REFLECTING ON OUR WORSHIP

            It is hard for me to believe that in just two weeks, on November 15, I will have been with you for exactly one year. It has been such a delightful experience for me, and uncertain of what Pat and I might do after this interim is over, I'd like to quote Arthur Schlesinger quoting Abba Eban during a period of comparative optimism on the Middle East, "There may be a tunnel at the end of the light!"

            It has been wonderful, perhaps until today! This is the day, as we have previously communicated in the church newsletter, that we are giving our revised order of worship a first shot. I have known many interim ministers over the years, and the mantra among all of them is this saying, "You can change anything you want in the church, but whatever you do, don't change the order of worship, unless you plan on ending your contract with the Session on Monday morning.  So, given that warning, what I would like to do in the next few minutes is, 1),  give you a rationale for some minor revisions in our order, and then  2), ever so simply walk us through the order, making a few observations as we go. You know, this is Reformation Sunday, and I figure if Luther could change the Roman Catholic mass into a Lutheran order of worship, and if Calvin could change the Genevan order into what he considered a more Reformed emphasis, I in Durham, could offer a few revisions in what is a perfectly good Presbyterian order of worship, so help me Luther and Calvin!

            The basic reason for what is before you this morning is my conviction that our Pastoral Nominating Committee is going to come up with a very gifted and an outstandingly qualified candidate, and that the new pastor of this church is going to want to have already in place a worship service that is accordance with what is recommended by the General Assembly's Theology and Worship Ministry Unit and recommended by the Book of Common Worship of the Presbyterian Church, USA. Which is for the most part the service that you have before you.  The order is not my invention. It has better minds behind it than mine. Now you may be saying, "What was wrong with the order we had?" And the answer is, nothing. There is no one correct order of worship making all other orders incorrect. Every pastor has his or her reasons for adjusting elements in any worship service. To be candid with you, I hesitated this long because I did not want Haywood to think I came waltzing in here and changing his order. I don't mind if every member of this church doesn't like what I'm doing, but I don't want Haywood on my back.  I didn't want his namesake to come up to me and say, "Haywood you just leave town."  But I called him up one night after publishing Jack's Corner about this whole thing, and he said, "I just read your article, and I'm all for it." I couldn't believe it. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, bless this phone call that I'm on. So, with that blessing and rationale, let's look at the order, and make some observations at key points.

            The whole service is divided into four main sections, or as I like to call them, movements. The first is Assemble in God's Name. That is to say, worship begins with God. God takes the initiative and calls us into being. I've never liked the word "Invocation." I mean, do we really have to invoke God's presence, or is God already here? The second section is Proclaim God's Word. Now gathered in God's name, we open ourselves to God's life giving Word, which comes to us through Scripture and sermon.  The third movement is Respond to God's Word.  The proclamation of God's Word in Scripture and Sermon invites a response. We respond in singing a hymn, affirming our faith, prayer, and offering.  The final section or movement is Go in God's Name. The God who calls us together in worship now sends us forth in service.  As a kid, I never had the sense that we were being sent, out into the world. It was more like, thank God that service is over and I'm done with it.

            So, we assemble in God's name, Proclaim God's Word, Respond to God's Word, and Go in God's Name.  Everything we do in this service comes under one of those four rubrics.

            May I now make some observations at key points.  You will notice at the organ prelude that some kind of quiet is requested. Now, I'm aware of all the problems with this. At our church in DeLand, FL, where Bob Fort was the organist who taught organ at Stetson University across the street, we had a similar request in the bulletin. One friend of mine visited the church one Sunday, and at dinner after church quipped to me, I like the way you greet visitors. They are first met with closed doors, and then upon entering the sanctuary are invited to shut up!  That's not the rationale behind the request. I can remember as a high school student, going from NJ into NYC and worshipping at Riverside Church, where Virgil Fox presided at the five manual Skinner organ there. I always asked my parents to get me there early, so I could hear the prelude.  I hate to say it, but the prelude and postlude there were the high points of the entire service. I don't remember what McCracken preached on, but I do remember what Fox played. The prelude, in this sacred space, is the beginning of our worship of God. But it was hard to do if the two people next to you were talking about last night's movie or where they were going for Sunday dinner. In short, those preludes brought me into a spirit of worship.  And I know for many of you Monica's preludes do the same.  I think we have right here at Westminster one of the best organists and directors of music in this nation, and we all appreciate her ability to bring us into God's very presence.

