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Two
Sample Chapters
from Reinventing Sunday:
Breakthrough Ideas for Transforming Worship
by Brad Berglund
© 2001, Judson Press
Chapter 6:
Reading
"The reading [of scripture] itself
ought to be an act of worship."
— Andrew W. Blackwood
There are a variety of creative ways to read
scripture in the context of worship. The most important principles
to keep in mind are to present scripture clearly, articulately and
appropriately.
Clarity
Creativity should never obscure clarity. For
example, if a puppet reads the scripture on Children's Sunday, but
the microphone isn't well-placed or the sound technician doesn't
have the cue, the congregation will experience creativity but will
not hear a word. Creativity must be rehearsed carefully and then
delivered in a competent way that opens hearts rather than closing
minds.
Articulation
Not everyone cooks well; this doesn't make them inadequate people,
it only means they have not yet acquired a particular skill. In
the same way, not everyone reads well. Public reading and speaking
is an art form to be taken seriously. When a passage of Scripture
is read by someone who has rehearsed the reading and somehow
gotten "behind" and "inside" the meaning of
the words, those listening will be moved to deeper awareness or to
greater service. Scripture poorly delivered carries with it the
risk of reducing the encounter with the living God to another
random blip on the screen of our weekly experience or, even worse,
to a source of irritation.
Appropriateness
Appropriateness in worship flows directly from how well the church
leaders know and understand each individual church member - not
only their dislikes and prejudices, but more importantly, their
openness and appreciation of creativity. You may be surprised, as
I have been, at many people's high degree of openness and
receptivity to innovative Scripture reading. Knowing what will
lead your congregation to new depths and what will make them
afraid to come to worship is a fine line that can only be walked
by one who knows the people who regularly attend the church.
Suggestions to Improve Scripture Reading
1. Read more Scripture in worship, not less.
For the gathered people of God, especially in the Protestant
tradition, Scripture reading is the basis of our encounter with
God. The lectionary usually provides four texts for worship each
week: an Old Testament reading, a Psalm, a Gospel, and an Epistle.
Each of these types of Scripture has a different intent, style,
and impact. If you do not use the lectionary, find a way to read a
selection from all of these kinds of Scripture each week in
worship.
2. Allow silence after a Scripture is read.
A profound gift to be given in worship is silence. In a world of
constant noise and sensory bombardment, allowing people to rest in
the words they have just heard restores and transforms the
congregation. However, because our world is so noisy, many people
don't know how to use silence and only feel uncomfortable with it.
Following the reading of the Gospel, invite
the congregation to one minute of silent reflection. Without
filling the silence with words, guide them by suggesting they
replay the message of the selection, repeat a significant phrase
from the Scripture, or wait in quiet for an inspiration or thought
to rise up within them. ...
3. Develop a lay readers school.
Throughout church history, Scripture reading in worship has
belonged to lay readers. Professional clergy have too often taken
this gift away from the laity. Many people in your congregation
are excellent oral interpreters. If Scripture readings are often
chosen ahead of time, these readers could meet once a month with a
teacher and practice the fine art of reading in public, giving
attention to voice projection, emphasis, changes in loudness and
timbre, etc. ...
Vary men and women's voices throughout the
service, and vary ages, races, and accents as well. Doing so will
give people an expansive view of God. If the biblical passage is a
story with characters, different voices can be used for each
character in a semi-dramatic or "readers' theater"
performance.
4. Arrange a visit from a prophet.
Another dramatic way for a congregation to experience an encounter
with prophetic words in Scripture is hearing from that prophet
"in person." Create the prophet's costume for one of
your dramatic readers, affix the prophetic Scripture passage into
a scroll, and maybe even give the reader a dramatic entrance such
as from the back of the church. Allow the congregation to get a
feel for "a voice crying in the wilderness." For
example, if your congregation celebrates the Advent season, the
church could experience a visit from the prophet Isaiah on the
first Sunday of Advent.
5. Read responsively or antiphonally.
Responsive readings are a valuable way to involve the entire
congregation in the experience of reading Scripture. In this
setting, an individual reader and the group take turns reading a
Scripture text verse by verse. Different sections of the
congregation - for example the right and left sides or choir or
congregation - can also read verses back and forth to each other.
