Using the Creative Arts in worship

1
Using the Creative Arts in worship

• Lythan Nevard
• Sabbatical Report
• 2003

2
lovely service Minister, you did well today

• How can we help people truly encounter God?
• As individuals?
• As community?

• Together creating worship on Sunday that feeds
  our worship through the week?

3
Exploring the use of creative arts in worship
brings together current ideas arising from

• Alternative worship
• Faith and the Arts
• All age worship
• Accelerated learning
• A perceived crisis in worship

4
Alternative worship is about
Alternative worship is about

• Providing a context where heart, mind, body and
  soul can respond to God
• Reclaiming liturgy as the work of the people
• Embracing the transforming power of the ritual
• Reframing tradition
• Incarnating popular culture

5
A growing interest in Faith and the Arts

• Worship art is created not merely for the sake
  of creating beauty but in order to articulate
  forms of human experience that are too deep for
  words

6
All age worship aims to

• Discover the form in which a congregation can
  worship as one, giving themselves to God

• Be creative
• Be simple
• Be visual
• Use participation
• Use symbols
• Use the senses

7
Accelerated learning defines 8 types of
intelligence

• Verbal/ linguistic
• Learns through listening, reading and writing
• Enjoys collaborative learning

• Visual
• Responds to pictures
• and symbols
• uses imagination

• Musical
• Likes learning when music is incorporated 
• Sensitive to music as mood changer

•  Maths/logical
• learns in ordered fashion
•  likes brainstorming
•  Responds to symbols
• pictures

• INTRApersonal
• Learns from times of reflection
•  Aware of own feelings on a range of issues

• INTERpersonal
• Enjoys group work
• Can see issues from a range of perspectives

• Body
• Learns by doing
• Explores through touch and movement

Naturalist  Observes and learns from natural world
8
Crisis in worship? What crisis?

• Crisis of meaning what is worship about
  hearing about God or encountering God?
• Crisis of language what does washed in the
  blood of the lamb mean?
• Crisis of community church hopping
• Crisis of culture everythings techno everywhere
  but here
• Crisis of change if its worked for the last 70
  years this way why change now?

9
Using the creative arts in worship can help
people to
Think Differently
Develop skills
Do Theology
Build Community
Feel the Holy Spirit at work
Bring worship to daily life

• Encounter
• God

Feel Awe
Bring daily life to worship
Worship body soul
Respond actively to God
Make Connections
10
Some good starting questions

• Who is the worship for?
• What do we want to say?
• How are we going to put it across?
• What is the season?
• How many senses will people use?
• What about bearing in mind different types of
  learning?

11
What is this we all about?

• For creative worship to have impact
• For worship to be an encounter with God
• To be able to make worship as rich and
  stimulating as possible
• Worship creation needs to be planned and led by
  as many people as possible!

12
Ways to use the creative arts in worship
Paintings
Creating ritual
Sculpture
Use of space
Drama and mime
Poetry
Images
Writing prayers
Music
And anything else you can think of
Dance
13
Paintings- to look at
Use paintings to illustrate a Bible story
this could be paintings of the actual story e.g.
Rembrandts the Return of the Prodigal Son

• or paintings that express a similar mood or
  theme to that of the worship e.g. joy

Share out a variety of paintings and ask people
to choose the painting that speaks to them most
on a given theme. Ask them to explain why, if
possible
14
Paintings- by the worshippers

• Ask people to create a picture in response to a
  story either before or during worship
• iIt may be helpful to remind them that abstract
  can be good!

Give out pencils and paper and encourage doodles
on key words. These could be turned into
paintings large or small, or even embroidery
15
Images
Images can be worth a thousand words
Why not find some images to illustrate a Bible
reading?
Or as a focus for prayer
Help me Lord when I am in despair
We praise you!
16
More images

• Display them using
• PowerPoint
• Overhead Projector
• Slide Projector

• Find them on
• the World Wide Web
• Clip Art discs

Better still create your own!
Think about using moving images too
17
Sculpture

• Create something big!
• Using Modroc, papier maché,
• MDF, material, wire, wood etc
• Create something small!
• Give everyone some clay,
• play dough etc
• Look at images of amazing
• sculpture why not arrange a
• visit to see some?

18
Use of space
What could you put into your worship space?
What could you leave out of your worship space?
Can you move the chairs in a different way?
What about making different areas in the worship
space? With wooden dividers? Or voile netting?
What about moving to different parts of the
church building?
19
Banners and material

• Banners are an excellent way to bring colour and
  life to worship.
• They can focus worshippers eyes, hearts and minds
  on a key theme or text for worship
• Making the banners can build community

• Draping material around the church is also very
  effective

• Or for something more ambitious

20
Creating ritual

• Look at the Bible readings for the week what
  actions could we reproduce symbolically?
• e.g. rubbing perfumed cream into each others
  hands (John 121-8)
• e.g. putting our bags in the centre of the room
  so we can go and serve freely (Luke 101-11)

• Look at the elements of worship what rituals
  could help them come alive in a new way?

e.g. confession writing out our confession,
screwing up the paper and throwing it away
e.g. pouring water/washing hands/drinking water
as a reminder of our baptism
21
Prayer

• Is this a creative art? Why not!
• There are millions of published prayers but here
  are some tips on writing your own
• Keep sentences short.
• Be natural, straightforward, direct.
• Speak slowly
• Brainstorm words on a theme
• Use a hymn for inspiration
• Think of how God acts in a particular Bible
  reading e.g Jesus calming the storm thank you
  that when life is stormy you bring peace
• Turn a verb describing an activity of God into a
  metaphor e.g. God heals could become Touching
  God
• Use opposites e.g. meekness and majesty

22
Poetry

• Poems, whether with or without an overtly
  Christian message can add another layer to
  worship particularly the sharing of the Word.
• It can be useful to print a copy of the words for
  people to take home and re-read.

