The Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards
Director of Worship Resources
The United Methodist Church
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The members of and visitors to this seminar track developments in “contemporary” worship (seeker services, praise-and-worship services, convergence worship, and “traditional” services that “blend” in elements from these other kinds of services). They research particular faith communities’ worship, as well as the general trends in worship and music styles, liturgical art, architecture, and seminary education for those preparing to become worship leaders in these worship settings, Protestant and Catholic. During the last four years, the members and visitors have also addressed “alternative worship” as it has developed in locally specific ways in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, US and Korea and other locations. In this movement, young leaders have rejected “contemporary” worship options and have re-claimed worship traditions previously rejected in some Protestant traditions (e.g., weekly eucharist; multi-sensory worship with chant, candles, incense, ritual gesture and posture, flexible seating arrangements, meditation, labyrinths), as well as electronic media and technology and elements of popular culture. Most recently the seminar has been looking at worship in the Emerging Church movement, of which the alternative worship approach is just one facet.
FRIDAY JANUARY 6
10.30a SUSAN BLAIN – Still Confessing: ‘Creedish’ Manifestations in Contemporary/Alternative Worship
1.30p DAVID LEMLEY – We Worshiped With People Who Weren’t Here: Virtual Worshiping Communities
3.30p BRENDA GRAUER & SUZANNE CASTLE – What Art Does and What Contemporary Worship Does with Art
SATURDAY JANUARY 7
9.00a Planning for 2013
1.30p DAWN CHESSER – When the Table is Online
Friday, January 8
10:30-Noon
David Hogue, “This Is Your Brain on Worship: Neuroscientific Commentary on Lester Ruth's ‘A Rose by Any Other Name: Attempts at Classifying North American Protestant Worship’"
1:30- 3 pm
Marcia McFee, "How Worship Moves Us: Kinesiological Commentary on Lester Ruth's ‘A Rose by Any Other Name: Attempts at Classifying North American Protestant Worship’"
3:30-5 pm
Crawford Murphy, "Of Money and Monuments: Impacts of the Economic Crisis on Decisions about Architecture and Worship Facilities in Alternative/Contemporary Worshiping Communities"
Saturday, January 9
10:30- Noon
Margaret Brady, "How Multi-Cultural Sharing Alters Worship: Findings from a Fifteen Year Case Study of a Bi-lingual and Bi-Cultural Episcopal Church in Chicago"
1:30- 3 pm
Susan Blain, "Sing! Prayer and Praise: Developing Expansive Language for Contemporary Praise Music."
In 2009, we will continue to look at seminary training in worship leadership. There will bean updateon the Seminary Chapel Project and synopsis of several worship courses being taught by seminar members and visitors.
We will look at the "Open SourceLiturgy Project" that was introduced last year. There is now a completion of Phase I (Core Development) and the launch of Phase II (liturgical development).
We will also review the "Let Us Pray, Really" project that considers the use of prayer in multiple worship settings.
With our significant representation from Korea, we look forward to visitors sharing about worship practice and education there.
We also look forward to hearing case studies from our members and visitors.
Number of participants: 22-25