Jenny and I have been receiving a lot of compliments on the worship services since we’ve been here. We’re glad you like the structure of the worship services we’re using (it comes from The United Methodist Hymnal). That structure is what I want to discuss with you in this month’s column. I want to begin with a quote from Jamie Quatro:
“There’s a sense in which we need ritual. We crave it at a physical level; we inhabit a universe that operates according to ritual: sun up, sun down; work, rest, play, work; summer, fall, winter, spring. There is joy in the rehearsal of the known, the familiar. Raising children is a great reminder of this: they thrive on routine, love tradition. And without ritual, there can be no mystery—how can the unexpected enter into a life that is devoid of expectation? Ritual opens the door for revelation. We move through ritual and performance to access the Divine. … I find the same to be true with liturgy. The more I practice it—when it becomes part of the fabric of my being—the more quickly and completely I can move through it to approach the Divine.”
I agree and think that there is indeed a sense in which we need ritual, but I have to remind myself that ritual is not an end in and of itself. Instead, through ritual, we attempt to set up the best possible circumstances for an encounter with God. And those circumstances can always be improved upon, our worship can always be better. But in the meantime, the good news is that the Holy Spirit does not wait for perfection before coming to us in worship.
In our ongoing attempts to improve the quality of worship here at Abilene First, Jenny and I have found ourselves blessed by Clark Williamson and the existence of the Worship Design Committee. We’ve really appreciated the feedback and suggestions we have received. (The oral introductions to the scripture readings are an example of a worship design suggestion for which many of you have expressed appreciation.) We’ll continue our efforts to tweak and fine-tune worship with the ultimate goal of arriving at a diverse, blended service style that appeals to a wide variety of people from diverse backgrounds and in different life stages. Please continue to let us know what works and what doesn’t work for you.