Discovery Weekend:  Worship Talk 2010
by Emma Boone (J2A)
Presented at the 9:00 am service in the Historic Church

If you’ve never been a part of Discovery Weekend before, each day has a theme, a lesson we hear and we discuss. Friday’s theme was Life is Good, Very Good. We talked about how God created this world for us and how grateful we are for how wonderful it is. Saturday’s theme was Love the Lord Your God. We can love God with all we have, and we can also show our love for him by caring for others. Today’s theme is about celebrating life. And living a life that uses the gifts God has given us, shares his love with others, and praises him is celebrating the life we’ve been given. To praise him and acknowledge his love for us, we are people of worship.

When we worship, we are acknowledging all the blessings God has given us, we’re praising his great glory and all his wonderful works. We worship because we realize God’s great love for us and are expressing our love for him. God honors and loves our worship, and so in worship, we reaffirm God’s love for us and also our part in the body and blood of Jesus Christ. 

But there are many different aspects of worship, and the one that particularly stands out to me is the community we worship in. In our individualistic society, many people choose to worship by themselves. They may feel like just one person in a disconnected body of people, or a spectator watching one or two people at the altar. They may prefer worship to be a private interaction between themselves and God. I see worshipping together in a very different way. 

When we worship together, we are unified by a common purpose and by the body and blood of Jesus Christ. We say it every time we send out a Eucharistic minister, “We who are many are one body because we share one bread.” The catechism tells us when we come to the Eucharist, we are in love and charity with all our brothers and sisters. When we offer prayer and celebrate the sacraments together, the differences between us are removed,  we are all put on the same level ground and so we’re able to be more appreciative of each other, more understanding of the challenges everyone is trying to overcome, and more forgiving of the mistakes everybody makes. Worship shows us it’s our duty to be an expression of God’s love to them. So in a community of worship, it’s not really a point A to point B sort of connection, a sort of “I love God and God loves me back,” it’s more of a web, connecting people and really bonding them. And having such a strongly bonded community has many other benefits, something I can certainly attest to.

Growing up here at St. John’s, it’s being part of the worshipping community that has been important to me. Although I’m still growing in my spirituality and am just starting to really develop my faith, the great benefits of being part of this community have always stood out to me and have helped my spirituality begin to grow. For one thing, together, we have so many more outreach opportunities, we can make a bigger impact. In past years, I’ve helped at the free store in Collington Square, painted rooms at the Ark of Howard County, sent cows to impoverished families through Heifer International, and been able to help many others in such a variety of places. But how many cows could I have sent by myself? Probably not very many. These are experiences I’d never have gotten elsewhere, opportunities to show God’s love to others I would never have had as an individual, all alone.

Another huge benefit I’ve seen in the church community is the opportunity to learn from one another, share values, beliefs, and work to understand God’s word together. I went to Sunday School for my entire elementary school career and am now in my 4th year of the Journey To Adulthood program. The adults who have mentored and taught me have had a huge impact on my spiritual life and growth, and often have gone out of their way, above and beyond the call of duty, to help guide me and answer my questions, sharing their beliefs and their wisdom. One instance has always particularly stuck in my mind—when I was in 5th grade Sunday school, I asked my teacher about how we know the Bible is real, if it was actually written in the time period we say it is, and the historical context surrounding it. She took the time to send me a several page letter in the mail answering my question in full detail. God’s word is not always clear, and everyone has questions at some point. But an environment where everyone is on that journey, and each person has questions, but also has experience, has a certain unique knowledge, that’s where questions get answered.

Having this support base of people in a worship community working together to spread God’s word and do his work is a very powerful thing, and a thing that I know has had a huge impact on me. But what I think is most important thing, is that when we worship together, we are showing God’s love to each other. I see God in the people in this community, the people who have mentored me, been there for me and for all the other youth here at St. John’s, at Discovery Weekend this year and every other weekend of the year. I feel that God’s love is communicated to me through them. And so, I can worship, acknowledging the blessings God has given me in my community in the form of all the adults and youth I get to interact with, and pass on God’s love to others.
 

So, everyone is a part of worship, every one is crucial. No one is a spectator, everyone is a participant. It does make a difference if that one extra person comes to church one morning. And by being together, united by our common purpose, by praying and sharing the sacraments, by being instruments of God and showing his love to others, we are entering into the great worship of all the earth and of all the company of heaven as well—as it says in the Revelation to John; “I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all therein saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen.””

