministry – singing, dancing, drumming, reading, leading, thinking, speaking, challenging – and the whole church misses out on their witness, richness, talents, and wisdom when they’re relegated to the children’s wing of the building. It’s our responsibility to create space for them, so they can teach us just as much or more than we teach them.” How do we do that? How do we create space for children, and space for older adults, and space for all in between? Before we get to the “how,” though, I want to share a few thoughts on the “why.” I believe we are called, theologically, to intergenerational ministry, and the “how” makes more sense when the “why” is established.

old

The whys, whats, and hows of intergenerational ministry

by Rebecca Garrett Pace

For young and for old, a place at the table, a voice to be heard, a part in the song, the hands of a child in hands that are wrinkled, for young and for old, the right to belong. And God will delight when we are creators of justice and joy, compassion and peace, yes, God will delight when we are creators of justice, justice and joy!

From “A Place at the Table” Words: Shirley Erena Murray

Words © 1998 Hope Publishing Company Carol Stream, IL 60188 www.hopepublishing.com All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Reprinted from WorshipArts May-June 2018

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have a responsibility to them and to ourselves, 1) to make every worship experience rich and meaningful so it’s not such an ordeal for a young person to attend, and 2) to bridge the gaps in learning and development so that they are encouraged, welcomed, and challenged throughout their whole lives. • Quite simply, as I quoted my mother a little earlier, “Children have as much to teach us as we have to teach them.” We all have “the right to belong,” in Shirley Erena Murray’s words. We are called to worship and live together because we are called to enrich each other. And that has no age limit. on difficult topics or intense discussions about politics, poverty, violence, or other upsetting matters – should be the work of adults and older teens. (And for the record, 16-, 17-, and 18-year-olds can handle an awful lot more than we give them credit for.) These topics can, and should, be presented to children in ways that ignite their empathy, but should not be presented in ways that make them fearful or anxious about what they cannot fix. Adults have the responsibility to create a world of “justice and joy, compassion and peace” by working on behalf of the young and the most vulnerable. Not everything can be learned with 3-year-olds and 53-year-olds sharing the same space.

for them, we are unwittingly telling children they are not welcome in our communities. We are telling them that if they can’t be perfectly quiet, perfectly respectful (as we define it), perfectly informed on how to “do” church correctly, then they will disrupt The Real Worshippers. Not for nothing, we are also teaching them that adult worship is meant to be boring, and something to be endured quietly, rather than experienced kinetically. When there’s a 180 degree difference between the overstimulating children’s ministry and the sedentary adult worship, it’s no wonder many children and youth grow up, turn 18, receive the choice to attend worship or not, and choose not to do so. We no creative learning, and zero glittery crafts! and adults are so different that they need completely differentiated curriculums, worship spaces, and arts experiences. This is simply not true. Anyone who has tried to teach an adult choir how to walk in a straight line and process into the sanctuary will attest to the fact that this is no different at all than teaching preschoolers how to walk in a line. (Can I get an “amen”?) • The false belief that everything has to be open to all ages in order for it to “count” as an intergenerational community. Part of a rich education in any context is differentiated teaching. Some things – like book studies • The false belief that children

• Jesus said, “Let the children come to me,” but he did not say, “Let the adults go away while the children are here.” The fact that when the disciples were shooing the children away and Jesus called the children to his side he did not, in turn, shoo the adults away, says to me that Jesus wants us all together. He is the great bridge builder. He is the great relationship builder. He is the great storyteller, and stories and relationships and bridges are universal and should be used by all ages. • When we segregate by age, even under the guise of letting them do things that are “more fun” or age-appropriate A nd ... sorry to disappoint, but we’re still not quite ready for the “how,” as much as I’m sure you’re growing impatient. Next up: the what. What stands in the way of rich and meaningful intergenerational community? What do we need to work through, move past, think beyond, so we can create “a place at the table” for all ages? • The false belief that lessons/ programs/worship geared toward children will have nothing to teach adults – that these experiences will be simplistic, shallow, or merely “cute.” (I don’t particularly like the word “cute,” unless we’re talking about cardigans or teapots or golden retriever puppies.) Another way to say this is that we sometimes have the belief that children’s curriculum has to stop with shallow thoughts and way too many glittery crafts, instead of asking deep, real questions about God and the world. • The false belief that lesso ns/ programs/worship geared toward adults will be too deep for children to understand. In other words, that adult curriculum has to be based strictly on sitting-and-listening silently, with no kinetic movement,

What other “whys” can you add to this list? Why do you believe that we are theologically called to create inter-genera tional communities? Where do you see it reflected in Scripture, and in your own ministries? What stands in the way?

