Worship Weblog

Berkeley Book Group – Third Meeting

Posted by cicw

Monday, January 18th, 2010

Book Groups

We invited 34 book groups across the U.S. and Canada to meet and discuss The Church of All Ages and its implications for their worship, and to share their notes here.
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As we brought our fall book group gatherings to a close, we continued to give particular focus to the life and mission of our own congregations (three American Baptist and one United Methodist churches were represented in our group of seven). How can we intentionally be welcoming to people of all ages? What initially draws someone to our church and why do they decide to stay? What are the “intergenerational connectors” in worship for us, as Robert and Laura J. Keeley spoke of, in Chapter Nine of The Church of All Ages?

A member of our group who is deeply involved in music ministry made the following comments: “Music is one of the most significant connectors in our congregation. But many churches experience struggles in their music ministries. This struggle is not among individuals but around the validity of what they are singing. It can divide a church into two regimes, the young and the old. The younger generation often doesn’t care as much about hymns and what they meant years ago and the older generation wants to hold onto its history. Both groups are probably right and wrong concurrently. What is evident is that there is a struggle.”

We often hear how churches that have been in ministry for decades desire to attract younger worshipers, including those who have children of their own, yet do not want to alienate their older members. One answer may be that efforts to include as wide a variety of music in each worship as possible can pave the way to renewal and a sense of inclusivity. Of course, this means everyone has to exercise some understanding and some patience! We need, as Nancy Hall suggested “generous hearts” regarding our worship and music styles. Wendell Ferguson notes that education of our people is key to changing and expanding hearts, from “I want it my way” to “I’m willing to give your style a chance.” We have a sacred obligation to model this spirit of cooperation and generosity for our children and for each other.

Donna Hamilton feels that her church is fortunate to have a wide variety of music every Sunday, from global songs to classical, to gospel hymns, and that most in the congregation are conscious of what a treasure this is. Marie Onwubuariri thinks we can help our church members be more mindful that “different parts of worship touch various people differently.” Sharon Allen describes her congregation as “pretty vocal about what they like,” and that this makes it easier to have discussions about trying new things. Worthem Luikham appreciates that he is part of a church (the same one as Sharon’s and Nancy’s) that is open to trying varied ways of worship, both old and new, because his home church in India has difficulty embracing change.

In summary, being willing to include a variety of worship and music styles, embracing and accepting all who come through our doors, and providing intentional moments of education around worship (including our call from God to have generous hearts) are some of the conclusions our group came to as important goals for our churches. The Church of All Ages helped us take time as individuals — and engage in discussion as sisters and brothers – to consider these concerns and hopes around how generations can worship together. We are so grateful to the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, for this book and this project!

Tags: bgberkeley, Book Groups 2009, intergenerational