            Following the prelude is the Introit, from the Latin word which means to enter, a further musical means by which we enter into the worship service.  You will notice that we have moved all the announcements, celebrations, and concerns from this place to just before the Prayers of the People, where we can lift up in prayer those who are particularly on our minds and hearts.

            In the Call to Worship we have sentences from Scripture reminding us that God calls us to worship, and that worship centers on God and not on ourselves.  The collect, from the Latin word meaning to gather, is where we gather together in one prayer the basic theme of the service for that day. The collect ought to tell you what the rest of this service is about. At the time of Confession, following the hymn of praise, we are inviting everyone to be seated, because sincere prayers of confession are most naturally offered either seated or on our knees. I was going to suggest to the Worship Committee and Session, when they reviewed all this, that we bring in kneeling benches, but Pat said that wasn't too smart. Then Haywood would be calling me! The remainder of the Assemble in God's Name portion remains the same.

            As we move into Proclaiming God's Word, all is the same except that the Prayer for Illumination precedes the reading of the scriptures and not just the Sermon. In the prayer for Illumination, we pray that the Holy Spirit may illumine our hearts and minds so that we may hear aright and be prepared to accept God's word for us, not just in the sermon but in all the scripture readings for the day.

            The hymn after the sermon invites us to joyfully respond. In short, after the sermon we are invited to do something. I've had the hardest time just sitting there and meditating. Maybe I'm not good at it. But I need to do something, to sing, to dance, to run around the sanctuary, to shout amen, to affirm our faith, to pray, to give. Some may miss the moment of silence here, and that can be re-introduced if the sermon of the day is of a meditative or reflective type. But I'd like to suggest that most sermons invite our response. We also respond by affirming our faith. Our response also includes talking about our mutual concerns, those for whom we are asked to pray. These concerns and announcements will be printed in your bulletin for you to take home. I've often wondered how people remember all that is given at the announcements point in the service. At least those we know of by Thursday will be printed for you, and others will be orally added.

            The finale of our response to God is the offering. Having prayed for each other and the world, we put ourselves where our prayers are. In grateful response for the abundance of God's grace, we offer ourselves to be instruments of God's peace, love and justice, and as stewards we give from what God has given us, in the spirit of  Faith Moving Forward.  The prayer, following the offering, is a prayer of gratitude for what God has given us, so that we in turn may give to God.

            At the end of the service we go in God's name. The God who calls us together in worship now sends us forth in service. There is a closing hymn, thanking God for Christ's presence with us in Word and Sacrament and Song, asking the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we move out in ministry.

            In the concluding charge, we are commissioned to obedient and grateful ministry as God's agents to heal life's brokenness.

            In the Benediction we ask that God go with us to our tasks.

            We are then invited to enjoy the organ postlude, or exit the sanctuary such that those who do remain can appreciate this last musical offering to God.

            A young man, Isaiah, is in the temple at Jerusalem. The times are turbulent, for the good king Uzziah has just died. In this earthly temple, the chosen place of the divine dwelling, Isaiah has a sense of the greatness and holiness of the mighty God.  Seraphs of the heavenly court utter praise, calling to one another of the infinite holiness of this God, and how the whole earth is full of his glory.  For Isaiah, the experience is like an earthquake which shakes not only the whole building but his own soul. And he suddenly knows,  in comparison to the holiness of this God, how unclean he is, and the people with whom he lives.  But in his vision, a coal is taken by one of the seraphs which touches his mouth and he is pronounced clean. He hears the very voice of this most holy God, asking the question, "Whom shall I send." And with total self abandon, the young man declares, "Here am I. Send me."
And Isaiah is commissioned to go, into a world filled with distress, with the very word of God which would in the long run result in the healing of the nations.  

            So, dear friends, may it be here!