This training for Worship Arts teams offers a deep dive into what makes worship transformative.
WorshipWeb‘s Rev. Erika Hewitt interviewed accomplished UU worship teams and individuals from around the UUA and beyond (see the “Presenters” list below). She has curated those conversations into a robust Worship Arts training.
Based on the theology of Creative Interchange, this training is for teams who have the honor of co-creating meaning while shaping the worship experience of the congregation.
The recorded conversations are followed by Erika’s reflections and additional learning tools for Worship Teams to develop tools and frameworks to craft meaning-full, sensory-rich, and holistic worship experiences.
This course is designed to be taken by teams who will work it together in conversation and practice. Go at the pace that works for your group — a weekend retreat, three half-day workshops, or twelve individual sessions. You can also take it on your own if that’s your only option. (More about group registration here.)
Download the Worship for Transformation Study Guide (pdf) to get a sense of the content.
General Planning Notes:
Facilitators are encouraged to download and review the Worship for Transformation Study Guide (pdf) to get an understanding of the arc of learning.
Depending on your congregational culture, you may want to:
- view the video presentations together, then use the workbook discussion/activity guidelines
- view the video presentations on your own, then meet and use the workbook discussion/activity guidelines
Option 1: Schedule Individual Sessions
This option has your worship team doing a session at a time, grouping each part’s four sessions into a “semester” of bi-weekly or monthly gatherings.
(These could happen on Zoom.)
Option 2: Schedule Three Half-Day Workshops
This option enables you to divide the course’s video sessions into three parts.
Each of these thirds–viewing four sessions, completing their activities and prompts, and discussing the sessions as a group–will take between 3 and 4 hours.
- Part 1: Sessions 1-4 focus on relational dynamics as a container for worship
- Part 2: Sessions 5-8 explore how a text can be transformed into creative content
- Part 3: Sessions 9-12 present important dynamics that affect how worship leaders’ decisions extend far beyond an hour on Sunday morning
Option 3: Weekend Retreat
This course can be used by worship teams over the course of a (full) weekend. If you choose this option, we recommend the following schedule and processes–as well as amplie breaks so that people can approach each unit with clear minds:
Prework
- Session 1: An Invitation to Learn Together
Friday Evening
- Session 2: Meaning Making
- Session 3: Worship as Relationship
Saturday
- Session 4: Decolonizing Worship using caucus groups.
- Session 5: Shaping “The Worthy”
- Session 6: Sensory-Rich Worship
- Session 7: Building Blocks
- Session 8: Liturgy as “Creative Interchange”
Homework
- Session 8: “Minding the Rest” Video and Worksheet
Sunday Afternoon
- Session 9: Ritual and Embodiment
- Session 10: Bridges of Relationship
- Session 11: The Tangled Blessing
- Session 12: Returning to the Service of Life