The Glen Waverley Uniting Church PSALTER
Worship at GWUC
A Worship Journey
Church Council and Elders have been seriously discussing changes to our worship format since the beginning of the year. The Community of Faith have presented discussion documents to Church Council in April and May. Elders have had two learning segments on worship. A group of 15 people have been meeting monthly to explore and implement changes to the current 9am worship service.On 29 Aug 2010 around 30 people met to hear about Fresh Expressions and were enthusiastic about what might be possible at GWUC.
The discussion, prayers and discernment of our morning worship services has led us to a point where the Community of Faith want to ask Church Council to consider the next steps and make some changes to our worship service times.
Learnings
The current 9.00 am worship, enable us to catch glimpses of what people are seeking , but there is a group who desire to explore more fully ways of worshipping with more freedom than our current practices allow.
For those who yearn for a fresh expression of worship at GWUC, the issue is not creating a new worship style on Sunday morning. It comes from a desire to explore ways of encountering God in worship. It is not about a particular style of worship, but continuing the journey not bound by past expressions of worship, but open to more interactive, participatory involvement of the whole congregation. It is about exploring how we can worship in ways that enable people to have an encounter with God, an encounter that leads to changes in our lives, that is a transformational experience. Worship that involves our whole being, body ,mind and soul, and asks the question “What is God wanting me to change in my life as a result of this encounter with the Holy. The aim of this worship is to Encounter, Experience and Embrace the Holy in Worship.
Recommendations
- That Church Council support and encourage the establishment of a new worship expression in our Sunday morning services.
Suggested Time-Line
- GWUC 9am worship service concludes on 21 Nov 2010, the end of the liturgical year.
- That on 6 Feb 2011 we begin a new service of worship on Sunday mornings.
- That this worship service time is 9.30am.
Notes
From Sunday 28 Nov 2010 until Sunday 30 Jan 2011, there will be combined services at 10.00am, except for Sunday 5 Dec 2010 when the combined service will be at 11.00 am for the visit of the Moderator. This service will be followed by lunch.
The service will have a name, and not be known as the 9.30 worship.
Times for 8am, 11am, 7pm will remain the same.
The 11am service style would remain traditional.
People who currently worship at 9am can choose which service they would wish to attend.
On 21 Nov 2010 we would celebrate what has happened in 9am worship recognize the new beginning of our worship journey in 2011 The Fresh Expression stories can help stimulate our creative imagination, and lead to new possibilities of our worship and mission.