Introducing a New Seasonal Worship Booklet

Perceiving and cooperating with the good things God "is getting up to" in and around our parish.

Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you see it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19

Dear Ones,

This morning, we will be using a new worship booklet to guide us through the "Late Summer Season."  

Why the change? First, this change is a direct response to the feedback and advice of many in the parish who have expressed a desire for us to be more mindful of our resources. But in addition to reducing the material and time required to produce a booklet for each Sunday's Liturgy, this new format reflects a very intentional move to encourage a more active role for the laity in our worship and to introduce new members and reintroduce life-long Episcopalians to the rich Anglican traditions of our faith as found in the Book of Common Prayer and the 1982 Hymnal. Lastly, it offers helpful insights into the history and meaning behind many of our worship practices.   

Things Changed and Left Unchanged: Nothing has been added to or subtracted from the traditional liturgy. If you heard a recording of today's service, you would be unable to distinguish it from any other typical Sunday's Liturgy.   

Here's what has changed: 

Listening to Scripture: The lessons from Holy Scripture will be printed this Sunday as an insert. After this week, instead of reading along, we'll hear the scripture readings aloud. This ancient practice fosters a deeper connection to the Word of God within our community. Printed copies will be available for those with hearing difficulties or children learning to read. Bibles are also in the pews for reference.

Reciting the Psalms: We'll recite the Psalms together from the Book of Common Prayer, enriching our worship with the familiar and comforting language of our tradition. And for people newer to Anglicanism, this serves as a practical introduction to the Prayer Book.

Regular use of the 1982 Hymnal: In addition to their beauty and our personal history with them, the hymns contained in the 1982 Hymnal trace the church's historical journey, theological understanding, and liturgical practices. Singing these hymns connects Episcopalians to our spiritual heritage and the broader Anglican Communion. Much of what is found in the '82 Hymnal was written for particular seasons of the church year or specific occasions like baptisms, weddings, and funerals, thereby deepening our experience and understanding of the sacred events. Last but not least, these hymns are powerful tools to teach and give expression to complex theological concepts in accessible and memorable ways. We will also introduce music and hymnody of more recently published Episcopal hymnals.

Prayers of the People: We'll use one of the standard forms from the Prayer Book. The names of those requesting prayer will be listed on the back of the insert. During the Prayers of the People, the Intercessor will pause, inviting you to say aloud the name(s) on the prayer card you received with your booklet. The back of the card includes a corresponding prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. In addition to praying aloud for these folks during worship, I encourage you to incorporate them into your daily prayers. This shared practice of carrying one another in prayer will, over time, become a more natural and intentional part of our lives as members of St. John's.

Prayer for our Country: Before the prelude, we'll join in a prayer for our country found in the Book of Common Prayer. This prayer, written nearly a century ago, speaks to timeless Christian and American values. I will offer the prayer today, but in the future, I would like members of the Vestry and parishioners who wish, to sign up to lead us in this prayer.  

I invite you to embrace these changes with curiosity and openness. Some things we try may not work as expected, while others may prove transformative to our common prayer and shared life. We can only discern this by doing. As Christians, our task is not be successful, but to be faithful, trusting the Holy Spirit to continue Jesus' teaching and life within us.

Finally, I want to express my gratitude for all of your suggestions. If you don't see all the changes you hoped for, rest assured that there will be additional changes that reflect many of your ideas in the upcoming seasonal booklet. I am especially grateful for the considerable thought, patience, and intentional work of Michael Monnikendam and Trish Tiura on this project.

Blessings and peace always,

Missed the All-Parish Gathering? This is for You!

Perceiving and cooperating with the good things God "is getting up to" in and around our parish.

Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you see it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19

On June 23rd, many members of St. John's gathered for lunch to discover and celebrate the musical and artistic gifts of all who attended. Knowing that not everyone could make it, I wanted to share some of the highlights from that day with you. 

Spoiler Alert: We did an exercise at the luncheon to help each of us identify the gifts we have to share in worship. We captured this information in photographs by inviting each person to stand with others who share similar gifts and the same desire to share them.

When you arrive at church tomorrow, you will see these photos on the walls of the Narthex. After you've had a chance to take them in, a familiar face will ask if you would like to have your photo taken and added to the display. Equipped with an iPhone and a tiny printer, you'll be handed your every own headshot to tape next the faces of those who share your particular gift or skill. 

A Summary of the Gathering:

Our gathering began with a delicious barbecue/hot dog lunch from Joe Kattenhorn and some light conversation. Following lunch, I presented a model for change and transition that Paula Copley, Jim Besaw, and I learned during our week-long intensive training at the College for Congregational Development. The Bridges Model (named after William Bridges) offers a way of thinking about and understanding the challenges we have faced trying to regain our footing during these past two "post-COVID" years — particularly in the area of music in worship.

