Pastors bring creative styles to worship Sept. 28, 2004 By Kathy L. Gilbert*
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A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose
Recent worship services at Clarks Chapel United Methodist Church
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| The
Rev. Eric Pridmore gives the sermon at Clarks Chapel United Methodist
Church in Cary, Miss. Pridmore's Seeing Eye dog, Gene, sleeps beneath
the front pew while he is off duty. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose. Photo
number 04-255, 7/8/04 |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)- If you are in the Rev. Dottie Escobedo-Frank’s congregation, it is not likely you will fall asleep.She quotes Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, and actress Whoopi Goldberg when explaining her philosophy about worship. "John
Wesley said, ‘I set myself on fire, and they come to see me burn.’
Whoopi Goldberg said, ‘Let’s get some butts in the seats.’ I’m just
trying to get some butts in the seats," she says. Escobedo-Frank
is a United Methodist pastor serving at the Community Church of Joy, an
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Glendale, Ariz. She will be leading
workshops at some of the teaching conferences sponsored by the United
Methodist Publishing House this fall. The conferences are designed to
inspire worships leaders to create more vibrant worship. The events are
part of Worship Connection, a new resource from the Publishing House. A
sermon Escobedo-Frank has developed and used successfully includes a
kind of musical chairs activity involving different kinds of hats. "The
keyboard interrupts me about four or five times in my sermon, and every
time there is an interruption, then people jump up and change hats with
someone else," she explains. The sermon talks about all the hats people
wear and the roles people play. "The point is, the only hat we have to
wear is that of loving God and people. "Sometimes I get a little worried about how people will respond. I have gone out on a limb a time or two," she admits. But being creative is "in our DNA," Escobedo-Frank says. The
Rev. Rob Weber, pastor at Grace Community United Methodist Church in
Shreveport, La., and another worship leader for the conferences, agrees.
"As beings created in the image of God, one of the characteristics that
we bear is the image of creativity.
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A UMNS photo by Don Perry
Opening worship at the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference
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Joining
in the spirit of opening worship on July 14, 2004 at the NEJ in
Syracuse, N.Y. were Bishops (left foreground) Neil Irons, Susan
Hassinger, Dale White and Joseph Yeakel and (background) Bishops Susan
Morrison, Peter Weaver, Felton May, and William Boyd Grove. Photo by Don
Perry
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"Culture and language
shape the form of worship everywhere," Weber says. "Worship should
shape the soul of the congregation and thus the surrounding culture."Weber
says he uses a variety of technology and art in his church, from videos
to paintings to modeling clay. One of the best ways to engage the
congregation is to use children, he adds. He
has given disposable cameras to the children in his congregation and
sent them out to capture images of where they see God’s love and where
they see God’s people serving. The photos are developed, with the
children’s help, into a PowerPoint presentation. "Using the eyes of a child helps people awaken to seeing with eyes of faith." Both Weber and Escobedo-Frank say creative worship is not all about the latest technology. Escobedo-Frank
says she was inspired by a conference at the church she now serves, but
then she had to go back to her small congregation and find ways to be
creative on a limited budget. "They
had all the bells and whistles of technology, and it was beautiful,"
she says. "But then I went back to my own place and thought, ‘How do I
do that here? I don’t have money for all that stuff, let alone the
expertise.’ "My
aim and hope is that people from small churches will come out of these
teaching conferences thinking, ‘I can do this,’" she says. "If
you balance it (technology) with faith and with expressions of faith
through members of the congregation, then that’s where you find it to be
most powerful," Weber says. The
teaching conferences are not about any single form or worship, nor are
they about a presentation of "middle of the road" worship, he says. "Worship, across the face of the church, cries out for energy and renewal of creativity in every form of worship." Weber
says one of the most effective things he has done in his church is form
a creative ministries team, which brings together people from a lot of
different backgrounds. He gives them direction on the theme and
Scripture, then steps back and lets them be creative. "Together,
they brainstorm ways to engage the congregation in worship, call forth
the creative gifts of the congregation, and help make the message and
presence of God accessible from many different angles." The first thing to do is pray and recruit members of the congregation to pray with you, he adds. Escobedo-Frank says the gifts aren’t the message. "Sometimes
that is where we get messed up," she says. "Sometimes when we use
creativity, we begin to worship that instead of worshipping God, and
that’s a line we have to be careful never to cross." Details on the teaching conferences and Worship Connection are available at www.worshipconnection.cokesbury.com. *Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer in Nashville, Tenn. News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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