Maybe I'm crazy, but something compelled me to introduce my congregation to two unlikely visitors in worship: John Cage and yoga.
"What?!?" I hear you cry. "What could you possibly be thinking?" Well here's the thing: Sunday's texts relate to God's presence in storm and calm. The Old Testament lesson finds Elijah on the mountain encountering God's presence not in wind or fire or earthquake but in sheer silence. The Gospel reading finds Jesus walking on the water toward the disciples and calming the wind and waves.
To capture and reinforce these themes, I have the congregation encountering yoga in place of a prelude. Through the leadership of a couple of yoga-proficient members of the congregation, the assembly will be guided through some relaxation postures and breathing exercises as preparation for our worship. This will segue into the Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness, which includes a moment of silence for reflection and self-examination. In place of the opening hymn, the pastor will lead the assembly in a time of meditation.
John Cage makes his appearance at the offertory in my performance of 4'33'', a piece in which the performer is instructed to NOT play their instrument--the music of the piece is comprised of the ambient sounds of the environment. The purpose of this piece is two-fold. It highlights the connection between music and silence (the rests are just as important as the notes) and between silence and worship. It also is a reminder that there is no such thing as "silence" because sounds are all around us. Just as there is sound even in silence, so there is God even in the midst of "storm and stress" and sheer silence.
Of course, I'll be warning the congregation of our avant garde worship prior to the service beginning, and I've included a program note in the bulletin to briefly explain both the history behind John Cage's piece as well as its intended liturgical function in the service.
But aside from reinforcing the texts, I hope the worship conveys another message: we should be willing to explore and experiment with the "avant garde" in worship, with the unfamiliar, with things that we might not otherwise find worshipful. It is often in the unexpected that we encounter God most powerfully, when God catches us with our guard down.
What are your thoughts on experimenting with "outside the box" worship? Would either of the ideas listed above work in your setting? What have you tried? How was it received?
3 comments:
I think it's great that you are thinking outside the box. I've proposed 4'33" many times, but usually people think I'm joking.
Two questiony comments:
I'm curious as to how well it works; do tell!
I'm nervous that this is too much outside the box stepping for one day. Do you step this far out often?
Did this work, Travis? I've "heard" 4'33" performed twice, and both times the real music was the crescendo and decrescendo of the audience giggling. Did people actually participate in the yoga exercises?
It actually worked quite well. We were very intentional about letting the congregation know what was going on and why we were doing it before the service started. @ Sean: No, we don't typically go that far outside the box that often. @ Luke: I can't really say it was full-blown yoga; more like breathing and relaxation exercises in place of a prelude. But people seemed to appreciate the service. I was talking to one member afterward and I commented, "I hope it wasn't too outside the box for people," to which he replied, "Well, hopefully it was." I was glad it worked as well as it did.
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