Liturgy Made Fresh

Liturgy, simply put, is the pattern, flow, ritual, and words we use in worship and the people we include. For me, liturgy is the words, visual arts, music, and prayers that connect us as community through the worship service and in the shared practice of sacraments like Communion and Baptism. Liturgy can sometimes feel formulaic, patterned, and scripted.

RBCC is a liturgical church, using a method of scriptures, readings, rites, and practices to guide us through the church year and the worship service. However, at Richmond Beach Congregational United Church of Christ, we work to use theologically progressive and relevantly created liturgy. The use of inclusive language, gender fluid pronouns, art, music, playfulness and grace centered prayers connect all worshippers to the activity of God.

We often don’t have just a singular liturgist, (worship/lay leader and/or pastor) but everyone is able to participate in reading aloud, singing, viewing, and sharing as one voice and heart. I believe the best liturgies are the ones we create together and share with each other. Which is why I like to invite youth to write and rewrite our familiar prayers, calls to worship, confirmation rite of passage, membership covenants, etc. To create visual arts and design the flow of worship outside of the box. Our church samples from older more traditional liturgy while also creating new fresh progressive relevant liturgy. It is a work of the people.

RBCC is over 130 years old, so we reflect an older methodology of liturgy in our sanctuary set up. Sitting in rows, facing forward, looking up to the pastor, being spoken to. This would reflect an older traditional form of church structure and a more formal liturgy.  It’s actually this very traditional format and teaching style that Sunday school was originally  created and based on. School was offered by churches for children as an actual form of education during England's industrial revolution in the 1800's when ‘Sunday School’ was offered to working poor children who often worked six days a week in factories but roamed freely and unsupervised on Sundays. Basically, in this format, the words are coming from the front and directed at the rows of children. People as spectators, learners, and receivers of the Word.  Sunday school architecture and structure meant systems architecture and structure.  

As our church evolves and continues evolving, we have included more people to participate in the creation of our liturgy and the future could even hold the idea of taking out the pews so that we could use chairs to sit in a circle or other formats that are more wholistic and inclusive. The people would be included as participants with the Word together. The activity of God in the round.  We are first and foremost created to be in relationship together.
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Liturgy in my opinion is always, and should always, be evolving and made fresh. If it doesn’t evolve the way our faith and understanding of God evolves with the world, it then becomes petrified, stale and perhaps not as relevant. Traditional liturgy has beauty, history, and familiarity. It can be comforting for many. Weaving new and old liturgy together is creative, innovative, engaging, and exciting to me, which is why I love and have a passion for writing liturgy for our community.

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