Antiphonal readings are slightly different;
one of the groups or an individual repeats a single phrase or
sentence (called the "antiphon") between verses of the
Scripture passage. ... For example, the congregation may read a
Psalm and an individual reader would say, "The steadfast Love
of the Lord never ceases" between each verse. . .
.
6. Sing one of the readings as an anthem.
As the choir's contribution to worship that day, ask them to sing
the Scripture reading, allowing a moment of silence to follow. . .
.
7. Sign the Scripture reading even if you
have no hearing-impaired members.
Of course, if you have hearing-impaired members, you're doing this
already. For those who do not understand sign language, the
interpretive movement of the signs will reinforce what they are
hearing through a different sensory avenue.
8. Create a short antiphon and teach the
sign language for it to the congregation.
For example, if the prayer, "The Lord Is My Strength and
Song" fits into the Scripture reading as an antiphonal
affirmation, have the congregation sign those words each time it
is said or sang. The last time the antiphon is said, use only hand
signs with no spoken words. Your congregation can take that gift
home with them and sign that prayer to each other when words seem
inadequate.
9. Re-create an important event on a special
Sunday of the church year. This
suggestion works extremely well on Pentecost Sunday. Find people
who read well in another language and ask them to provide the text
for Acts 2 in their language. ... When this reading is carefully
rehearsed and artistically directed, it has a profound effect. ...
10. If you have the technology, use it.
If you have the capability to effectively use video technology in
your sanctuary, there are many excellent resources available to
you. ... videos would add a sense of drama and authenticity to the
reading of the Word in worship.
11. Stand or kneel for the lesson.
Invite your congregation to stand or kneel for the reading of the
Scripture lesson. By symbolizing respect and giving special
attention through the posturing of your body, you will find that
the reading of the Scripture takes on new emphasis and importance
as a high point in worship.
Excerpted by permission from Reinventing
Sunday: Breakthrough Ideas for Transforming Worship, copyright
2001 by Brad Berglund. Published by Judson Press, Valley Forge,
Pennsylvania, www.judsonpress.com, 1-800-4-JUDSON.
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One passes through Taizé
as one passes close to a spring of water.
— Pope John Paul II
My pilgrimage to the Taizé Community began in an unusual
place. Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey is known
for its excellent choral program, brilliant faculty and the
presence of world-class organists. Since I was studying music, I
did not expect to experience a prayer form that would captivate my
heart for the next eighteen years. Then one morning, our class was
introduced to the music and prayer of Taizé.
The prayer began with singing a simple eight-bar phrase and
these words — Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom. As I sang, I focused first on the words, identifying
with the one who spoke them to Jesus — the thief on the cross.
However, with each repetition I found myself relaxing deeper into
the presence of Christ, the one to whom I sang.
Occasionally, an oboe or cello would add an obligato to
the singing. Singers began adding choral parts until all four
parts wrapped around my soul as a cloak. As I sang in that
community of musicians, I prayed in a way I’d never prayed
before. Fourteen years later, I finally walked into the crowded
sanctuary of the Church of the Reconciliation on a hill top in
Burgundy, France and sang that prayer with people from
other nations around the world.
The Community
Taizé is a village in the Burgundy region of France. Roger
Schütz, son of a Swiss Protestant minister, was only 25 years old
when he came to Taizé from Switzerland in 1940. In the war-torn
years that followed, he began sheltering Jewish refugees and
praying in the village church. Others joined him and soon a small
community of brothers was formed.
Believing there would always be war in Europe until Christians
stopped killing Christians, Roger and his followers committed
themselves to a ministry of reconciliation, a challenging and
difficult task in postwar France and Germany. Slowly, one by one,
brothers began making life-long commitments to communal life.
Donning white robes, adopting a Benedictine style of daily life
and receiving Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant brothers
from many countries, Taizé has become a monastic model of
ecumenism. Roger refers to this community as a "pilgrimage of
trust on earth."
Over the years that followed, young people from all over Europe
made their way to Taizé to open themselves to this
communion which gives meaning to their lives. Today, from
May to October, as many as six thousand young people a week come
to Taizé for the weekly meetings with the brothers. Focusing on
three periods of communal prayer each day, participants delve into
the meaning of their own spiritual journey, explore their faith
commitments and worship with people from all over the world.
