What do we mean by Home Worship? Simply, worship at home with others who may be at home with you, and in company with other members of the congregation who are doing likewise in their homes. We are not trying to replicate what we would normally do on Sunday mornings, because we cannot. Rather, we encourage acts of worship appropriate to our domestic settings – a simplified, accessible order of worship that we can easily do at home.
When I was in the process of creating the first video of my sermon to accompany the Home Worship resources, I had to make the decision of where to do the recording. My first impulse was to go next door to the Episcopal Cathedral here in Phoenix, and to enter the pulpit vested to preach as on a Sunday morning. I quickly thought better of that – that setting was not a home! So, I made the choice to record my sermon seated at the table in the dining room of Nathan’s mom’s house – very much a domestic setting.
Martin Luther viewed the home as an extension of the church. He and Katie envisioned – and practiced in their own home – a robust devotional life with members of their household. Many Lutherans have lost the art of worshiping at home with members of the family. Maybe we say grace before meals, but too often that’s as far as it goes. Sheltering at home gives us occasion to recover a practice which Luther intended – namely, worship at home.
This season of abstinence from gathering in person for worship as a congregation also provides an opportunity for us to return to a very fundamental question: what is worship? First off, it is not a spectator sport. Rather, worship is a participatory phenomenon, at its best involving in one way or another all of the members of the worshiping assembly, not just the pastor and other leaders. The word “liturgy,” after all, basically means “the work of the people.” Actively together with each other, we offer our voices in a chorus of praise to our gracious God in Christ. That’s what it is to worship.
How best can we do this at home? How best can we encourage the active participation of all of you at home? How can all of this result in your heart-felt praise of God at home? These are the questions that have guided our approach, and they are questions our leaders and other thoughtful, passionate members of Resurrection Church are continuing to address now as we’ve been at this experiment of Home Worship for going on two months. These questions can also serve to guide your own routines at home.
In addition to the compelling electronic and in-print documents that we’ve made available to make possible our worship at home, we’ve also provided video files to complement those materials – my sermons, as I’ve mentioned, but also our musician, Barbara’s offering of accompaniment to hymns along with her lovely renditions of the Sunday psalms.
As our practice is evolving, we are now beginning to have conversations about how our resources for home worship can be further developed, such that a wider menu of options might be made available to honor the unique circumstances, needs, and desires of the members of our congregation. Each home is a unique setting. We will try to honor that uniqueness, even as we provide resources common to us, that we all can share as a congregation.
Watch for further developments in the coming weeks, especially as I will take residence soon in Arlington. May the Holy Spirit lead us and guide us as we endeavor to be faithful in our worship at home.
With continued prayerful best wishes for all of you in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jonathan Linman