1. Transforming Congregations in worship :
11/17/2018
Transforming Congregations in worship :
1)      Transforming Congregations in worship:

2. Transforming Congregations in worship :
11/17/2018
Transforming Congregations in worship :
Our story:
Bethel Mennonite Church, Winnipeg
2)      Marva Dawn indicates that the goal of worship is threefold:
-          to worship God extravagantly
-          to be God's people more faithfully,
-          and to serve our neighbours more lavishly.
3)      Ekklesia – ek klesia – klesis --- kaleo
4)      “Ten years ago we were like a couple of German shepherds first meeting each other; circling each other from a distance and snarling at each other.”
5)      “In our congregation there has been a lot of healing that has happened; all of it closely linked to the study of scripture and its application.” 
6)      “We’ve now developed an atmosphere in which folks are praying for the congregation instead of against it.”
7)      “We do not tolerate the question: ‘what do I like in a worship service?’ But rather ‘what enables us to worship well? That’s the question we need to answer.”
8)      “The Anabaptist vision is getting world-renown recognition, and we’re going to be ashamed of it at home? No way!”
9)      The Nature of Worship from a missional perspective
10)  The transcendent nature of worship
11)  Eschatological design for  worship
12)  Political character of worship
13)  Confessional foundations of worship
14)  Sending assumptions of worship (This is what we sent Irma.
15)  worship is central to our life.
16)  Worship renews missional engagement
17)  missional engagement revitalizes worship.

3. Transforming Congregations in worship :
11/17/2018
Transforming Congregations in worship :
God is active in our world
2)      Marva Dawn indicates that the goal of worship is threefold:
-          to worship God extravagantly
-          to be God's people more faithfully,
-          and to serve our neighbours more lavishly.
3)      Ekklesia – ek klesia – klesis --- kaleo
4)      “Ten years ago we were like a couple of German shepherds first meeting each other; circling each other from a distance and snarling at each other.”
5)      “In our congregation there has been a lot of healing that has happened; all of it closely linked to the study of scripture and its application.” 
6)      “We’ve now developed an atmosphere in which folks are praying for the congregation instead of against it.”
7)      “We do not tolerate the question: ‘what do I like in a worship service?’ But rather ‘what enables us to worship well? That’s the question we need to answer.”
8)      “The Anabaptist vision is getting world-renown recognition, and we’re going to be ashamed of it at home? No way!”
9)      The Nature of Worship from a missional perspective
10)  The transcendent nature of worship
11)  Eschatological design for  worship
12)  Political character of worship
13)  Confessional foundations of worship
14)  Sending assumptions of worship (This is what we sent Irma.
15)  worship is central to our life.
16)  Worship renews missional engagement
17)  missional engagement revitalizes worship.

4. Transforming Congregations in worship :
11/17/2018
Transforming Congregations in worship :
Become more aware of God’s activity in our midst

5. Transforming Congregations in worship :
11/17/2018
Transforming Congregations in worship :
More intentionally aligning our activities with God’s mission

6. Transforming Congregations in worship :
11/17/2018
Transforming Congregations in worship :
Focus worship, education, community life, and witness in light of God’s purposes

7. 11/17/2018
Drastic changes??

8. 11/17/2018
Worship Committee:
Purpose Statement

9. To invite the congregation into God’s presence
11/17/2018
To invite the congregation into God’s presence

10. Worship points to God and reminds us that we are not God.
11/17/2018
Worship points to God and reminds us that we are not God.

11. God invites us to participate in worship
11/17/2018
Worship is our community’s acknowledgement that the source of who we are, can be, and are to become is beyond who we are now.
God invites us to participate in worship

12. Basic values in planning worship
11/17/2018
Basic values in planning worship

13. 11/17/2018
Focus on God and on God’s will: recognize worship as a Holy time and a Holy Space

14. We are actors and participants; God is the audience
11/17/2018
We are actors and participants; God is the audience
We are not spectators

15. 11/17/2018
Worship is hopeful

16. Worship reflects Mennonite/Anabaptist identity
11/17/2018
Worship reflects Mennonite/Anabaptist identity

17. 11/17/2018
We pays attention to the physical space to make it more conducive for focusing on God.

18. 11/17/2018
Worship facilitates expressing gratitude, confessing failures, be open to wisdom and teaching

19. 11/17/2018
Worship keeps the congregational voice alive via music, sharing, prayer, and scripture reading.

20. Worship enhances spiritual vitality and passion for God.
11/17/2018
Worship enhances spiritual vitality and passion for God.

21. Worship is child and family friendly
11/17/2018
Worship is child and family friendly

22. 11/17/2018
Worship reflects the profile of the congregation via use of languages like French, German, Spanish, English

23. Worship blends familiar things with new experiences.
11/17/2018
Worship blends familiar things with new experiences.

24. Practical Issues and challenges in implementing our hopes.
11/17/2018
Practical Issues and challenges in implementing our hopes.

25. More participation is important even if it impacts the “quality”
11/17/2018
More participation is important even if it impacts the “quality”

26. Put both Reflection and Action on the agenda of our committee
11/17/2018
Put both Reflection and Action on the agenda of our committee

27. Some resistance to learning new songs in different languages.
11/17/2018
Some resistance to learning new songs in different languages.

28. Resistance to moving things around on the platform
11/17/2018
Resistance to moving things around on the platform

29. Some resistance to having only women leading the worship service.
11/17/2018
Some resistance to having only women leading the worship service.

30. 11/17/2018
Implementation:
What did we do?

31. Visuals, banners, displays
11/17/2018
Visuals, banners, displays

32. Different musical groups with different styles
11/17/2018
Different musical groups with different styles

33. Workshops for worship leaders
11/17/2018
Workshops for worship leaders

34. More intentional about developing a common theme through worship
11/17/2018
More intentional about developing a common theme through worship

35. More people involved in scripture reading in different languages
11/17/2018
More people involved in scripture reading in different languages

36. 11/17/2018
Print scripture passages in bulletin for congregation to engage more easily

37. More drama and dramatic readings, especially of scripture
11/17/2018
More drama and dramatic readings, especially of scripture

38. More involvement of children in offertories
11/17/2018
More involvement of children in offertories

39. Closer attention to children’s story: both it’s content and delivery
11/17/2018
Closer attention to children’s story: both it’s content and delivery

40. 11/17/2018
Drastic??

41. Transforming Congregations in worship
11/17/2018
Transforming Congregations in worship