Worship Balance

I’m going to give you a sneak peek into the brain of a worship director (I promise it’s not as scary as it sounds). Reflecting on this past weekend of worship, I am reminded of one of the trickiest parts of my job: balance. This past Sunday, we celebrated the fifth Sunday of the Easter season and heard a message on 2 Corinthians 5:16-22. It was also Memorial Day weekend. These are three significant and unique elements that could easily take over an entire service. So, where does one begin? First, Easter. It’s easy to forget that the celebration of Easter is not just one day, but an entire season. It was designed this way to align with the 50 days between Passover and Shavuot (Exodus 23:16), with our 50 days, or seven Sundays, ending with Pentecost (hence the name, “pentecoste,” which means fifty). This year, Pentecost falls on June 8. Throughout this entire Easter season, we have started the service with a resurrection hymn or song, which is why we started May 25th’s service with “Happy Day.” Second on my mind was creating worship elements that aligned with Geoff’s message and reinforced the scripture. The musical offering is often a time devoted to this, and last Sunday’s “Less Like Me,” by Zach Williams, presented by the band and vocalists, hopefully accomplished that goal. This is where I give credit to the Holy Spirit for providing the connection in people’s hearts from the words they heard preached to the words and music sung soon afterwards. The final hymn, “God, In Christ You Give Salvation,” is a text by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette set to the tune of “God of Grace and God of Glory.” This hymn incorporates themes from 2 Corinthians 5 and prepares the congregation for service at the end of each refrain as they sing, “side by side we’ll serve together.” You may wonder why I put new texts with well-known hymn tunes. I wrote about it in a previous e-news article you are welcome to read. Finally, the third element: Memorial Day. How does one navigate the acknowledgement of a civic holiday within a worship service? Yes, Memorial Day is a special day and the act of laying down ones life for a friend (John 15:13) or country is the greatest act of love, one that is reminiscent of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. For that reason, we remember and acknowledge Memorial Day in worship. In service, we offered prayers in honor of the fallen and sang “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” not as an act of patriotism, but as an act of worship. The words of the hymn are based on Psalm 107. They are a cry for help and an acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty. And while it is affectionately claimed as the Naval Hymn, we sing it to a Lord who is bigger than any military branch or country. Our allegiance first lies with Christ. Elizabeth Virkler