Why not
Invite people to write a poem based on the
readings and themes for next weeks worship
Ask people to shout out words about God to a
rhythm beat poetry?
Try writing haiku poetry during worship
Discover if there is a rap artist in your church
23
Music

• Hymns and songs
• Broaden the horizons of congregational singing
• Include soloists and small groups
• Listen to recorded songs of all kinds, perhaps
  highlighting key lyrics

• Instrumental music
• Listen to music while praying quietly
  meditating on a passage of scripture
  pondering a question
• Have music playing under the readings or prayers
• A dramatic start or finish to worship

Percussion! Try training all ages in using
percussion instruments rhythmically for some songs
24
Dance

• Everyone can do simple movements to a song
• A small group can create a dance to interpret
• a song
• a piece of music
• a Bible reading
• Watching a song or reading interpreted in British
  Sign Language can be incredibly moving

25
Drama and mime

• Dramatise a Bible reading

Dramatise a theme from a Bible reading
Do you need to use words?
Create a tableau
In terms of props and costumes usually less is
more
Should your drama be static or move around?
26
And anything else you can think of

• Storytelling
• Sharing a Bible story or any other story in your
  own words.
• You can use a few actions and walk about but keep
  it simple

Puppets Use a few puppets to tell a story or sing
a song. Use one to ask awkward questions!
Illusions Sleight of hand and card tricks are
well worth mastering providing the trick does not
become more important than the message
Clowning Clowns can get away with all sorts of
things, can act as modern prophets. Keep costumes
simple and be aware that small children are often
frightened of clowns
27
Ideas for services using the lectionary

• Part of this Sabbatical project has been to come
  up with ideas for specific services in lectionary
  year C

• These are NOT tried and
• tested ideas
• They are a work in progress
• And at present, they are the
• work of one person, rather
• than a group

but they may be useful guides in starting to get
the creative juices flowing
28
For each week of the lectionary there is a theme

• And a set of ideas based around
• The Word how should this be shared?
• Space how can the environment help us to reflect
  on the theme?
• Visuals
• Music
• Participation what actions can help us worship
  this week?
• Prayer

29
TransfigurationGlimpses of glory
30
The Word
Luke 9 Sound interpretation of the reading
Recap look back at the epiphanies of the last
few weeks (revelations of glory) e.g. wise men,
baptism, power of healing
Is the mountain top experience a thin space?
31
White with glimpses of silver and gold
Space

• On canvas?
• On mdf?

Use voiles or nets

• to create a sense of otherness and mystery

32
Visuals
Hildegard of Bingen art project? poem in
Imaging the Word about circles of God and light
ask people to illustrate the poem using art or
embroidery
Banner it is good lord to be here Raise a banner
to the Lord book
Images of Cloudscapes
33
Music
Suggestions
Shine Jesus shine Ascribe greatness to our God
the rock David MacGregor Shine out for Jesus -
good with children www.dovenetq.net.au/macgd/shin
eoutjesus.doc Take this moment time and space
as solo? These are the days of Elijah S503 Christ
be our light I just want to praise you
S208 Mountain Top Amy grant listen and reflect
34
Participation

• Share together what glimpses of glory have you
  seen in your life?

• taking the glory with you

• we can't stay on the mountain top but the
  glimpses of glory can strengthen our faith
• maybe Peter took a pebble with him! couldn't
  talk about time of awe - but could remember
• invite congregation to take pebble from cairn or
  small piece of metallic material or nightlight
  home to remind them of power and glory of God

35
Prayer
Call to worship Psalm 99

• With cornet fanfare!
• Or sound effects

Litany from Imaging the Word 1
36
Lent 3Last chance saloon

• We have to take turning back to God seriously
  time may be short!

37
Space
Fig trees/leaves

• Use other trees in pots if necessary

Water feature and fruit
38
Visuals
Van Gogh Fields and harvest pictures
Fig tree

• Find pictures of fig trees
• Have some leaves from Annes tree

39
The Word
Luke 13 as drama

• See Exploring Lukes Gospel
• With children - just fig tree parable

Need warning and grace
both last chance saloon and able to turn to God
and receive his plenty blame culture - was it
their fault where's the grace? why suffering?
don't know - just do what you can to make a
difference!
40
Music
Come all you people (CG)

• As call interspersed with Isaiah
• Process in/around?

Suggestions
Turn to the Lord KidsSource2 745 Just as I am -
jazz version (HymnsforthePeople) Heaven shall not
wait Source151 Breaking new ground David
Macgregor www.dovenetq.net.au/macgd/
41
Participation
Write individual prayers on paper fig leaves (see
Prayer)
Offer dried figs to eat or to take home and
reflect on
42
Prayer
on fig leaf

• Write confession

• Or commitment to bear fruit

Isaiah 55 as call to worship
De la Torre prayer in Imaging the Word 1
Psalm 631-8 as prayer meditation with
music?
43
Many other ideas for specific Sundays in the
lectionary

• can be found at

• http//homepage.ntlworld.com/revnev/