Narrative Worship: where the story shapes the liturgy
Have been experimenting with a pattern of worship which I've called 'narrative worship' [hardly creative naming, simply worship in which form is shaped by the narrative] . . . and which I assume others must have explored, tho I can't seem to find any reference to it via google. It simply involves starting with a blank page with no set form, sketching the structure of the narrative then taking the regular elements of a worship service [prayers, peace, offering, confession, whatever] and weaving them in as they fit into the narrative. Same thing with music. No set number of songs. No sermon per se, but commentary woven throughout. Scripture bits permeate - service begins with narrative opening and closes with narrative closing. Means the structure is different each week. Did 4 of them [Abraham/Sarah; Isaac/Rebekah, Jacob/Leah/Rachel, and Job/Mrs Job/friends]. Response was quite astonishing. Will try to post some of the manuscripts in the back room, later. Hardly seems revolutionary, but it really seemed to connect.
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