Essentials Red Fall 08 (Week 1)

For the Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Red Online Worship History course with Dan Wilt

 

This week we dove into two ideas initiated by the text book, “The Introduction to Christian Worship” (3rd edition) by James F. White, and followed through with course materials (written and lecture) by Dan Wilt.  The two ideas that we explored were the worship ‘languages’ of time and space.

The words / ideas of time and space are very abstract concepts.  But both of these abstract concepts have a number of very concrete expressions.  

The concept of time being a ‘worship language’ essentially refers to the fact that all actions of worship happen at a particular point in history and transpire at over measurable duration.  Several concrete examples of time being a language are commonly celebrated rituals such as Sunday church services, the ever popular celebration of the Christmas season, and of course Easter.  

The church calendar was another excellent example of seasonal patterns of worship that we re-examined.  Worship actions are guided by specific set times to remember and re-enact.  Through our remembrance and re-enactment we connect with something that happened in history and we bring those actions into the present and engage them.

In our textbook, James White mentions the ‘lectionary’ as another practice expressed with the worship language of time (starting page 75).  This particular section caught my attention as this past year I’ve been re-exploring using lections / lectionaries to help guide our scripture readings as part of our worship services.  This practice was part of the modus operandi when I was in the traditional liturgical Lutheran church.  But since finding community in the contemporary Vineyard movement, this practice of using a lectionary has been very minimal at best.  The re-exploration of this old treasure has been very life giving to the whole worship experience.  While we may make some adjustments to the lectionary, having the reading of scripture in worship connected to the church calendar as well as being connected to the larger body of Christ that is participating in similar readings brings a depth and richness to the experience.  This structured approach through time periods also helps bring cohesion to the scripture as a whole rather than the more random ‘cherry picking’ which is much more common in the contemporary church.

The concept of space being a worship language essentially refers to the fact that all acts of worship happen within some sort of physical space.  Probably the most obvious example of this, as White mentions, is the very incarnation of Jesus –> the physical manifestation of YHWY, dwelling among us in various physical places!  Given more time and available words for the assignment, this concept alone would be much fun to unpack.  But I must acquiesce.

As we worked out our course work with each other, we had a number of excellent discussions related to the ‘worship spaces’ that we could identify and the effects that these spaces had on us.  Many of us could positively identify with various types of church buildings, community buildings, nature settings, and the ever popular and much beloved campfire.  

Each of these spaces had specific attributes that were facilitating to encounters with God and His Kingdom.  In our textbook with reference to liturgical art, White comments that physical spaces (and objects) can have ‘religious power’ (p. 104).  By this he means that these spaces have “the power to penetrate beneath the obvious to convey the divine.”  (p. 104)  As we contemplate ‘worship spaces’ we can be intentional about how we use these spaces to help move us from beyond our obvious physical circumstances we discern with our senses and transport us to a liminal place where earth intersects with heaven.

I’ve gone over my word limit.  But I must say this portion of our studies has been very stimulating.

(EDIT:  I think I finally got the linking to work properly!)