An Invitation and I Hope You Will All Say Yes

Dear Friends and Members of Living Table UCC,

[Please read all the way to the end of this note! There’s an invitation for every one of you and I so hope you’ll say, “Yes!” – even if you’re a little skeptical . . . !]

Here we are, you and I, marking the halfway point of this sabbatical time together. It was four months ago that your Sabbatical (SAB) Team (Jill, Barb, Tom, and Kevin, Minister of Music) and I first met each other virtually and began, with Pastor Rachael, to dip our toes into the creative work of ritual arts. It’s been a privilege to work with the SAB team and other volunteers to weave ritual arts intentionally and consistently into the form and content of worship.

We’re at the point in the process at which we’ll chose and begin to train the conveners of the five ritual arts areas: Visual, Verbal, Music, Media, and Dramatic Arts. By the time I say goodbye to you on September 4, this team will (at Pastor Rachael’s request) have begun to imagine worship series for the fall and winter, including a fully formed Advent/Christmas series.

Worship planners will lean into the scholarship, experience and imagination of The Rev. Dr. Marcia McFee. She and her colleagues have created a process, resources and a virtual platform about all things having to do with ritual arts, including many fully scripted, ready to use, worship series. LTUCC will have access to McFee’s Worship Design Studio (WDS) via my personal membership now and for a brief time after I leave.

Those resources will assist worship planners in crafting what Marcia calls M & M (meaningful and memorable), multi-sensory worship that honors the range of worshipers’ learning and processing styles.

Early in the process of creating a worship series, Marcia encourages everybody in the community to brainstorm ways that each of the five ritual arts might be manifest in an upcoming series. The beauty of brainstorming is that there are no right or wrong ideas, and everyone has a chance to contribute!

Here’s the invitation:

WHO?             All y’all, Zoomers and Roomers!

WHAT?            Brainstorming Ritual Arts for our next 5-Sunday worship series, working title,

Revolutionary Love: Jesus and Beyond . . .

WHERE?          On Zoom or in the Room (our Sanctuary).

WHEN?            After worship on July 24 and July 31.

(NOTE: We’ll end our worship service no later than 11:50 and brainstorm until 12:15 at the latest.)   

WHY?              Many imaginations are better than a handful! You, too, have something to offer!

Whether or not you choose to brainstorm, I hope to see you Sunday on Zoom or in the Room!

Much love and many blessings,

Rev. E