“No music?” This was
one of the first reactions as I described our project to people at the Calvin
Worship Institute Colloquium in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Our congregation received a one-year grant to
experiment in gathering a community around contemplative practices, silent
contemplation and meditation on scripture.
As part of the grant we attended the colloquium with groups that represented
about 70 different projects around worship.
I was
talking to worship and music professionals, who have experienced church mostly
with those two categories strongly intertwined.
I have been to many services where music ministry eclipses the preaching
ministry in the hearts of the gathered people.
I have been to services where silence means no one talks over the sound
of the solo piano with sustaining pedal fully engaged. I have been to services where silence meant a
mistake had been made, someone missed a cue or the sound system had failed.
Now we
are trying to establish a practice where silence is central. We are tapping into ancient practices that
span Christian traditions as well as connect to many other faith traditions. There has always been a value given to seeking
the divine in silence, though it has never been at the forefront of Christian
practice. As The Still, Small Voice
begins gathering this week, it will be interesting to see if contemplation can
sustain a community.
While I
talked with other groups at the worship conference, people were intrigued by
the idea of quiet worship. They were
used to putting so much time and effort into music ministries, inspirational
drama, preaching and newer trends in embracing technology that the idea that
one could worship without any of it was a surprise. My thought is that people are already coming
into our churches overstimulated. Many
have been staring at screens all week and answering the beeps and blips of emails,
text-messages and phone calls. While
some will find a release in stimulating worship with high production values,
others need a place where they can step away and retreat for an hour.
The Still, Small Voice is seeking
to be that place. We will explore
worship at very basic level, using silence as the backdrop for an encounter
with God. We will explore scripture at a
deep level, allowing the words to percolate in our imaginations. We will explore community at a simple level,
letting shared silence draw us together.
The Still, Small Voice will gather on Saturday afternoons at 4:00 p.m.
beginning on July 11, 2015. If you are in
Falmouth and long for stillness and peace, come join us and listen for God.
