Thanks for taking our questions! What resources do you have to suggest for a church/worship team to help them "deconstruct and decolonize the symbols we use in worship" (to quote from Dear Church). Looking forward to your installation on Sunday. Blessings and glad the Spirit sent you to Vancouver!
Great question. First, I think you have to ask what your communities’ fundamental motive is behind deconstructing the liturgy. I think people underestimate my love for liturgy or my deep and abiding respect for its power, or how much I follow the fundamentals from the Didache. My point is I don’t enter the use of sacred words, story, song, and ordinary things to make the extraordinary lightly, and certainly not deconstructing them.
All that being said once you know why you are doing it, in my case I believe if we don’t dismantle white supremacy from the heart of the church there will be no Christian witness in the north American continent in 50 years. Plus, we are called, clearly to speak some word over all this desolation.
I suggest deep dives in James Cones work. As a starting place. As a “theologian of the cross” just the way we frame the story is so important. We worship a Love incarnate whom the State murdered. So the Cross and the Lynching Tree as a centering text if you haven’t thought deeply about that.
As far as resources they are few and far between. I suggest Our Bible App run by a Queer Black woman to look for authentic “queer” voice you could add to liturgies. There is also the Disrupt Worship Project , but honestly what you read in Dear Church is in invitation. I have been asked to help recently with writing an Advent liturgy for Sundays and Seasons 2022. So depending on my bandwidth this month you may see that. But its bleak. I write almost everything by hand based off the ELW and other texts.
There is so much to be concerned with these days, racism, children at our border in cages, sex trafficking, politics, climate change, misogyny, hunger and poverty and so much more. I've voted my conscience, helped with money and worked at events. But now (probably because of the pandemic), I have the time to look away from my own busy life and realize that I can do more, and I should do more and I need to do more. So my question is this, is there one area to focus in where if the biggest change was made it would have a domino effect on some of the other problems in this world? I appreciate your time for answering this question.
my question of the day. Driving through my rural texas town today to do errands I am seeing gigantic Trump signs. The auto shop with the seemingly nice folks that fixed my brakes put one up.. I fear that family members may put one up too. I am so disturbed by the fact that people that are decent in other ways are supporting this regime. I don't want to support them and don't really want to interact. It is tying my brain in knots. There are not that many places to get a car fixed around here! and my family members do have some amazing qualities and love. How do I include these delusional and probably racist folks in my sphere in a good way for me. I am not ready quite to just excise them all. thank you
Thanks for taking our questions! What resources do you have to suggest for a church/worship team to help them "deconstruct and decolonize the symbols we use in worship" (to quote from Dear Church). Looking forward to your installation on Sunday. Blessings and glad the Spirit sent you to Vancouver!
Great question. First, I think you have to ask what your communities’ fundamental motive is behind deconstructing the liturgy. I think people underestimate my love for liturgy or my deep and abiding respect for its power, or how much I follow the fundamentals from the Didache. My point is I don’t enter the use of sacred words, story, song, and ordinary things to make the extraordinary lightly, and certainly not deconstructing them.
All that being said once you know why you are doing it, in my case I believe if we don’t dismantle white supremacy from the heart of the church there will be no Christian witness in the north American continent in 50 years. Plus, we are called, clearly to speak some word over all this desolation.
I suggest deep dives in James Cones work. As a starting place. As a “theologian of the cross” just the way we frame the story is so important. We worship a Love incarnate whom the State murdered. So the Cross and the Lynching Tree as a centering text if you haven’t thought deeply about that.
As far as resources they are few and far between. I suggest Our Bible App run by a Queer Black woman to look for authentic “queer” voice you could add to liturgies. There is also the Disrupt Worship Project , but honestly what you read in Dear Church is in invitation. I have been asked to help recently with writing an Advent liturgy for Sundays and Seasons 2022. So depending on my bandwidth this month you may see that. But its bleak. I write almost everything by hand based off the ELW and other texts.
Looks like there is work to do! I appreciate these pointers to get me going.
There is so much to be concerned with these days, racism, children at our border in cages, sex trafficking, politics, climate change, misogyny, hunger and poverty and so much more. I've voted my conscience, helped with money and worked at events. But now (probably because of the pandemic), I have the time to look away from my own busy life and realize that I can do more, and I should do more and I need to do more. So my question is this, is there one area to focus in where if the biggest change was made it would have a domino effect on some of the other problems in this world? I appreciate your time for answering this question.
my question of the day. Driving through my rural texas town today to do errands I am seeing gigantic Trump signs. The auto shop with the seemingly nice folks that fixed my brakes put one up.. I fear that family members may put one up too. I am so disturbed by the fact that people that are decent in other ways are supporting this regime. I don't want to support them and don't really want to interact. It is tying my brain in knots. There are not that many places to get a car fixed around here! and my family members do have some amazing qualities and love. How do I include these delusional and probably racist folks in my sphere in a good way for me. I am not ready quite to just excise them all. thank you
This is basically the question I came to ask too.