Next, Michael Monnikendam shared his thoughts about the roles that music and artistic expression have played throughout our development as human beings and in our culture — and how these same forms of creative expression, when used artfully in worship, can intensify and enrich our Sunday liturgy of the Holy Eucharist. In fact, music, art, and worship are foundational for how God forms us as individual Christians and as a Christian community.

All of this was to prime the pump for a group exercise aimed at helping everyone consider the inherent nature of their musical and creative gifts — and to bring those gifts into the worship of God, thereby enhancing and helping shape our Sunday celebration of Holy Eucharist. The exercise was simple and straightforward: it required us to move our bodies to quite literally stand (or position ourselves) where our particular gifts were being invited.

Michael Monnikendam and I held up signs with a word or two that indicated a particular form of creative expression, and asked anyone who had these gifts (and might be willing to share them) to stand next to the sign — and we snapped photos.

Here are a few:  

Singing in a choir

Liturgical Dance or Movement in Worship

Poetry in Worship

(There are several more photos you can view here.)

Here are some of the things we took away:

From the presentations, we gained 

• An appreciation that the years immediately following a major catastrophe like the pandemic can actually be as hard as, if not harder than, the catastrophic event.

• An understanding that there is a period following major disruption, perfectly illustrated in the 40 years that Moses and the people wandered in the wilderness after fleeing from slavery. Namely, that we become so uncomfortable waiting to see what emerges after a major change that we do one or some combination of the following three things:

a) we so long for what was that we cling to the idea that things can simply return to normal,

b) we frantically engage in futile efforts to force a new beginning, or

c) we give up or check out.

• A sense that St. John's is remarkably resilient. Michael Monnikendam shared his initial astonishment at St. John's Sunday attendance, compared to many of the downtown Seattle parishes whose Sunday attendance has not rebounded from the pandemic.

• A sense that Michael Monnikendam answering call for him to serve as our Music Director and Organist signaled the start of a new beginning.

From the group exercise, we learned that

• Inviting members of the parish to reveal the expressive and musical gifts they desire to share creates possibilities that are not realized when we focus on what we perceive to be lacking in the parish or our ministries.

• Energy is generated and new possibilities emerge when we invite people to stand with others around shared gifts. 

• There is an abundance of creativity and energy in our parish, and that we need to find creative ways to gather and incorporate you and your gifts into those who were able to attend the gathering.  

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow and building upon the work begun on the 23rd. 

And if, for whatever reason, you are away tomorrow, we'll keep the photos up and at another time invite you to add your lovely face to the photo of those whose gifts align with your own.

Blessings and peace always,

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Postscript. When I return from vacation on Wednesday, July 17, Michael, Trish and I are taking the morning to map out the rest of this liturgical year and beginning planning for the next. Central to our planning will be to identify where your gifts can be used to enhance our observances of the many feasts, fasts, occasions and seasons of the liturgical year. M+

Becoming God's New Thing: Sixth Edition

Perceiving and cooperating with the good things God "is getting up to" in and around our parish.

Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you see it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19

Discovering and Celebrating Our Musical and Artistic Gifts

Get ready to celebrate! 

Tomorrow's all-parish gathering is a time to celebrate your resilience, perseverance, and creativity in keeping music alive in our worship, even through the challenges of these post-pandemic years. 

Calling Michael Monnikendam as our new Music Director marked a new beginning that opens to us incredible possibilities.  We are not merely bouncing back from a few tough years, we're on the brink of a musical renaissance at Saint John’s that will enrich our worship and lives for years to come!

Here’s what we have planned for tomorrow.  

1. Coffee Hour presentation in Marsh Hall: I will present a model for change and transition that your Senior Warden, Paula Miller, Jim Besaw, and I learned and practiced during our recent week away at the College for Congregational Development.  This model has been instrumental in guiding my own understanding of the transition that we’ve recently undergone in our music program. Paula, Jim, and I are confident that it will benefit all of us as we revitalize existing ministries and establish new ones.
   

2. Michael Monnikendam will give a brief presentation on the impact that music and the arts have had on humanity and its role in our development as human beings and Christians.
   

3. Next, we’ll engage in an enlivening, nonverbal (low-risk), and fun exercise for everyone of every age to discover the gifts we have—as individuals and as a community—to enrich our worship. The goal is to have some fun and expand our imaginations about how everyone has gifts to share that can be used in the worship of God in surprising and edifying ways.  

4. We’ll conclude with a special hymn that looks forward to our future as a thriving faith community.  

And then we’ll enjoy a relaxing and tasty hotdog barbecue. 

I hope you can join in for tomorrow’s gathering. 

Blessings and peace always,  

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Postscript:  This will be the "good-enough" post. There will be times when I won't have the benefit of a good copy editor, and I am slightly dyslexic, so I won't likely catch many mistakes. You may find this off-putting. I find it mildly embarrassing. We'll get through it together. M+