Sounds great, let's do it! But how?
First, let's remember that this effort is about:
- celebrating the diversity in how people worship
- affirming and welcoming the least of these
- existing communities of faith working in tandem
We want to create and provide a safe space-time for worship.
For 'extracurricular' activities outside of worship (charitable service, Bible/book studies, small groups, children/youth activities, fellowship, etc.) our ecumenical network of participating churches/congregations already provide numerous options in totality. We often coordinate with them through Utah Inter-Church News to work with these existing organizations and structures to expand our larger Christian community through this single, shared worship service ministry.
As appropriate and desired, we also coordinate our own activities - fun fellowship events, small groups, volunteering/service, and more.
First, let's remember that this effort is about:
- celebrating the diversity in how people worship
- affirming and welcoming the least of these
- existing communities of faith working in tandem
We want to create and provide a safe space-time for worship.
For 'extracurricular' activities outside of worship (charitable service, Bible/book studies, small groups, children/youth activities, fellowship, etc.) our ecumenical network of participating churches/congregations already provide numerous options in totality. We often coordinate with them through Utah Inter-Church News to work with these existing organizations and structures to expand our larger Christian community through this single, shared worship service ministry.
As appropriate and desired, we also coordinate our own activities - fun fellowship events, small groups, volunteering/service, and more.
LOCATION / SPACE
First, the thought has crossed that it would be symbolically beautiful to rotate locations among each participating church that co-hosts this worship service. While that would represent our ecumenical relationship well, the logistics and necessary communications would be extremely challenging for planners and harried for attendees.
So the logical result is that we pick one place to serve as the location. The next question becomes: a church, or somewhere else?
Benefits/drawbacks of a non-church location include:
- fewer mental barriers for those who have had struggles with churches.
- not being associated with any one participating church paints the ecumenical portrait well.
- fewer options for a 'sanctuary' feel.
- would require either leasing/renting a dedicated space (fantastic, but expensive) or weekly setup/teardown (high burden on people resources), and probably would not include kitchen/dining space.
Benefits of a church location (i.e., a participating church 'hosting' the service) include:
- church location may offer legitimacy for some.
- more 'sanctuary' feel with altar, etc.
- likely to have kitchen space.
- the life of the hosting congregation (apparent in decor, posters, etc.) would help build the sense of community.
- less overall financial burden (e.g., do not need to purchase extra equipment, offering plates, etc.).
For these reasons, we have always worked towards a solution where one of our supporting churches serves as regular weekly 'host.' This host church would, at a minimum, need to be one whose congregational values align with the inclusive, progressive values of Recovery. It's also highly preferable that the host church be fully ADA-accessible, be located near public transportation, have (or install) sanctuary screens to support worship, and have (or install) a sanctuary sound system to support amplified sound. We are so glad that Christ UMC, located locally in Millcreek, has warmly welcomed us to use their space for our worship.
So the logical result is that we pick one place to serve as the location. The next question becomes: a church, or somewhere else?
Benefits/drawbacks of a non-church location include:
- fewer mental barriers for those who have had struggles with churches.
- not being associated with any one participating church paints the ecumenical portrait well.
- fewer options for a 'sanctuary' feel.
- would require either leasing/renting a dedicated space (fantastic, but expensive) or weekly setup/teardown (high burden on people resources), and probably would not include kitchen/dining space.
Benefits of a church location (i.e., a participating church 'hosting' the service) include:
- church location may offer legitimacy for some.
- more 'sanctuary' feel with altar, etc.
- likely to have kitchen space.
- the life of the hosting congregation (apparent in decor, posters, etc.) would help build the sense of community.
- less overall financial burden (e.g., do not need to purchase extra equipment, offering plates, etc.).
For these reasons, we have always worked towards a solution where one of our supporting churches serves as regular weekly 'host.' This host church would, at a minimum, need to be one whose congregational values align with the inclusive, progressive values of Recovery. It's also highly preferable that the host church be fully ADA-accessible, be located near public transportation, have (or install) sanctuary screens to support worship, and have (or install) a sanctuary sound system to support amplified sound. We are so glad that Christ UMC, located locally in Millcreek, has warmly welcomed us to use their space for our worship.
LEADERSHIP & PARTICIPATION
This effort is being led by Jen Jesse. Right now, we have participants from 6 denominations participating/supporting this effort in some way: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the United Church of Christ (UCC), the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church (UMC), the Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA), and the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC). We are excited about this new shared ministry!
We are still working out some details of formal arrangements, and this section will be updated as those details are further defined.
We are still working out some details of formal arrangements, and this section will be updated as those details are further defined.
Launch Planning Team
This includes the team of planners through the early stages of Recovery, up to its launch. There is currently a small group of folks guiding the way and providing insight and leadership from across several denominations and traditions.
Ongoing Worship Planning Team
This will include the core worship planning team, which plans and coordinates Recovery worship services on an ongoing basis. This is the core team that will make the Recovery service continue to happen after its launch.
