Worship Arts April May June 2022

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.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4 April-May-June 2022 • WorshipArts • umfellowship.org