Worship Changes

Our experiment in trying new things in worship is more than half-way through. Our current practice of having a series of praise songs at the beginning of worship will come to an end this Sunday as we prepare for Lent, which begins Ash Wednesday. Lent is a penitential season and the changes in worship will reflect that new tone with the introduction of a time of silence and breath prayer. As you have already read about in Pastor Joel’s letters, we will also practice weekly Communion during Lent.

As the staff and appropriate commissions talked through the logistics of the worship time, we knew that some things would have to be moved or removed in order to get everything to fit. It took quite a bit of brainstorming, but we have come up with a plan that we believe will work.

During the weeks of Lent, we will no longer do announcements at the beginning of the service. So, if you count on that time as a buffer to make sure you are in your seat in time for the Call to Worship it will not be there. If there is anything we need to highlight it will be done as part of our celebrations and concerns.

The biggest change will involve the Sunday School time. In order to make sure the children are present in the sanctuary to celebrate Communion with the adults, we had to completely change their schedule around. Beginning on March 13, rather than beginning the worship time in the sanctuary, children and youth will start out in their classrooms. The Sunday School classes will then come up to be present during Communion and stay for the remainder of the service. There will not be any children’s time during the service.

This scheduling change will accomplish several things. The first is that it will give our teachers the time necessary to teach a lesson in Sunday School each week. Secondly, it will allow the children to be present and witness a portion of the service that they normally don’t see or participate in.

The final and most important thing the change will do is to allow our children to participate in Communion with us. As we gather at the table each week it is very important that the entire community is welcome and invited. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism said that Communion is “the grand channel whereby the grace of his Spirit was conveyed to the souls of all the children of God.” (emphasis is mine) In addition, the official statement on Communion for the United Methodist Church states “the grace given through Holy Communion is offered to the entire church, including those who are unable to respond for themselves. Children are members of the covenant community and participants in the Lord’s Supper.”

The logistics are that the children will enter the back of the sanctuary during the Doxology and go to sit with their parents so that they may receive communion as a family. Parents, that means you will need to show your children where you will be sitting during the service before taking them to Sunday school, so that they can find you when they come back up. So remember, starting on March 13, and for the Sundays leading up to Easter, children and youth will start the service already in Sunday School and then come up later to join us for Communion.

We know that changes can be hard sometimes, especially changes to things we hold important, like our worship time. But we are grateful for the openness that has been exhibited as we explore new ways to express our worship to God and to experience God’s grace for us.