Toolbox For Faith

Each year on Palm Sunday instead of a sermon, we read the story of the Passion as a congregation using a responsive reading with multiple readers. The response from the congregation is always very favorable. If you haven’t seen the booklets you can use for worship, you can get them from Augsburg Fortress. Here is the link for the Passion according to Luke.

In the Hands-On Holy Week service that I posted on Friday, I referenced a booklet for kids entitled, “Three Amazing Days”. The booklet is well done and focuses on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and an Easter Vigil. It is available in two formats: Pre-Reader and Young Reader. There is also a booklet that focuses on Lent and Easter. It too is available in Pre-Reader and Young Reader. The booklets were designed to support the current Lutheran hymnal, but they are very general and would probably support most liturgical hymnals.

Here’s a copy of a Holy Week for Youth Service. I use a series of props (nails, crown of thorn, etc.) for the kids to hold and look at during the service. It is very informal and has worked well. I have always done it with a group of 20 or less, but I imagine you could do something similar with a large group.

Journey to Jerusalem Youth and Family 2010

I had my eyes examined this week and discovered that I needed new lenses to improve my vision. That started me thinking that the lenses we use to view life determines what we see and don’t see.

A friend shared the story of the consultant who came to help with long range planning in his congregation. The consultant’s specialty was conflict management but the organization for which he worked felt he was also excellent at leading long range congregational planning. When the consultant interacted with the congregation, he concluded that the congregation needed conflict management and not long range planning. He created an environment where he attracted everyone who was dissatisfied and then saw everything through the lens of discontent. The congregation never completed their long range planning.

Jesus constantly struggled with his followers seeing through lenses that looked in the wrong direction. Peter asked Jesus how many times a person should forgive someone. The rule at the time was that you forgave someone three times. Peter thought he was being generous when he suggest seven times. Peter’s question reveals his lens. He was interested in counting—not forgiving. By saying how many times a person should forgive another, he was already off course. His lens was the number, not the act.

In congregations, the lens for the majority of people who have grown up in the church is the past. People laugh about “this is the way it has always been done’ but that is a powerful lens. I think that is why I have discovered that people on the fringe of the church rather than the church leaders are usually better at suggesting creative and dynamic ways to expand ministry. Fringe people are not limited by the lens of some past church actions.

Our midweek Lenten service this week centered on Pilate, exploring the possible lenses he used to view his job and his life. As we worshiped, the call was for all of us to examine the lenses we use to view life. That means pushing aside our normal lenses but the dilemma is that we are very comfortable with our lenses. Lent attacks our comfort and asks us to take time to look at our lenses to see how God would want us to be more loving, compassionate, forgiving and humble. Then, like with my new glasses, we will all see clearer.