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More Questions about Renewing Worship
NOTE: This is Michael Burk’s response to Gracia Grindal’s article, “Questions to Ask About the New Hymnal Resources Project,” in the Winter 2004 issue of I.C.M.
In the article, “Questions to Ask About the New Hymnal Resources Project,” (I.C.M, Winter 2004), Gracia Grindal encourages readers to inquire about particular aspects of Renewing Worship. I would like to add my encouragement that you ask questions. But do not be limited to asking those questions that others raise. Ask the questions that grow out of your own review of the various provisional resources that have been developed and out of your own experience in worship.
I am grateful that the last issue of ICM pointed readers toward the Renewing Worship website ( www.renewingworship.org ) and to the various means of “connecting” with the ELCA worship staff and others who work directly on resource development. By design, Renewing Worship is participatory. Even as we “listen” to our Lutheran heritage and to the witness of Scripture, it is important to listen very carefully to the church when striving to provide worship resources that reflect a confessional response to a changing landscape. As important as it can be to consider the insights of scholars or liturgical experts, renewal efforts that will foster greater unity, without demanding uniformity in worship, are dependent upon the insights and involvement of those who lead and participate in worship week after week in local congregations. In other words, your perspective is invited and welcome.
When reviewing and responding to the Renewing Worship resources, please begin by recognizing that has been proposed to date is provisional. That is, the liturgical texts and music in the Renewing Worship series are provided for study, testing, and response. Professor Grindal is correct that “the changes being proposed for these services” deserve attention. But I think her assertion that proposed changes “represent a departure from Lutheran theology” can be misleading, especially when examples are viewed in isolation or presented in ways that imply they reflect final decisions. Still, listening to such concerns is integral to the work of Renewing Worship, which is more broadly and deeply rooted in Lutheranism than it is sometimes portrayed.
Questions like those raised in Professor Grindal’s article can assist us in identifying areas that may need further deliberation before making final decisions are. If her questions lead to questions of your own – and more than that, if they lead to thoughtful conversations about worship and worship renewal in your own setting and throughout the church - so much the better. That is the sort of work we have been about in the Renewing Worship Day events that were hosted in various locations, in the ongoing development of provisional resources, and in our efforts to be responsive to the needs and concerns of the whole ELCA.
If you want to know more, if you want to say more, if you want to ask more questions about the work that will lead to the publication of a new book of worship for the ELCA, please engage Renewing Worship directly. Insights from across the church and that represent a range of decidedly Lutheran perspectives will help shape the outcomes. I recommend the newly released videotape, “Join the Conversation,” especially if you were unable to attend one our Renewing Worship Days. A copy of “Join the Conversation” is available through your synod office or local resource center. It can also be purchased through Augsburg Fortress. And visit the website, where questions are answered (see “Frequently Asked Questions” at www.renewingworship.org ), where you can get up-to-date information about the project as it unfolds, and where you can let us know what you think and why you think that.
You may have more questions to ask. More concerns to share. We surely have more things to learn from one another. Join us in the conversation, in the work of renewing worship and renewing our partnership in the gospel.
