John D. Witvliet

Q. I’ve been working hard on worship planning, but no one seems to notice.

This article is excerpted from a new booklet on planning worship in the popular So You’ve Been Asked To . . . series (see inside back cover for more information). So You’ve Been Asked to . . . Plan a Worship Service includes sections on The Role of the Worship Planner, The Planning Process, Patterns for Efficient Planning, Long-Term Goals, Questions, and Resources.

Q. Our congregation is eager to learn more about worship in the African-American tradition. Can you recommend some resources for us to study?

This article is adapted from an address Witvliet gave at the inauguration of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. Most of us probably read Reformed Worship for practical ideas. We want to find resources, songs, texts, scripts, and images that we can use in our congregations—preferably by next week.

Q. In our church, we begin every service with something called an "introit." What does that term mean?—Georgia

On the first Sunday of October, increasing numbers of churches participate in World Communion Sunday, a time when Christians everywhere celebrate what it means to belong to "the holy catholic church, the communion of the saints." Indeed, the church is the one body of Christ, our head. In Holy Communion, we most deeply celebrate our oneness in Christ.

This service was prepared by John D. Witvliet to accompany his article on p. II. Gathering for Worship Call to Worship and Greeting Hymn: "Go to Dark Gethsemane" PsH 381, PH 97, TWC 225 Opening Prayer Remembering Prayer for Illumination Scripture Readings

Planning worship for Good Friday is a challenging pastoral and theological task. How do we begin to acknowledge the power and the mystery of the cross of Jesus Christ? How do we proclaim, even on Good Friday, that Christ is crucified and risen? What emotions are appropriate to express? Do we rejoice or do we weep? Three Typical Approaches to Good Friday A quick study of thirty or more printed orders of service in my files suggests that most Good Friday services feature one of three strategies.

Lament is a sign of both honest faith and resolute hope. When we worship together, we bring with us our experience in the world, from our most profound joys to our most painful sorrows. Like the Old Testament psalms, thoughtful liturgy allows us to express the whole range of our experience in ways that are fitting to the message of the gospel.

John D. Witvliet has been appointed assistant professor of worship and music at Calvin College and adjunct professor of worship at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Two future articles will explore the way in which lament can function in the ebb and flow of weekly worship, apart from times of crisis.