The inevitable introduction
What the heck is THIS says you.
I'm not entirely certain I can answer that question.
I've known Barbara Crafton for... oh, 13 years in different settings. Last year we worked together as part of a spiritual direction team for Cursillo and found ways to envigorate the format. Later, she approached me with a view that this was another seed to help the Farm grow in creative and constructive ways and offer some ideas and approaches that might be used in parishes, large and small.
It's Barbara's vision and my hope that this spot will be a resource for you to enhance, stimulate and encourage the vitality of the worship in your congregation with the application of storytelling, creative drama and music. My background is in music and acting, having done theater, musical direction, voice lessons and instruction, written comedy, liturgical drama and parish entertainment pieces.
But..... what IS this??
It is a bit of this and a bit of that. It has, more or less, to do with church.... how we do it, when we do it, with whom we do it, for whom we do it. Use the ideas you find here, which I have have written over the years and some that have popped up lately. Or, let them be the spark to help you create something that would work in your worship circumstances.
I'll post sermons, think pieces, meditations, special liturgies/prayers for particular saints' days (like St. Francis or St. Patrick), a new look @ Stations of the Cross, dramatic interpretations to be used as alternatives to the Gospel readings or for the various Palm Sunday narratives, an Easter Vigil that is child and family friendly.
Sometimes I'll post a song I have written, or a Mass setting. You can also use this place to ask for a solution to an age-old question, such as: Should we sing all the verses of the hymn before the Gospel, or sing 1-3 before and 4-6 after? Questions about the nuts and bolts of liturgy, about inter-generational celebrations.... a summer al fresco Eucharist... you name it.
So, it will be More or Less Church....... and, as things develop, it's my hope that you'll be moved to make contributions here, too... to share how you "do Church" at your parish, share some original music, offer a new version of that old chestnut, the Christmas pagaent.
Thanks to Barbara, let the exchange begin.... and may God's name be glorified in our efforts.
I'm not entirely certain I can answer that question.
I've known Barbara Crafton for... oh, 13 years in different settings. Last year we worked together as part of a spiritual direction team for Cursillo and found ways to envigorate the format. Later, she approached me with a view that this was another seed to help the Farm grow in creative and constructive ways and offer some ideas and approaches that might be used in parishes, large and small.
It's Barbara's vision and my hope that this spot will be a resource for you to enhance, stimulate and encourage the vitality of the worship in your congregation with the application of storytelling, creative drama and music. My background is in music and acting, having done theater, musical direction, voice lessons and instruction, written comedy, liturgical drama and parish entertainment pieces.
But..... what IS this??
It is a bit of this and a bit of that. It has, more or less, to do with church.... how we do it, when we do it, with whom we do it, for whom we do it. Use the ideas you find here, which I have have written over the years and some that have popped up lately. Or, let them be the spark to help you create something that would work in your worship circumstances.
I'll post sermons, think pieces, meditations, special liturgies/prayers for particular saints' days (like St. Francis or St. Patrick), a new look @ Stations of the Cross, dramatic interpretations to be used as alternatives to the Gospel readings or for the various Palm Sunday narratives, an Easter Vigil that is child and family friendly.
Sometimes I'll post a song I have written, or a Mass setting. You can also use this place to ask for a solution to an age-old question, such as: Should we sing all the verses of the hymn before the Gospel, or sing 1-3 before and 4-6 after? Questions about the nuts and bolts of liturgy, about inter-generational celebrations.... a summer al fresco Eucharist... you name it.
So, it will be More or Less Church....... and, as things develop, it's my hope that you'll be moved to make contributions here, too... to share how you "do Church" at your parish, share some original music, offer a new version of that old chestnut, the Christmas pagaent.
Thanks to Barbara, let the exchange begin.... and may God's name be glorified in our efforts.
posted by Joanna Depue | 2:23 AM
2 Comments:
Let me tell you about a part of the service that a new priest introduced to us at St Albans, Highland Park, Michigan, back in the 30s: after the recessional, we would kneel and sing the Nunc dimittis, the Song of Simeon, before we were dismissed. The longing to do that again has stayed with me all these years. It was a perfect way to carry our Father with us as we left. We were truly going in peace.
Thank you for your new endeaver to enrich our lives in our sharing.
Dorothy DeLoe
You know, we did that with the Nunc dimittis, too, when I was a girl. It was lovely. I'd forogtten all about it.
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