Indigenous Worship at CDSP

For the last few weeks, I have been really lucky to get to work with a group of fellow CDSP seminarians on a worship gathering that stretched to encompass experience and culture that is more idigenous to our daily lives.  The team was just a joy to work with - flowing from a real sense of the Spirit, loads of trust & humor, an allergy for gimmicks and a real hungry to claim liturgy as the work of the people, body, soul & mind. 

We started our planning with a long stretch of Lectio Divina around the Gospel appointed for the day:

John 6:35-40  The Message
35Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. 36I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don't really believe me. 37Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don't let go. 38I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me.39"This, in a nutshell, is that will: that everything handed over to me by the Father be completed--not a single detail missed--and at the wrap-up of time I have everything and everyone put together, upright and whole. 40This is what my Father wants: that anyone who sees the Son and trusts who he is and what he does and then aligns with him will enter real life, eternal life. My part is to put them on their feet alive and whole at the completion of time."

Today, we gathered for the liturgy we had planned.  One of the faculty members mentioned that, upon reflection after the gathering concluded, the liturgy seemed indigenous, a word which has several, related meanings:

• The native people of a place; aborigines, native peoples, first peoples, first nations or as autochthonous, a Greek term that means "sprung from the earth".
• In biology, indigenous means native to a place or biota, in contrast to any one of several terms meaning not native to a place (non-native, alien, adventive, introduced) and differentiated from endemic. A species that is endemic is unique to that place, found naturally nowhere else. A species that is indigenous is native, but not unique in the sense that it is also native to other locations as well. Thus, a species that is native to California, but found naturally in Oregon and Washington as well (native to the West Coast of the United States) is indigenous to California. A species found only in the British Isles is endemic to those islands.

That seems so much more accurate than alternative (to what ?) or postmodern (Derrida presiding ?) or experimental (we did not use beakers or a controlled sample set).  Indigenous, derived from the latin indigena, meaning native or aboriginal (wouldn't Sean my Greek prof be proud of me, doing a word origin citation).

Here's few images of the gathering, just before the ~45 folks showed up - the layout & order of worship is below

Here's the playlist:

Download 13_april_midday_eucharist.txt

Physical layout-

Platform cleared, low round table in center

There will be signs on other doors directing people to enter under the breezeway.

There will be two additional stations on each side of the chapel, and one in the center of the platform.

The stations include:

Outside—“WELCOME”—font, towels, water to drink, Presider welcoming people

Kids area—“ABUNDANCE” --bread baking in a bread maker on a card table, alongside plate of pita and tortilla (carpet cleaned or removed on Tuesday night)

Lectern area—“ SHARING” –baskets for placing non-perishable food donations, bread recipes to take home (lectern & torches moved into closet on Wednesday)

Chair pews on office side—“HUNGER”—five photographs, a small table from chapel with empty plates

Near bell rope on office side—“BE-COMING”—table with flour, rice, grapes, olives, bowl of rising dough

Low, round table on platform—“WHAT ARE YOU HUNGRY FOR?”—butcher paper and markers, a few candles in votive holders

The screen will be hanging from the wooden box that holds the organ pipes, the projector & Bob who will be running visuals & music will be using the piano for his set-up.

There will be simple, small programs for Eucharistic Prayer (“H” from Common Worship) that will be distributed after the peace.

 

Run through & Timing-

 

10:45    We are ready to get in the chapel when the class lets out.

11:00    We set up, thoughtfully, quickly, and with the assistance of any who come early

11:10    Projection of visuals & music begins by now

11:10    David outside to welcome, font & table with water all set up

11:20    ring the bell as usual

Dina asks two worshippers to assist later with the proclamation of the Gospel, gives them the text.

Sabeth asks three people to bring up bread, wine & baskets of donated food at the offertory.

11:30    the crowds arrive, they are welcomed by David, assisted as needed by the rest of us as they maneuver the stations

11:40    Dina invites worshippers by saying something to the effect of:

“As this next song plays, please wind your way from the stations and draw near to the center table.”

Bob plays the Church of the Apostles (aka COTA) Invocation, which has the following lyrics:

Today, when we hear your voice, we won’t harden our hearts.  Heaven and earth meet here and we will hear your voice. (3 minutes)

11:43    Dina invites the first Gospel proclaimer to begin.  Silence follows. Preston invites the second Gospel proclaimer to begin.  Silence follows. Preston then proclaims the Gospel.  Silence follows.

Dina invites worshippers to share brief reflections by saying something to the effect of:

“What word or phrase speaks to you today?” or “What do you hear the Good News to be?” 

Close it by 12:00 noon.

Music begins: 60 seconds of listening, then we can join in the simple chant and do motions as we feel called by the spirit.  The lyrics & accompanying movements are:

God above (orons), God below (hands reaching down), God within (arms folded over chest in an X), God we love (arms reaching out at chest height)

PROOST CHANT

12:05    Karen leads us in reading the hungers off the table’s butcher paper in prayer, saying something like:

“Let us pray our hunger”

Bob will begin low key music, non vocal- called Walkaway

David prays a suitable collect. (Whatever you think is need, of course, to collect the hungers.)

The music will end when David closes the collect for the prayers with “Amen.”

12:10    David wishes us Peace, Bob begins music from COTA called “You are the bread of life” which is 3 minutes.

We gather at the table after the Peace, Sabeth arranges her people to bring up bread, wine & baskets of donated food.

We pass around copies of the Eucharistic Prayer

12:13    David invites our thanksgivings to God, something to the effect of

“What blessings/thanksgivings do we bring to this table?”

Then the offertory, Eucharistic prayer

The Lords prayer will be introduced by David with a special invitation of some sort like “using our bodies and words and hearts, let us pray…”

Salying will lead us with the motions to the prayer, which are very simple and graceful.

David continues into Communion, using the baskets to pass the bread, which is from the bread machine.

Bob will start the communion music with “Hungry”, and if needed, go into U2.

David will lead the prayer, bless us, and Preston will dismiss us – however each sees fit to do so.

Bob has music ready to go once we say “Thanks be to God!”

Ozomatli - Beleive

Comments

[thebizofknowledge]

I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. This was a fascinating look at something that most of us only get to see from the congregation area!

[jonny]

great to hear that you are getting creative with worship at CDSP

[Karen]

Indigenous. Yeah, I like that.

[dave paisley]

"The person who aligns with me..."?

Ouch. Not one of Eugene's smoother selections.

And "and at the wrap-up of time"?

Other than that, sounds really cool. Nice job :)

Oh, and say hi to Sabeth for me :)

[betsy]

I too wish I could have been there.

(Also - Pleased that AfroCelt is filling sanctuaries from coast to coast. Okay, not really - more like one on my coast, and one on your coast. Still: pleased.)

[the holly]

wowie...sounds amazing! wish i could've been there.

i decided not to preach - i have three extra speaking gigs next week and didn't need another.

glad it all went well. :)

peace,
holly