Happy summer to you all!

Whether you are off relaxing, busier than ever, or continuing at the same pace, I pray that this month is a time of joy and growth for you!

We are busy finishing up our Living the Word (2016-2017- Year 3) materials and getting them online, as well as starting work on the Living the Word (2017-2018- Year 4) products! Whether this is your first time considering our materials or you have been with us for years, please let us know how things are going! Any replies to this newsletter email will come directly to our publisher’s inbox, so please contact us!

The Worshipping Church: Faith Formation for Everyone

By Gregory Rawn, Publisher

In last month’s reflection, I focused on Cultivating Faith, laying out a broad view of holistic faith formation, specifically within the categories of Teaching the Story, Building Trust, and Spreading the Kingdom. This month I want to focus on the importance of engaging everyone in faith formation, especially the key faith formative experience of corporate worship.

Take a moment to ask yourself, is everyone who comes into your worship space easily able to engage in worship, from whatever point in their life and faith journey they are in now? This is not to say that a three year old or someone who has never before sat through a church service will have the same experience as a lifelong attender and faith practitioner! A foundational concept of faith formation (and life) is that the only “place” where we can learn, trust, and act is where we are, who we are right now. Whenever we come into worship, we come in a certain state mentally, emotionally, physically, experientially, educationally, and spiritually. I am not where you are, and you are not where I am. And, we are not where we will be even next week!

I will focus on engaging all ages here, but know that it is critical to engage all people, no matter who they are or where they are now. The following questions are applicable to every way we divide the human family, every way we dishonor the Body of Christ.

Does Everyone Feel Welcome?

Do your preschoolers, elementary students, youth, young adults, middle-aged, seniors, and everyone in between feel welcome in your time of worship? You might reply that everyone IS welcome, but you cannot control how they feel. To an extent this is true, we cannot (nor should we want to) control how others feel. However, the culture, the physical space, individual actions or inactions, the order and tone of worship elements, the explanations, and everything else that makes up the experience of corporate worship affects how people feel, and specifically whether they feel welcome or not. We are not responsible for how others feel, but we are responsible for our own actions, individually and corporately. How do the actions of your congregation in worship welcome each age group and ability level? What in your worship service makes different age groups feel unwelcome or out of place? If you are not sure, ask a few people in that age group!

Can Everyone Fully Participate?

One central way that individuals of different ages can feel welcome is if all ages are invited and able to fully participate in the worship service. Some congregations do this by having different parts of the service focus on different age groups (e.g. a children’s sermon and an adult sermon), however this often results in a view that the children’s sermon is only for children and everything else is for adults (and not for children). What would a service look like that encouraged everyone to participate in all parts of worship, from where they are that day?

A crucial step in engaging people of any age in worship is to make sure they understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. I know I am guilty of repeating the Lord’s Prayer or singing a hymn while thinking of the things I need to do that day even though I’ve studied the meaning of these things, but I’m not really worshipping God when I’m doing that. If a child or adult hasn’t been taught how to understand the words we use or the things we do, how are they going to be able to fully participate in these acts of worship? Perhaps your congregation can use educational time to teach about the worship service (or the lectionary text of the day), or offer brief explanations about each component of the service. Or, you can create or purchase cross+generational (or intergenerational) worship materials designed to increase intergenerational engagement and understanding!

Progress, not Perfection

As in all things, we can get ourselves into trouble if we try to change everything at once. The goal in improving your congregation’s culture of faith formation is not perfection, as that’s not even possible. The goal is to make progress. And, progress is not always a linear process. As we experiment and evaluate, we make tweaks, try something different, or give it more time and patience. Most of all, we can rest secure in God’s love and grace for us all, in both our successes and failures! Hallelujah!

Product Announcements

COMING SOON!
Check out our newest product, Chosen Together: A Cross+Gen Confirmation Experience. More information coming in the next few weeks! Email G.Rawn@SpiritAndTruthPublishing.com if you would like to receive information as it comes out!

NOW READY FOR DOWNLOAD!
Living the Word: Youth (2016-2017; Fall)
Living the Word: Cross+Gen Education (2016-2017; Fall)
Living the Word: Cross+Gen Worship (2016-2017; Fall)
Living the Word: Singing God’s Story (2016-2017; Fall)
Living the Word: Small Groups (2016-2017; Full Year)
Living the Word: Contexts & Connections (2016-2017; Fall)
Living the Word: @ Home Bulletin Inserts (2016-2017; Fall)

Check out our new products for the 2016-17 Program Year! Click Here!

Event Announcements

• Sticky Worship– Gregory Rawn, publisher at Spirit and Truth, has been invited to lead a retreat at Joy Ranch, South Dakota on November 10-11, 2016, sponsored by the South Dakota Synod of the ELCA. The topic will be Sticky Worship: Worship as Cross+Generational Faith Formation. Stay tuned for more details!
• Rethinking Sunday Morning– Luther Seminary (St. Paul, MN) continues their ongoing “Rethinking” series of conferences with a focus on “churchgoing.” July 27-29, 2016 on campus.
• Do you know of any other faith formation events going on this summer? Let us know!

Promotions

If you include a Living the Word: Youth (Year 3) product in your order of $100 or more, Receive 15% Off your entire order using code: YOUTH716.

Receive 15% Off your order of Spirit and Truth: Teaching Kids the Heart of Worship using code: HEART15.

Coupon codes valid until July 31, 2016. Not valid with other promotions.

Faith Formation Partner Links

Illustrated Children’s Ministry

Clergy Stuff- Narrative Lectionary Worship Resources