Before we talk about what "Recovering Worship" is or how we're doing it, let's talk about why.
What drove us to even consider this?
What thrust the idea in our mind and nagged us until we made it happen?
Why is it needed at all, and why do we need it ourselves?
There are a few intersecting factors at play.
What drove us to even consider this?
What thrust the idea in our mind and nagged us until we made it happen?
Why is it needed at all, and why do we need it ourselves?
There are a few intersecting factors at play.
First: what is "church"?
The word "church" means a lot of different things to people. Sometimes that leads to the question of, "Well, can't I 'do church' on my fishing boat / hiking the mountains / just with my family / volunteering in the community?"
Sure! You can talk to, worship, give thanks to, ask help from, think about, learn about, and do the work of God anywhere and everywhere. But "church" is not only about your relationship with God, but also about our relationship with each other as the community of God. There is something almost inexpressible about the holiness of learning and worshiping God together. That's where "church" generally comes in.
Sure! You can talk to, worship, give thanks to, ask help from, think about, learn about, and do the work of God anywhere and everywhere. But "church" is not only about your relationship with God, but also about our relationship with each other as the community of God. There is something almost inexpressible about the holiness of learning and worshiping God together. That's where "church" generally comes in.
"For the most people" or "for the least of these"?
Church Clarity recently released an in-depth analysis of each church included in Outreach Magazine's 2017 list of the 100 largest churches in the U.S., and what they found is disheartening.
Out of Outreach's 100 biggest churches:
- 7 are led by a senior pastor who are men of color.
- 1 are led by a senior pastor who is a woman (note: she co-pastors with her husband).
- 0 have policies that affirm the LGBTQ+ community, meaning they will baptize, marry, hire, and ordain people who are LGBTQ+.
We affirm that everyone is loved by God. Everyone has a right to worship God in a safe place with fellow worshipers who will not treat them as less-than based on their race, ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, age, family structure, or worship style.
Out of Outreach's 100 biggest churches:
- 7 are led by a senior pastor who are men of color.
- 1 are led by a senior pastor who is a woman (note: she co-pastors with her husband).
- 0 have policies that affirm the LGBTQ+ community, meaning they will baptize, marry, hire, and ordain people who are LGBTQ+.
We affirm that everyone is loved by God. Everyone has a right to worship God in a safe place with fellow worshipers who will not treat them as less-than based on their race, ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, age, family structure, or worship style.
Oppression & marginalization is real and harmful
Unfortunately, what frequently happens when a group caters to "the majority" is that some people are marginalized and left without a voice, often based on criteria mentioned above. This happens within society at large, but also within our churches. When people are treated this way, the space is no longer fully safe for them. It is especially painful when this happens in a church environment. To be excluded, treated as inferior, or simply-tolerated-but-not-truly-welcomed in a space that simultaneously talks about The Good News causes so much long-lasting pain. We aim to move beyond judging or simple tolerance, to a point where we explicitly welcome, affirm, and celebrate our differences and can grow together as a community of God.
We recognize that we have all been victimized by and/or complicit in human-made systems of oppression and exclusivity, and that we all need grace, mercy, to forgive, and to be forgiven. For those who may otherwise continue to be hurt by institutions within the church, or who would write off 'church' altogether [the "Dones"], we hope to provide a safe, loving, and healing place for communal worship.
We recognize that we have all been victimized by and/or complicit in human-made systems of oppression and exclusivity, and that we all need grace, mercy, to forgive, and to be forgiven. For those who may otherwise continue to be hurt by institutions within the church, or who would write off 'church' altogether [the "Dones"], we hope to provide a safe, loving, and healing place for communal worship.
Non-traditional, diverse worship styles are valid & should be celebrated
We aim to decolonize worship, acknowledging that our diverse array of experiences, heritages, traditions, and music do not make us any more or less Christian.