This is a small group of people who plan and coordinate Recovery worship services on an ongoing basis, and make the Recovery service continue to happen after its initial launch. This team will plan services, coordinate preachers and plan ahead with them on themes/specific services, plan music for the congregational music ensemble / band(s), coordinate other music groups, coordinate other assistants/volunteers, etc. In practice, one or two people will likely be in charge of overall planning and most of the work, with a handful of people helping to coordinate specific aspects (e.g.: the Worship Director/Minister/Pastor handles the bulk of the planning, but a volunteer coordinates/schedules service assistants).
This is a small group of people who plan and coordinate Recovery worship services on an ongoing basis, and make the Recovery service continue to happen after its initial launch. This team will plan services, coordinate preachers and plan ahead with them on themes/specific services, plan music for the congregational music ensemble / band(s), coordinate other music groups, coordinate other assistants/volunteers, etc. In practice, one or two people will likely be in charge of overall planning and most of the work, with a handful of people helping to coordinate specific aspects (e.g.: the Worship Director/Minister/Pastor handles the bulk of the planning, but a volunteer coordinates/schedules service assistants).
Presiding Ministers / People Who Preach
This list will include people who are willing to preach, either on a semi-regular basis or as a backup. We currently have several people interested in preaching, including clergy and lay leaders from the UCC, ELCA, Episcopal Church, UMC, and PCUSA.
Children's Leaders
This list will include people who are willing to teach/lead the children, similar to a Sunday School teacher, in the children's area during part of the service. Ideally, these people will have a fairly regular presence (i.e., more like a weekly or biweekly schedule rather than a once-every-two-months schedule), to allow the children enough consistency to breed familiarity, comfort, and rapport.
Musicians
This list will include musicians (individuals or groups) who will lead the congregation in song or provide special music, on either a semi-regular or special basis.
Additional Recovery Worship Assistants/Volunteers
This list will include dinner/kitchen assistants, communications people, tech team, greeters, readers, communion assistants, ASL interpreters, etc.
Participating Congregations
This list will include congregations who have chosen to support this ministry. While congregations as a whole do not need to affirm all of Recovery's values in their own congregations, they do need to affirm our mission and the validity of our values -- for example, a 'participating' ELCA church is not required to have completed the Reconciling In Christ (RIC) program, but it must 'accept,' support, and never question the fact that Recovery itself is designed to affirm and allow the full participation of all people, regardless of gender identity, gender expression, race, national origin, immigration status, romantic orientation, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, mental ability, or station in life.
"MEMBERSHIP"
Recovery attendees are likely to include any of the following:
- people who primarily attend the Recovery service, and also maintain formal membership at a Recovery-participating church.
- people who primarily attend the Recovery service, and also maintain formal membership at a non-participating church.
- people who primarily attend the Recovery service, and would also like to obtain formal membership at a Recovery-participating church/denomination.
- people who primarily attend the Recovery service, and do not wish to maintain formal membership at a specific church.
- people who attend the Recovery service periodically, but usually attend elsewhere.
As Recovery is not a separate church, but an inter-church worship service ministry, traditional church "membership" in Recovery is not appropriate. That being said, the Recovery service is intended to foster a wide-reaching, inclusive community, in which "member" is a more appropriate or regular term than "participator," "affiliate," "fellow," or "partner;" and we remember that we are all "members" in the body of Christ. So, for the purposes of sharing contact information, gaining familiarity with each other, etc., attendees can be considered "members" at Recovery. "Membership" at Recovery should not preclude anyone from maintaining traditional church membership.
"Membership" is certainly not required for participation or salvation, but it does facilitate some logistics -- maintaining contact information, keeping in touch, sharing information, etc. Ideally, member information will be maintained in a separate system, and accessible to participating churches as appropriate (e.g., in the event of an emergency, for pastoral care, to share information about events).
- people who primarily attend the Recovery service, and also maintain formal membership at a Recovery-participating church.
- people who primarily attend the Recovery service, and also maintain formal membership at a non-participating church.
- people who primarily attend the Recovery service, and would also like to obtain formal membership at a Recovery-participating church/denomination.
- people who primarily attend the Recovery service, and do not wish to maintain formal membership at a specific church.
- people who attend the Recovery service periodically, but usually attend elsewhere.
As Recovery is not a separate church, but an inter-church worship service ministry, traditional church "membership" in Recovery is not appropriate. That being said, the Recovery service is intended to foster a wide-reaching, inclusive community, in which "member" is a more appropriate or regular term than "participator," "affiliate," "fellow," or "partner;" and we remember that we are all "members" in the body of Christ. So, for the purposes of sharing contact information, gaining familiarity with each other, etc., attendees can be considered "members" at Recovery. "Membership" at Recovery should not preclude anyone from maintaining traditional church membership.