What other “whats” can you think of that may get in the way of our intergenerational community?

Intergenerational Easter egg hunt at White Rock UMC

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Finally – the how

Here are a few ways I have experienced, and try to curate, intergenerational ministry in my various contexts: 1. In children’s choirs when I was growing up, we learned and presented musicals several times each year, and Mom was always careful to choose ones that had real theological depth to them. She told me later, when I was beginning to choose (and write) my own musicals for my own children’s choirs, “If I listen to a musical and it doesn’t have at least one moment that’s so profound that it brings tears to my eyes or goosebumps to my arms, it’s not the right choice.” Once again, she was living out her belief that children and youth have much to teach us, that deep theological thoughts are not the exclusive purview of the adults, and definitely not the exclusive purview of the ministers on staff. Yes, the musical was put on mostly by children and youth, without much direct involvement by adults, but it offered us a doorway through which we all could enter into Scripture and theology together, as one body. Our community got “taken to church” time and again by Tom Long and Allen Pote musicals that brought us to tears when we thought we were just innocently going to support a wonderful production by the children’s choirs and drama ensembles. 2. At White Rock UMC in East Dallas, TX, where I serve as the Director of Worship, we are exploring that beautiful balance between intergenerational and age-appropriate experiences, between celebrating our differences and celebrating our similarities. a. I believe our weekly worship is the best reflection of God’s reign when one of the lay readers is a feisty 5-year-old with his dad, and another is an (equally feisty) 80-year-old matriarch of the church; when some are male, some are female; when some are comfortable in front of crowds, some are so nervous they’re visibly shaking; and when all are focused on bringing greater depth to the community of God. b. We celebrate God through events that are open to all ages, nursery through older adults, like drum circles, intergenerational family choirs, and Easter Egg hunts where elderly volunteers chat with exhausted young parents while tinies run around collecting candy. We celebrate God through our Chancel Choir, which is open not only to adults but also to middle- and high schoolers. c. One very practical thing I have tried to do is to involve all ages, stages, and ensembles in one “all hands-on-deck” Advent festival or Christmas service, rather than having a children’s program one night, a youth program another night, handbells one Sunday, Chancel Choir cantata another Sunday. This allows people not only to simplify their schedules (which is a ministry in and of itself for a church to teach its

Intergenerational Christmas caroling by musicians of White Rock UMC

parishioners to simplify Christmas), but it also allows people who are mostly interested in the kids’ program to experience handbells, or those mostly invested in the Chancel Choir to experience dramatic readings of Scripture by youth and children. d. We also celebrate God through studying books by Ta-Nehisi Coates, geared toward adults, and through children’s sermons that involve radishes and boomwhackers (long story). We’re learning what it means to be a community of God where, “for young and for old,” there is a place at the table (and at the baptismal font, and at the soup kitchen, and at the park, and at the town hall meeting). How else do you experience intergenerational community and ministry in your context? The magic is in the mixture To sum up, here are my takeaways: 1. More glittery crafts for adults. 2. More deep discussions for kids and youth. 3. Less stress about unimportant things like conventional expectations and age limits. Some activities and experiences are best for children, some for teens, and some for adults; and even further, some for just younger adults, and some for just older adults, but the magic is in the mixture, and in the flexibility always to be willing to adjust your expectations and to be surprised. When there is that mixture of things that help us grow on our level and things that tie our whole community together across generations, that’s when everyone can live into their true “right to belong,” and can believe that “God will delight” in their community and their ministry. Amen? Fellowship member REBECCA

GARRETT PACE is nowMinister of Worship & the Arts at White Rock United Methodist Church, Dallas, TX.

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