Discovery Weekend: Worship Talk 2010
Sadie Rockefeller & Colin Dyer
Presented at the 9:00 am All Saints Hall Service

Sadie (1):
Defining worship. It’s one of the hardest things we’ve ever tried to do.
Colin (1):
Almost impossible, really.
Sadie (2):
When we sat down and tried to think of some way to define worship, we we’re stumped. We thought ‘How could there be any definition of worship that fits everyone at Discovery Weekend?” But then we realized there isn’t. We can’t come up with a single definition for worship, because every person experiences it uniquely, and everyone gets something different.
Colin (2):
So instead, we ask the question “What do you find through worship?” Do you get an inner peace? Do you feel closer to God? Do you feel closer to the community? Hold on. It isn’t fair for us to ask you to answer that question when we haven’t even answered it ourselves. So Sadie, “What do you find through worship?”
Sadie (3):
I don’t know Colin, “What do you get out of it?”

Colin (3):
After considering what seemed to be every second of our religious life, and still coming up empty, we took a step back to see the bigger picture: Through worship we can find ourselves, we can find one another, and we can find god.
Sadie (4):
To some people, worship is a way to find yourself. For example, finding yourself could be figuring out where you fit into a certain community. I bet that every single day, at least one of us has a problem with feeling excluded, being left out, or feeling like you don’t belong…and I think we can all agree it’s pretty awful. Questioning whether you belong is something that people do every day. I know I’ve done it myself. But I never question whether I belong when I worship. I’ve come to feel confident with who I am, and I believe God likes me being in his house, especially here at St. John’s.
Colin (4):
Yeah, I agree. We don’t have to worry about whether we belong here. St. John’s is a place where we ALWAYS feel safe, accepted, and loved. Any worry about fitting in or feeling accepted vanishes the minute we step through the door. But that doesn’t mean we are all the same. Worship is something that to each individual person is different, and that’s how God wants it. No one here takes away what I find through worship. I know my worship is treasured by God, that he will always accept my style, and it will never be rejected.

Sadie (5):
That’s probably why we feel so safe here. Your own way of worship is how you fit into this St. John’s community, and how you use your special talents to worship God. And that’s more than just what you do in this room. Way more! Whether you participate in outreach, or you teach a class, or if you diligently show up here bright and early every Sunday morning…its all worship, and God accepts each and every form of worship, just how he accepts each and every one of us.
Colin (5):
And contributing your talents through participation bring you more fully into God’s presence, enriching you. I think Sadie and I can say that we are truly blessed by the opportunities that everyone at St. John’s has created for us. We have met people that will be friends for life, ones that we can truly count on.
Sadie (6):
It’s true, even here at discovery weekend, every single one of these kids, teens, and adults can look around and feel loved. I remember my first DW, and although I was skeptical at first…it turned out to be a weekend that I will always remember. Through our worship, we each have our own place here at St. John’s. The tight-knit community that we’ve formed is irreplaceable, and will see us through the ups and downs of our lives. We have friendships, journeys, lessons, and other opportunities that are priceless. …And it all comes through worship.
Colin (6): 
Worship is what brought all of us together today, at this service. Every Sunday we come together here, no matter who we are, to worship God. God is the link that holds us together. He’s the foundation between us, we can feel safe in it, and it couldn’t be stronger.
Sadie (7):
Through my participation in various forms of worship, one of the things I treasure the most is the feeling that I am a valued part of this community because of the lifelong friends I’ve made…even Colin, here. Honestly, I used to dread coming to Sunday School every Sunday, and I begged and pleaded to my parents not to have to go, to be able to hang out with school friends, or some other excuse. But these days, I cherish each and every Sunday, because every time I am here, I get a little bit closer to my church community. We love and appreciate the people we’ve met here, and it’s all thanks to worship.
Sadie (8):
So Colin, we’ve talked about finding ourselves and finding others through worship, so what about finding God?
Colin (7):
When we make the choice to come here to worship God, he is the common thread among us. Together, we use music and words to share our love for God. I know through my life I have times I question God, but being in worship, surrounded by support and love from all the people with me here, I’ve come to trust god. Worship is the vehicle that gets me there.
Sadie (9):
So, those of you who are sitting out there right now, questioning why you got up so early this morning, or questioning whether you really benefit from worship…just look around you. Every single person in here is a vital part of your worship experience, a part of your ling to God. They are here to support you when you’re doubting, celebrate with you when you celebrating, and to love god right alongside you.
Colin (8):
So together, we worship and praise God, when in so many ways we should be thanking him, too. Because through worship, Sadie and I…every single one of us…has the chance to keep learning about ourselves, each other, and God.
Sadie (10):
So when you come across people out there who don’t worship…tell them they’re definitely missing out on something special, and invite them to join us.

Colin (9):
So now, Sadie and I ask you… “What do you find through worship?”