Less Performance. More Belonging.
The earliest Christian worship unified and empowered people through the fellowship of a sacred meal. Through the centuries worship turned into performance by professionals with minimum participation by others. We at Heatherhope want to offer worship elements that return us to more sharing, more silence, more variety, and more living relevance.
Some Worship Values
The Spirit Blows Where It Wills: Church leaders should not panic because of declines of attendance. It is not their ingenuity that enlivens the church or its worship. It is not adopting the latest trend that will renew the church. It is the Spirit of the living God.
The Spirit Cries from Within Us All: It is the Spirit that cries “Abba” in sighs too deep for words that awakens us to God’s grace. Worship leaders must make room for this by regularly inviting any and all worshippers to shape worship, and witness and pray in the service.
The Spirit Can Be A Still Small Voice: Silence in worship is a friend, not an enemy.
The Spirit is Alive: Jaroslav Pelikan famously said that tradition is the living faith of the dead, but traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. Worship should be shaped by both respect for the past and confident embrace of change.