"Membership" is certainly not required for participation or salvation, but it does facilitate some logistics -- maintaining contact information, keeping in touch, sharing information, etc. Ideally, member information will be maintained in a separate system, and accessible to participating churches as appropriate (e.g., in the event of an emergency, for pastoral care, to share information about events).
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
News, Events, & MinistriesWe will compile events/ministries from our participating congregations and make them known to Recovery attendees.
This will include ongoing ministries (youth groups, small groups, church exercise groups, etc.) as well as ad hoc news (charitable collections and service opportunities, fellowship events, major announcements, etc.). |
Recovery-Specific News, Events, & MinistriesNaturally, there will be some news, events, & ministries that are Recovery-specific -- for example, extra/special worship services for the Recovery congregation, volunteer needs, etc. These will be communicated to the Recovery attendees, as well as to our participating churches as appropriate.
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Worship ResourcesThis will take resources, as any ministry does.
People resources will include the worship pastor(s), preaching pastors, worship planning team, communications, musicians, and others. Some of these roles are more demanding than others, of course. Physical resources will include a worship space with kitchen/dining space, worship materials & equipment (bulletins, offering trays, communion materials, microphones, etc.), and more. Some of these resources may be lent or rented by a hosting church, but others will need to be purchased. |
Gifts & OfferingsIt is our hope that Recovery eventually be self-sustaining; i.e., that eventually offerings received by Recovery attendees would cover the financial costs of necessary resources.
Ideally, participating churches would show support for this shared ministry through financial gifts and/or other resources. There are a lot of details to be worked out in this area, particularly around bookkeeping. |
AccessibilityThe worship service building should be fully handicap-accessible. Additionally, we intend to provide an ASL interpreter for the service.
If/when audio/visual materials are posted online (sermons, etc.), we will post them with captions or a transcript, to accommodate those who are hard of hearing, are visually impaired, or who better consume information by reading. |
Children/Youth/YA InvolvementDuring the service, the children will have the opportunity to leave the sanctuary with the children's leader for a lesson aimed toward children. The children will return to the sanctuary in time to help bring up the offering to the altar.
Other opportunities for children/youth/young adult involvement include: various worship service assistance (ushering, greeting, dining, etc.), providing special music, and other creative arts. Efforts will be made to fully include all ages in the service, including children, youth, and young adults. |
Eucharist/CommunionAt Recovery, all are welcome to receive communion.
Details of Holy Communion/Eucharist will need to be discussed further and worked out. Options include communion during the service (whether weekly or less frequently) or communion offered during the pre-service meal (again, whether weekly or less frequently). There may need to be special considerations if a participating church is Roman Catholic, or another denomination that has special practices or requirements. This is something that will be addressed with the participating churches/clergy. |
Faith Formation / ConfirmationSome Recovery attendees may consider themselves as belonging to a certain denomination, and thus may feel most comfortable attending faith formation / confirmation classes at a participating church of that denomination. Whenever this is the case, they should be welcome to participate with any of our participating churches.
Other Recovery attendees may not consider themselves as belonging to any one denomination, but may still wish to learn more about the Christian faith, and/or go through formal confirmation classes. Ideally, some of the participating clergy/churches will create/co-teach a general faith formation/confirmation class periodically, with an emphasis on teaching core beliefs and a variety of more detailed beliefs/views. If that is not possible (or before it happens), attendees should still be welcome to participate with regular classes with any of our participating churches. |
BaptismsWe recognize that Recovery attendees may include people who consider themselves a member of a certain denomination, as well as people who do not consider themselves adherents to any one denomination. Baptism is about welcoming the newly-baptized into the community, so a baptism should be allowed during the regular Recovery service if that is preferred by the person to be baptized [or their parent(s)].
The person to be baptized [or their parent(s), as appropriate] will be allowed to choose whether to baptize during the Recovery service or during a traditional service at one of the participating churches, and whether to adhere strictly to any particular denomination's baptism practices and minister. |
WeddingsJust as a couple may choose whether to have their wedding in a church, with a minister, with a church music group, etc., Recovery attendees may choose these options as well. That is, a couple getting married may choose to have their wedding in the Recovery host church (or even to include a brief wedding rite during a regular Recovery service) or another participating church or another location altogether, with one of our participating ministers or not, and/or with the accompaniment of any of our regular musicians or not. Whenever fees apply, rates will be the same as regular wedding rates for church members -- i.e., a church should not charge more for space rental for a Recovery-member wedding than they normally would for a traditional church member.
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Visitations, Pastoral CareWe anticipate that any of our participating clergy (or member care teams at our participating churches) will be available for pastoral care with Recovery attendees, just as they would be available for their traditional church parishioners.
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Funerals, Memorial ServicesJust as any church service or physical church would provide options for funerals or memorial services, so will Recovery. Recovery attendees will be granted the same access to resources as any regular church member at our participating churches would.
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