While worship is not something to pick-and-choose as in consumerism, we should be able to more authentically engage with the worship 'experience' in order to more fully connect with God and with our fellow worshipers. While many people love a service with 100% pipe organ and classical piano music, many others find that sort of worship stifling or inauthentic to their identity. People who prefer a more traditional worship style and music are fully allowed to do so; but let's not pretend that the pipe organ wasn't the electric guitar of its day, or that the disciples sang the same hymns that are in today's hymnals. What is sacred, worship-wise and music-wise, to one person does not have the same Godly connection for another, and that's okay.
Additionally, music is a language. Whereas some people engage with information or a process [i.e., with worship] by listening or by viewing, other people engage through music. Sometimes music (and other creative arts) makes things come alive more than mere words can do.
While worship is not something to pick-and-choose as in consumerism, we should be able to more authentically engage with the worship 'experience' in order to more fully connect with God and with our fellow worshipers. While many people love a service with 100% pipe organ and classical piano music, many others find that sort of worship stifling or inauthentic to their identity. People who prefer a more traditional worship style and music are fully allowed to do so; but let's not pretend that the pipe organ wasn't the electric guitar of its day, or that the disciples sang the same hymns that are in today's hymnals. What is sacred, worship-wise and music-wise, to one person does not have the same Godly connection for another, and that's okay.
Additionally, music is a language. Whereas some people engage with information or a process [i.e., with worship] by listening or by viewing, other people engage through music. Sometimes music (and other creative arts) makes things come alive more than mere words can do.
Mainline and contemporary worship options in Utah are limited
The four largest mainline Protestant denominations in the U.S. have about 57 thousand congregations across the U.S. But within 50 miles of Salt Lake City, Utah, there are only 45*. There are even fewer options for other denominations (AME, UCC, Quaker, etc.).
And if you're a person who prefers to worship in a manner that is not strictly traditional, or with more contemporary music? You have only a handful of options, and those congregations may or may not have beliefs and values that align with your own. For example: currently, there are 0 mainline congregations within 50 miles of SLC that are LGBTQ-affirming and offer a contemporary worship service; there is 1 that is LGBTQ-affirming and offers a blended worship service.
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* Latest available stats retrieved January 30, 2017 from denominational websites - number of congregations within 50 miles of Salt Lake City: United Methodist Church (UMC): 14; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA): 7; Episcopal Church: 12; Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA): 12.
And if you're a person who prefers to worship in a manner that is not strictly traditional, or with more contemporary music? You have only a handful of options, and those congregations may or may not have beliefs and values that align with your own. For example: currently, there are 0 mainline congregations within 50 miles of SLC that are LGBTQ-affirming and offer a contemporary worship service; there is 1 that is LGBTQ-affirming and offers a blended worship service.
:-|
* Latest available stats retrieved January 30, 2017 from denominational websites - number of congregations within 50 miles of Salt Lake City: United Methodist Church (UMC): 14; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA): 7; Episcopal Church: 12; Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA): 12.
Coming together in celebration of both diversity and unity
This isn't about starting another church that's a duplicate of every existing church. This is about coming together to celebrate and learn from our shared and individual experiences, and re-form a worship service that celebrates both our diversity and our unity in Christ.
"Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed....But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith....There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:23, 25-26, 28)
"Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed....But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith....There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:23, 25-26, 28)
Thinking about the future of the mainline church
Mainline church attendance is declining. Ecumenical partnerships, multi-denomination parishes, and combined worship services allow us to worship and work together in community to promote the kingdom of God. These sorts of arrangements acknowledging our different beliefs and traditions without erasing them, and also allow us to worship in communion with each other. It's really a beautiful thing.
A brief history of starting Recovery Worship
The idea for this service began as one of those random thoughts that pops into your head - those thoughts kept popping into Jen Jesse's head in mid/late 2017, building further and further as the weeks passed. Finally, one Tuesday in January 2018, Jen started putting those thoughts into writing and sharing it with other local folks. Sure enough, the need for something different was alive and deeply felt. On Easter 2019, we joyfully held our first service, and here we are today, with regular weekly gatherings. :)
Recovery WorshipVirtual worship gatherings: Sundays at 5pm
All in-person gatherings are currently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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