Last night, Vision had its first Ash Wednesday service. In past years, we have designed an experience for what we termed Ash Sunday, since the community center in which we met was booked every Wednesday with dog obedience classes. Somehow, Pam and I were never able to figure out how to work the dogs into the themes of mortality and brokenness. So we would postpone our service until the following Sunday.
Last night was different. Finally, we were able to mark Ash Wednesday on the correct day and in the manner in which we always wanted. Most of the experience consisted of the lectionary readings, imposition of the ashes, a traditional communion liturgy, and some interactive elements thrown in for good measure. The experience was powerful for everyone who came.
Much of what Pam and I said came from existing sources. In other words, we read a lot, which is not always typical of Vision worship. While we have always read sizable texts of scripture in our worship celebrations and incorporated many liturgical elements, we never had to this extent. Perhaps we avoided it because of the common wisdom that liturgy and ritual can degenerate into meaningless rote memorization. Yet last night I was struck by the power liturgy and ritual. It was as if these old words and rituals themselves conveyed the reconciliation story better than any of us could.
In designing worship experiences, there is certainly a need to be creative and inventive. New expressions of worship create fresh experiences of God and I am not advocating abandoning innovation. However, I was reminded last night that sometimes we need to simply trust the treasures the church has passed on to us and let God work through them.
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