A New Kind of Service

Interview with Cindy Bullock, Associate Pastor of St. Stephens Lutheran Church, St. Paul, MN.

I hear that you and John have started a new service at St. Stephens. How does it differ from your traditional worship?

John and I knew from the beginning that this would be experimental worship… we’d make it up as we went. Because attendance would be small compared to our traditional Sunday morning services, we thought of it more in terms of worship you might experience at a retreat, instead of a formal worship service. About the only things we kept from traditional Lutheran liturgy was the flow of the worship: Gathering, Word, Meal, Sending.

For gathering, we use a conversation starter (or occasionally a responsive reading). Folks gather in the room (we meet in a classroom, not the sanctuary) and folks have time to get their kids to Sunday school, get a cup of coffee (on a table in the back) and chat a bit before we start anything structured. Then, we ask a question to move the conversation in the direction of our lives, then God.

We use one reading, and a “sermon” which may be preached, a video (we use the Nooma videos), or a conversation. Then there’s a few minutes of silence to reflect on a personal question, followed by prayers, which take several different formats.

Since we discovered that most of the attendees have not been regular church goers since childhood, we decided not to offer Communion every week. We’re hoping to grow into an appreciation of the supper… for now, we’re just happy to see folks worshipping. We close with a blessing and the peace (which oozes into conversations among the group).

Actually I think the biggest difference from traditional worship is that it’s very participatory. People can talk to one another.

What are you learning so far?

My favorite learning is that folks want to help. As we were deciding on a place to worship (the sanctuary is WAY too big for this size group), a woman stepped up to decorate an empty, run down (think broken brick on the wall) classroom and turned it into a peaceful worship space. A couple weeks before we started, I was having coffee with a young woman who commented out of the blue, “I’d really love to play piano for the gathering, like as people come in or something.” So now she’ll play when she can, and other Sundays we use an Ipod with speakers to play Christian music as everyone arrives.

 Since I’m the queen of disorganization, folks quickly learned to jump in on Sundays and get things done. Now someone gets candles lit and the room set up, another makes sure there’s a carafe of coffee, another gets bulletins folded and handed out, another takes care of AV equipment, and another makes sure there’s a basket sitting by the door in case someone wants to put an offering in. Although it’s humbling to admit I can’t get it all done, this gives the service a feeling of being OUR worship, not MY worship.

It sounds like they are eager to help… almost as if they just needed to find the right place. Any other learnings?

The other learning is that the folks who come are really hungry for some depth of the Spirit in their lives. I think being able to bring up real issues in a safe place was very meaningful to folks. Just one example – recently a woman prayed for her family because her husband was about to lose his job. That kind of vulnerability is hard in our larger traditional worship.

As you know, we are interested in things churches do that support people’s call in the world. How does this service do that?

Since the service has a “small group” feel, we always start with a question. It’s usually concrete and not too threatening. (What is something you love to see? What is something great that happened to you this year? How do you cope when you’re having a bad day?) But the idea is to bring our lives in and focus them on God.

After the “sermon” which may be a video, conversation, or preaching, we have reflection time with a question to reflect on silently. The questions are personal… What is something in your life you need to give up? What may God be calling you to take on?

Prayers are open for anyone to add to. Some weeks are really silent, other weeks we pray about world issues, people’s jobs or stuff in their families.

It’s beautiful to see how much these folks can and will support each other in the ups and downs of life. In the 5 weeks since we started, the members of the group have experienced 2 heart attacks (both young men), a house fire that completely destroyed a home, 2 broken marriages, and the death of a grandmother. Folks pray openly for each other, and after the service talk with each other about what’s going on in their lives. That’s my favorite part.

Cindy and the Sr. Minister at St Stephens, John Snider, participate in Faith At Work's Mutual Ministry Project. The purpose of the Mutual Ministry Project is to deepen, enlarge and equip a community of supportive church leaders who are excited about the church’s opportunity to equip laity for their call and ministry in the world. If you are interested in this group, contact Doug Wysockey-Johnson.