The Music and Prayer
Contemplation has been described as a "long loving
gaze at what is real." Worship at Taizé is contemplative
in its style in that it gives the worshiper time to focus on
God’s presence within and without. Much of the praying is in
silence. Taizé music is composed in an ostinato pattern
— a short, simple phrase repeated many times. Often a
scripture text and sometimes a quotation attributed to a devote
person, each phrase expresses an essential reality, quickly
understood by the intellect, which is then integrated slowly into
one’s attitudes and actions.
Instrumentalists pray through their playing by adding an
obligato above the communal singing. Descants — often a psalm
— are also sung above the chant. One song may take as long as
five minutes. In this atmosphere of simplicity and focused
attention, one is free to "rest" in the presence of God.
For years, many of the songs written for the Taizé community
were written by one of the brothers, Jacques Berthier. Following
his death, French Jesuit priest Joseph Gelineau has composed new
chants for the community.
Taize CDs cassettes and printed music from Taizé are available
for purchase on line at www.illuminatedjourneys.com
or by calling 1.877.489.8500. Worship
workshops in the style of Taizé are available for your church or
organization. Call the author for more information.
Guidelines for creating worship in the Taizé style.
1. Create a peaceful, inviting focal point for worship. Use a
cross, candles, plants and icons.
2. Place musicians off to the side in a circle. There is no
visible leadership in this style of worship. If the service is
held in a large room, the musicians should be miked so all vocal
parts can be heard. This provides support for the participants.
Musicians should rehearse before the service.
3. Participants should be invited to enter in silence. This
gives everyone permission not to talk to each other. Use signs at
the entrances of the church to accomplish this goal.
4. To support participants in their silence, write suggestions
for silent prayer on a sheet of paper to be picked up as people
come in.
5. Prayers and scriptures are read from the side
of the room or from the back. Keep the focus away from the person
reading so it will stay on the text that is read.
6. In Taizé-style worship, the sermon is replaced by silent
meditation.
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Taizé-style prayer
Nothing is more conducive to a communion with
the living God than a meditative common prayer with, as its high
point, singing that never ends and that continues in the silence
of one’s heart when one is alone again. When the mystery of God
becomes tangible through the simple beauty of symbols, when it is
not smothered by too many words, then a common prayer, far from
exuding monotony and boredom, awakens us to heaven’s joy on
earth.
Brother Roger, Songs and Prayers from Taizé,
p. 5
From the depths of the human condition a secret
aspiration rises up. Caught up in the anonymous ryhthms of
schedules and timetables, men and women of today are implicitly
thirsting for the one essential reality: an inner life, signs of
the invisible.
Brother Roger, Songs and Prayers from Taizé,
p. 5
Prayer takes us by surprise; even if all kinds
of contradictions and doubts are still there, a longing comes to
light, and the silence reveals a peace close at hand...It sets the
heart free and releases a surge of new life.
From Taizé: Trust on Earth, p.1
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A sample Taizé-style worship service
Song Veni Sancte
Spiritus # 41 -
Songs and Prayers from Taizé
Song Sing
Praise and Bless the Lord #35 -
Songs and Prayers from Taizé
Scripture Ps. 139:
1-6, 13-18
(As the psalm is read, light the Christ candle
as a symbol of Christ’s presence)
Song Lord
Jesus Christ #15 - Taizé: Songs
for Prayer
Silence (10 minutes)
Scripture Matthew
18.21-35
Song God Can
Only Give Faithful Love #57 -
Taizé: Songs for Prayer
Scripture Romans
14.1-12
Song Nada te
Turbe #29 - Songs and Prayers
from Taizé
Prayer of Petition and Thanksgiving
Kyrie (Lord have mercy)
#4 - Songs and Prayers from Taizé
Song Jesus,
Remember Me #11 - Taizé: Songs
for Prayer
Silence (5 minutes)
The Lord’s Prayer
Songs In God
Alone #19 - Songs and Prayers
from Taizé
In The Lord #47 - Songs and
Prayers from Taizé
(During the last song, someone carries the
lighted Christ candle down the aisle and out the back door as a
sign of Christ leading us back into the world to love and serve.)
Excerpted by permission from Reinventing
Sunday: Breakthrough Ideas for Transforming Worship, copyright
2001 by Brad Berglund. Published by Judson Press, Valley Forge,
Pennsylvania, www.judsonpress.com, 1-800-4-JUDSON.
Back
to web page about workshops on Taize-style worship
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