Posted by CICW
October 12th, 2010
We are grateful to the office of Lifelong Learning at Candler for hosting a Worship Renewal Workshop. Barbara Day Miller greeted the guests and worship was led by Candler students. Rev. Toni Beli-Ingram, pastor of Greater Smith Chapel AME church in Atlanta, Mark Crenshaw, project director for a 2009 grant to Bobby Dodd Institute to examine principles and practices of worship that are inclusive of people who live with disabilities, Rev. Lemora Dobbs, pastor of St Paul AME Church in Canton, GA and Robin Harris, Executive Director of International Council of Ethnodoxologists spoke about their worship renewal grant projects and what they have learned since the grant.
...
Read More »
Posted by CICW
October 12th, 2010
The Project Director Jacquline Kelly, Pastor Travis McEntrye and the worship renewal team of the church welcomed us to their sanctuary and around their new communion table. They described how the grant project began with Unity in the Park, an event planned to encourage a God-centered attitude about worship and a heart of hospitality toward others. In spite of the 102 degree heat, nine churches in the community were represented by youth and adults of all ages.
...
Read More »
Posted by CICW
October 12th, 2010
On Sunday evening we were warmly welcomed for worship at Vintage 21. This congregation which offers 5 worship times in three locations includes many young students and professionals. The church began as a church plant in 2002.
...
Read More »
Posted by CICW
October 12th, 2010
Just a short distance from the Capitol Building and the center of US government, people of all ages and backgrounds gather to worship each Sunday at Washington Community Fellowship. We were grateful to worship with them and learn more about this multi-denominational congregation that weaves together people from many places and faith traditions. Their grant project, “Stories Alive! Narratives Around the Table,” will engage the whole community, allowing members to learn more about their own faith traditions, the stories of their fellow congregants, and how God has worked in the larger church throughout history. On this Sunday morning, we gathered at the Lord’s Table to celebrate communion and joined the inaugural Sunday School class, “A River Created by Many Streams, Drinking Deeply from the Traditions,” a class where we began to tell our stories and explore the history of the church.
...
Read More »
Posted by CICW
October 12th, 2010
Project Director and Director of Worship Arts at the church, Isaac Wardell, met with me on a beautiful September morning. I was grateful to learn more about worship in this church where about 2000 people gather each Sunday. They had just begun the grant project which offers a 12 week Sunday School curriculum on Liturgy, Music and Space. The response has been encouraging as more than 200 people of all ages and backgrounds learn together.
...
Read More »
Posted by CICW
October 12th, 2010
Project Director Charisse Gillett and Elder Boggs met with me for lunch and a discussion of their 2010 grant project. Worship circles have been developed to engage people in learning about worship. The first circle involved the congregational leadership, the second circle provides training for the Praise Team and Choir, a third circle invites those who attend the Wednesday night Bible study and the youth group to participate and finally the learning will be extended to the entire congregation.
...
Read More »
Posted by CICW
October 12th, 2010
Our partnership with Sojourn began with a grant project in 2005. Pastor Mike Cosper met me at their new location in J-Town. Sunday, September 17, the 10th anniversary of Sojourn was also the official launch of this new campus. Sunday worship is offered 4 times each week at their Mary Street location, weekly at Sojourn East and now this new location. We give thanks for the blessings this congregation is experiencing and for the privilege of learning from them.
...
Read More »
Posted by CICW
October 12th, 2010
The leadership team met with me and Project Director Sue Fridenstine to discuss their 2010 grant project. They are focusing on “signals of oddity” in which they explore topics of faith and worship. A congregational retreat created a safe space to bring lament, July’s focus on Sabbath and the August focus on the Psalms have helped the congregation explore new ways to relate to God. Listening to God and to one another has been facilitated by encouraging people to tell their stories. This small congregation serves a warm breakfast each morning to the homeless and provides housing for women who are without homes. We thank God for their commitment to offering welcoming worship to all and to serving those who are marginalized in their community.
...
Read More »
Posted by CICW
October 12th, 2010
A 2009 Worship Renewal Grant awarded to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, focused on worship in a residential psychiatric facility for adolescents helped the young people grow in their relationship to God through art, movement and drumming. As staff supported youth in expressing their joy and pain to God, the staff discovered that they, too, needed opportunities to articulate lament for the experiences that have been a part of the lives of these young people.
...
Read More »
Posted by Joan Huyser-Honig
September 27th, 2010
Many worship planners wonder how to plan intergenerational worship that engages people of different ages. One problem is that people often prefer the kind of worship they grew up with. Another problem is that most worshipers aren’t all that aware of what’s changed or stayed the same in 2,000 years of Christian worship. That’s why [...]
...
Read More »
