Note that the 9:30am service for 2011 has moved to 9:15am in 2012

GWUC Contemporary Worship Service

The 9.15 Service worship style is Innovative, Participative, Creative and Interactive.

• Innovative - Open to new ideas, experiences, technology and music.

• Participative - active participation int he worship experience with opportunities for testimonies, stories and a sharing of the faith journey.

• Creative - expressions of faith through art, drama, dance and visual displays.

• Interactive - Opportunities for discussions and prayerful support in groups and prayers.

Each week the worship is planned an led by a group of people including the ministers. The music is lead each week by a band and singers.

Philosophy of the Contemporary Service

Guided by the Holy Spirit, it is a minister led worship with teams providing input and support, where members of the congregation will be able to offer their various gifts in contributing to the worship experience. Worship bands will lead with modern songs. The service includes a children's time and space in a supportive environment which encourages involvement, understanding and interaction between individuals, families and groups. The service generally contains the four elements of:

• Gather which will include innovative experiences and ideas, while using technology and music;

• Explore where active participation in worship is encouraged with opportunity for testimonies, stories and a sharing of the faith journey;

• Respond where creative expressions of faith through art, drama, dance and visual displays are encouraged;

• Bless where there is an interactive opportunity for prayerful support in groups and as individuals

In the Contemporary Worship, the worship time, space and flow seek to create a environment which enables ordinary people to worship God. It encourages involvement and interaction between families, children and individuals. It provides a family worship atmosphere where the whole family feels comfortable and able to worship together.

Contemporary Worship planning Group

The people who plan any one service changes every month. The whole group meet and plan themes and worship teams for two months ahead. There is lots of time and energy that goes into planning and leading the 9.30 services. We are all enjoying the process, and continue to be stretched by engaging the text and planning a variety of worship components and experiences.

Planning Group

• RosemaryCarter

• BelindaClear

• JanClear

• PeterCornall

• RebeccaCornall

• GregFry

• JudyFry

• JudithGreenwood

• WarrenGreenwood

• KerrynLeister

• JoelLeister

• DeanMann

• MichaelStringer

• SusanStringer

Other people occasionally involved:

• MiriniLang

• RussellLang

• JudyLowe

• MurrayLowe

• AnnetteWojak

• MartinWojak

• and numerous other helpers

Resources for the Contemporary Service

Resources for the Contemporary Sunday worship service can be found here. A chronological list of songs sung in these services is at SongsUsedContemporaryWorship, while the full catalogue of songs available is at WorshipContemporarySongs.

Thoughts on the New 0930 Worship Service

I went to the first new format 9:30 service on Sunday, 6 Feb 2011, and here are some of my perceptions.

The first thing I noticed on sitting down was the huge array of microphones out the front. It made me feel a bit uneasy. I'm not sure that "make a loud noise unto the Lord" is quite the same thing as "make a joyful noise unto the Lord"! But, I told myself, I'm here with an open mind, I'll see what happens ...

First up were a few songs: You are worthy, and Blessed be the Name of the Lord followed by a prayer for the flood and rain victims, led by Dean Mann. Then the Bible reading for the day (Matt 5:13-20 You are the Salt of the Earth) read most capably by Annette Wojak.

Greg Fry then led us in a sharing about salt and light. Comments from the congregation included

• salt can be harmful to health
• Kenya experience was a good "seasoning" to the lives of the participants

All this was pretty much as we had experienced at 9am services in the past. Well, we had been told that there were not going to be radical changes. But I was starting to wonder whether we had gone to all this angst over nothing ...

Dean then introduced "Snack", who sang "Star in God's eyes". 7 members,3 guitars, keyboard, drums, 2 vocalists, who sang with infectious enthusiasm. I say "infectious", but some people in the congregation may have had antibodies. Snack were not too loud, but loud enough to satisfy the younger members of the congregation. I would think.

"Star in God's Eyes" came with actions that were full of star shapes and various other body postures. This caused a little bit of an embarrassment for the older members of the congregation! Looking around, I saw many bemused faces. When we had to "crouch down and spring up again", most of us took the opportunity to stay seated instead of crouching and springing!

Snack followed that up with "His name is Jesus", which had a few more standing and joining in the actions. Are actions a substitute for thinking? I asked myself. "Jesus is a Good Mate" had a bit more compassionate theology, with a stirring Spanish feel that had some people applauding. But don't start me on the vexed subject of applause in church ...

Greg then read my thoughts and asked people if they felt comfortable with actions and songs. There were lots of comments! That was a really interactive part of the service, and made me feel part of the service in a way that hadn't happened for a while (prayers of the people notwithstanding). Part of this was the recognition that differences in preferences are OK. Greg followed that with a short reflection on salt and light. We are called to be God's seasoning and God's light in the world. He followed this with a recorded song that picked up this theme.

No sermons here, or at least not obviously. There was a short exhortation by Greg on "are we ready to change?", which not only posed the question, but also challenged us to be more salty in our seasoning of the world. But before we had much time to reflect upon that there followed the song "Lord of all", then offering, then Time with the Kids (adults have to stop and listen to that) and then the Snack returned. We had the offering and prayer, then Snack lead the kids in a song they learnt during their time in the hall: "You are welcome". I counted 20 kids, all joining in the actions with varying degrees of engagement! Clearly enjoyed by the congregation!

Sue Morgan led us in Prayers of the People, reflecting on recent events, our community, our families and friends, the sick, the lonely - especially those in our congregation. The service concluded with the Benediction by Greg, but there followed a bit of a hiatus as there was no one taking out of the bible, and people were not sure what was to happen next - until a postlude on the piano indicated that the service was clearly at an end.

Thoughts about the service? Snack aside, I thought the most innovative part was Greg's interaction with the congregation, which, as I suggested above, did engage the congregation in a way that does not usually happen. Apart from those parts, there was not that much difference from the usual 9am service we have had in the past. Well, not quite. There was no choir, and there is not going to be. Many people will see that as a significant loss.

Conversations at morning tea were lively. Opinions were divided - some thought it wonderful to see the children involved, and one person told me that it was "childish". I engaged in more meaningful morning tea conversations than I have in a month of Sundays! One person even revealed how he had felt his faith was slipping, and that he sometimes wondered what it was all about. If the service prompts such reflections, it can be no bad thing.

I stayed on for 11am. What a contrast! The atmosphere was one of quiet engagement and reflection, rather than lively action and noise. Warren Bartlett engaged reality in a quite different way, that had people chuckling in their seats. He talked about everyday things, but with a divine interpretation. And a final footnote: Warren got several big kids out the front waving candles around and singing old Sunday School songs. One of the big kids was your correspondent.

John Hurst

CategoryWorship