What’s Happening with Worship? To anyone who has wondered if we are changing our Sunday morning worship, my apologies. I let my cart get in front of my horse. (If you just want “the facts,” skip down to where it says in the meantime.)
For more than a year the Church Council has been talking about adding another worship service to Redeemer’s regular schedule. The conversation began with Pastor Nathan and has continued since my arrival last fall. Meanwhile, our synod received a Lilly Endowment grant to support congregations as they consider and reconsider how to welcome children into worship and the life of the congregation. The synod has called this new program Faith Alive and for the last year I have been a part of the writing and leadership team.
In January, members of Redeemer attended the synod’s first Faith Alive Worship Learning Lab. There were several informative presentations, and I think we all came away with a renewed commitment to providing meaningful worship experiences for children and adults.
It is my hope that Redeemer will participate in the Faith Alive program more fully in the coming year. The synod website describes the program this way.
Faith Alive accompanies SEPA congregations as they articulate their worship values; deconstruct existing barriers to full worship participation across all ages, stages, and abilities; and reconstruct worship where children know they belong. Program participation will require congregations to assess and improve how they have helped families live into their baptismal promises for their children: “to live with them among God’s faithful people, bring them to the word of God and the holy supper, teach them the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments, place in their hands the holy scriptures, and nurture them in faith and prayer.” Faith Alive honors our children’s experience of God and creates space for them to be full participants in worship.
In the meantime, we have asked for input from children and adults as a team of people have continued to work towards a second service here at Redeemer. This task force, led by Josh Crecca, proposed to the Council that we begin by scheduling an alternate service for three months before the end of 2026. The schedule for these services and our traditional worship service is as follows:
+ 9:30am: Faith Alive Worship Service in the Fellowship Hall
+ 11:00am: Traditional Worship Service in the Sanctuary
These services will be held on October 25, November 22 and December 20. My hope is that this schedule will continue into the new year, but we won’t make that decision until we’ve tested the schedule and the format of the Faith Alive service.
Please know that this new worship service will be designed for people of all ages. So don’t think it’s just for the kids. That’s not the idea. Instead it is a way for us to “honor our children’s experience of God” and create worship that encourages them to be full participants.
If you have questions, please let me know. I love to talk about worship and kids. If you’re curious, come on October 25 and try it out! And if you’d like to see a model bulletin based on our September 13th worship, click here.