CALLED
TO BE CHURCH
The Core Teams of our Local
Planning Group met on September 5th to discuss “Liturgy: the Source
and
The discussion centered on the
following questions:
1. Brainstorm the elements of worship:
what is necessary for worship/liturgy/sacraments to be truly celebrations of
community faith?
Attentiveness on the part of the congregation Reverence and praise
Centrality of Jesus Active participation of the group
Generous hospitality Enthusiasm of celebrant
Respect for other worshipers Respect for others’ gifts
Well-prepared, inspirational homilies Peace and tranquility
Intelligible, audible reading People understand need for the Sacrament
Unity of Presider and Community Well-planned & prepared celebration of Liturgy
Ought to be able to hear and feel what the celebrant means and feels
People worshiping should reveal a sense of knowing what they are doing and why
Liturgy should be the centerpiece of all that goes on in our lives
2. What is the relationship between the
definition given of Catholic worship and what we identified as Catholic
worship?
Definition: Catholic worship is the gathering of God’s people in the midst of which Jesus Christ is present
to nourish by his word and sacrament, to give thanks and praise to the
Father and, through the Spirit, send forth the
assembly in service to the world.
Elements similar to those in the definition:
· Most of the elements mentioned above (# 1) fit the definition, particularly the centrality of Jesus and the need for being nourished
by the Word and Sacrament
· In the definition, but not mentioned in #1: “..send forth the assembly in service to the world.”
Element not mentioned in the definition
· The definition focuses on Sunday worship and does not include the sacraments or liturgy of the hours
3. "Experience of Worship”
A, What do
you believe is the purpose of liturgy/worship?
To give thanks and praise To change our lives for the coming week
To hear the Word of God proclaimed Renew our commitment and enthusiasm
Thank
God for everything
Community becomes the sacrament Participation of community
Becoming one in the Eucharist Grace
Supplication Become closer to God
Stronger in the Body of Christ
Source of unity, support, encouragement for community
God is given to us and we offer ourselves to God
B. What are your expectations when you
gather with your community for Mass &
Sacraments?
Renewal and refreshment Sense of calm and peace
Listen to the Holy Spirit Expect a certain level of respect, good preparation
Camaraderie Dignity and reverence
Preparation of Prayerful environment
Come away with one thing to guide you through the week
C. What is your personal experience during
the Sunday gathering?
Congeniality at Sign of Peace Uplifting, energizing
Refocusing Realize that we are not alone
Insights from others, readings or homily Nourished by the Eucharist
Preparation for the coming week’s experiences
D. In your experience, what happens to you
or the community during worship?
More cohesiveness Habit
Sense of family develops Comfort zone – familiarity
Sense of history Challenge to change perspective
Lifted up Spiritual nourishment and support from others
Influence one another’s faith in good times and bad times
E. What do you think are the elements that
make liturgy/worship meaningful, prayerful and fruitful?
Great music Good homily
Reverent, sincere celebrant Well-prepared proclamation of Word
Positive energy from presider Good acoustics
Prayerful attitude and reverence of assembly Hospitality for children
Good self-preparation Feeling of connection between priest & people
Homily containing some personal element Hospitality
Energy is catching
“What you bring to liturgy is what you get out of it”
F. What are some of the challenges that prevent liturgy/worship from fulfilling its purpose?
Distractions of “outside” life Come expecting to be “given” something
Unsingable music Perfunctory “performance”
Distracting environment Crying children
Need for quiet time before Liturgy Basics not understood by everyone
Lay ministers need to prepare Inviting people who have become inactive
Welcome new people and visitors Encouraging people to sing
Being let down when homily is read or is academic
Need to learn to place oneself openly & receptively to the Spirit in all its manifestations
To become open to the challenge of emptying oneself of judgmental barriers
Some laypeople not comfortable with Liturgical ministries
4. Thoughtfully consider what the future
possibilities might be for the Church of our local planning group area to
experience high quality
worship
in years to come.
·
Sharing
priests who take turns celebrating Liturgy in each parish and sharing ideas
will offer opportunity to transform the Liturgy
into more positive experience
·
More
involvement of people in different Liturgies
·
Occasional
city-wide liturgies bring people together: “We are all in this together.”
·
Offer
education on the Liturgy either at liturgy, some brief instruction before, or
finding other ways to keep people informed and reminded
·
Hold
workshops for Lectors, Eucharistic ministers
·
Hold
adult faith formation programs
·
Have
a question box somewhere in the church for people to submit questions or topics
for learning and discussion
·
Establish
faith sharing groups for different levels, i.e., teens, young adults, older
adults
·
Find
ways to help people to respect differences in the way things are done,
remembering that things are done in a certain way for a good reason
·
Well
prepared homilies
·
The
Prayer and Worship teams and lectors could meet with the presiders or deacons
to read and shared Scriptures to generate ideas for homilies
·
People
need to be cooperative and accepting of change and willing to follow through on
new practices
WHAT’S NEXT?
The Local Planning Group will meet
again on Tuesday, October 2nd at 7:00 p.m. in Holy Trinity Parish
Center. The discussion will continue to
focus on Liturgy. Please continue to
keep the Planning Process in your prayers.