This post deals with the fourth flow element of the worship service in Community of Christ. Hymns of the Saints describes this element as Commission and Commitment and The Priesthood Manual(2004 edition) calls it Commitment and Dedication.
When I first started my reflection on the 21 May worship service at Tuality Community of Christ that has an overall theme of “Create a Better World” I developed a set of working titles for each of the four flow elements. This forth element received the working title of “We Recognize Our Call and We Respond.” These titles are a place to start for both my personal preparation for this service and for the reflection that follows.As I did with the first, second, and third elements I will present the descriptions of these elements as found within my reflections on the 21 May service and those found in The Priesthood Manual (2004 Edition). Followed by a brief reflection on the element.
The Priesthood Manual presents this element of worship with the following:
The concluding element of this sequence is the human response that is evoked. Isaiah’s words are eloquent in their simplicity: “Here am I; send me.” It is at this point in worship that we offer our firm resolve through commitment and dedication. By publicly declaring our intent, we show that we take discipleship seriously and that worship is not an isolated act. We recognize that our calling takes us beyond the sanctuary and into all the places where God’s people dwell. Our act of dedication links us to the church and the world.
“Worship in the Life of the Church: The Elements of Worship,” The Priesthood Manual 2004 Edition, (Herald Publishing House — Independence, MO)2004; 152.
For 21 May worship service this element has a working description of:
As Disciples of the risen Christ, we respond generously with all we have and are. We Proclaim our intentions on embracing our call, of embracing the Word, of striving for a better world, the Peaceable Kingdom, aye even Zion.
L. Anderson II, “21 May TCC Worship Service: Working Draft.” 30 Apr 2006; 1.
The Hymns of the Saints title for the fourth movement includes a bit of what gets placed in the third movement by both The Priesthood Manual and myself. At least in my interpretation of the titles and the movements. For the hymnal places the commission here, which I think is found in part here but more prominently found as part of the proclamation. For our commission as disciples of the Risen Christ is expressed and part of the living Word. Thus this portion of the service we acknowledge that commission and we respond to it. In doing so we may restate the commission, but it has been stated already.
So what is this forth movement all about?
Let’s remember where we are when we reach this movement: We have gathered, we have praised and given thanks, we have recognized our failures and the pain we cause, we have sought forgiveness, we have been reaffirmed of the Eternal One’s never-ending love, and we have been called to action.
With that in mind, it is obvious, we respond to our call. We declare “Here am I! Send Me!” We declare that we are going to give our all, that we will truly be disciples of the Risen One. We state we will live lives that are reflective of the Eternal One’s Love and of the life and ministry of Jesus the Christ. We state that we will allow the Spirit to guide and comfort us on this path we have chosen. We tell ourselves and all present that we will strive toward that goal of the peaceable kingdom, aye even Zion. We declare that we will not just go to church, but we will live a life of proclamation by our actions that promote those communities of Joy, Hope, Love and Peace, that we say as a community of believers in the Risen Christ that we promote. Then we go forth from the service and we follow through with our active response.
This element often contains songs, prayers, and the Disciple’s Generous Response. It may also contain special music and much more. In some services I think this elment should be where the most time is spent, while other services it should be one of the previous elements. A service where the sacrament of baptism is embraced, I think would be one good example of focusing on this element with that sacrament taking place during this fourth movement.
So what is next in the life of worship? Well the official service ends at this point, but we should be actively living our response as we go out. That is we should live lives that truly reflect the love of the Eternal One. We should live lives that reflect our commitment to creating a better world. We should be with the broken hearted, the unloved, the hungry. We should be acting in ways to heal those broken hearts, make the unloved know they are loved, and lead to the hungry to be fed. We should live every moment of our lives from then on in a way that promotes the worth of all persons. Then as we do and we see and feel the the love of the Eternal One ourselves we start to celebrate and give thanks, and we then we realize wee we have fallen and stumbled on our path as disciples and so we ask forgiveness and turn to the living Word, for guidance and then we recommit ourselves to our call once more and the cycle of life and the cycle of worship flows on.
Peace,
— Lyle II