SEPTEMBER 2022
gathering was not happening? How did the song leader, music min ister add to the process of gath ering -or did s/he? Did the opening hymn assist gather- ing-musically, textually? What effect did the priest- celebrant's opening greeting and remarks have on the sense of gathering?
By the time the opening prayer was begun, did your people have a sense of being a community called and gathered as one? Should they have?
And briefly, a few starters on Listening and Responding:
Listening: What indicated the community was listening? What were the distracting elements in and around the community?
Responding: Where were the people responding? What were the different modes of response?
Which modes were the most success ful, the most obvious, the poor est? Now comes the crunch. All you have at this point are answers to questions, not solutions to problems; your task is just beginning. To give some focus, per haps the group can modify the basic trio of words, e.g., "effective" gathering, "ab sorbed" listening, "authentic" respond ing. Again limiting the focus to one topic at a time, let the group brainstorm solu tions to the problems they found. Bring out the newsprint and felt markers and capture everything suggested. You may need two recorders during this time to keep up with ideas without losing part of a thought in the rush. As is true in any brainstorming, anything is acceptable, no judgments are made.
When ideas on the first topic slow down, move to the second. When all three topics have been covered, and you find yourselves surrounded by fields of newsprint, start the culling process. De pending on the size or preference of the group, you may work as a committee of the whole here, or divide into groups, or work in any way that is comfortable for the group. But each list now must be re fined. It's a good idea to have someone check that any "solution" on the final list has its concomitant "problem" from the first part.
Begin with simple questions: where? who? what?
Te results may indicate actions be yond the purview of the worship com mittee, e.g., into areas of responsibility belonging to the parish's service commit tee or finance- administration commit tee. In that case, take your ideas to these groups. For actions that fall into your area, set up a list of priorities, consider ing first the choice of something that can yield visible results in fairly short order (for the psychological lift of success), followed by something more demanding that will show results more slowly.
Given the amount of time most com mittees have over against the amount of work they must accomplish, it may be practical during the year to take only one topic at a time, possibly one topic over several meetings. On the other hand, if your committee has a chance to spend a day together, or better yet, a weekend together at the beginning of the year, the three topics could be covered in close succession.
Another approach to building the role of the community into the work of the planners is to ask "Who is responsible for creating the atmosphere that calls and allows a community to recollect itself, to remember and to respond?" A quick glance at that question by the seasoned liturgy committee member will guaran tee the answer: "everyone, of course." Tis is essentially correct, but a little too facile. It is true that everyone is respon sible, but not equally, not at all times, and not with the same tools.
Ministers of environment can consider the basic structure of the worship space -how it assists or hinders gather ing, listening, responding-before a single banner or tapestry is hung or plant or flower arranged. Hospitality ministers may question how effectively they awaken and/or encourage the gath- ering tendencies of the people as they enter the church area, outside or inside. Any minister moving through the church building before worship begins might ask her/himself how s/he con tributes to that sense of gathering.
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