Chapter 6: Worship Opportunities and Resources

Worship

Central to the life of Christians and the Christian Church is worship. Sharon Neufer Emswiler, a feminist scholar of Christian Worship writes,

Worship is at the very heart of the Christian life. It is the pulsating center from which we receive God’s love and strength for all that we are and do. Like the blood that flows through our bodies, we keep returning to that heart for refreshment and renewal. But what happens when the heart fails to function correctly? For an increasing number of women the heart of our lives as Christians is no longer providing the meaning and power we so desperately need... When the worship hour is concluded I leave the church wondering, “Why am I going away feeling less human than when I came?” That which should have created a sense of wholeness in me made me feel dehumanized, less than a full person. What was meant to be a time of worship of the true God was, for me, a worship of the masculine… (Women and Worship 1-4)

Picture taken by Rachel Parrot

Many feminist theologians and women, like Enswiler, have asked this question about Christian worship practices and traditions. Where do women fit in? Or do they? How should they be involved in worship? Because worship is the heart of what we as Christians do, we must continue to view it as a space for which change is vital.

The last few decades have seen multiple changes in Christian worship. Women throughout many denominations are being ordained. Feminist theologians have constructed new theories for worshipping the Divine image. Many churches have restructured their worship traditions to include more inclusive language. However, for some people language still does not matter. For them, male imagery is simply just words. They fail to understand that the maleness of services is only tradition and no one gleans a bias from them. Though women and feminist scholars have made leaps and bounds in the religious thought and practice, patriarchal worship still dominates.

Feminist scholars continue asserting that the words we use communicate a meaning. Feminists illustrate that many times such male liturgies, words, symbols, and traditions were used as a means of female subordination. Feminist theologians cause us to rethink our acts and words of worship by showing the inherent patriarchy placed within them. In the Church we must be communicating the message of Christ’s love to every human being despite their gender, race, sexuality, or class. We as Christians realize that the love of Christ brings restructuring to our individual lives. However, do we also remember that Christ’s message of love seeks to change our church and social communities? When we lead worship what kind of message are we communicating? What does inclusive worship look like? Where can we find resources for leading such services?

Chapter 6 seeks to answer these questions. The first section of this chapter contains examples of prayers that address topics of gender. The second section examines various traditions and centers committed to restructuring their worship with regards to gender. Next, is a listing of congregations within the Durham area committed to reconciling and various gender inclusive ministries. The fourth section includes a bibliography of resources concerned with gender, ministry, and inclusion. May it serve as an invitation to inclusive and committed Christian ministry.

Alternative Prayers

The following are a sampling of prayers that can be used in worship services to include all people gathered.

Collects:
Be our vision today, O God, so that we may see with new eyes. Show is the sparks of your renewing love in the most hopeless people and situations we know. Let us look upon our world today with the eyes of faith, knowing that finally everything is upheld in your perfect love. Amen. (Enswiler, Women and Worship 63)

O God, who is the liberator of us all, remind us today of all held captive. Soften our hearts so that we may hear the cries of others. Break the chains that we have put around others, our sisters and brothers. Liberate us, liberate them, and liberate our entire world today. Amen. (Jessica Terrell)

O Divine Light, show us more clearly your radiance in those around us. Help us to treat one another with the reverence you have for each of us. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen. (Enswiler, Women and Worship 62)

Divine Imagination, Thoughtful God, Wisdom Sophia. You bring us together to celebrate that each of us is a gift of your sacred creativity. As we come into your community today we ask that you join us in the work of seeing sacredness in the faces to our left and right, in the eyes of those both like us and different. Join us in our discovery and in the joy it brings us in this holy moment as we celebrate your spirit in each of us. Amen. Blessed be. Let it be so. (Neu, Women’s Rites 68)

Call to Worship:

Sisters and brothers, open your hearts,
For faith has come,
And in faith you are set free.
Free, not to mind your words,
But to speak the truth in love.
Free, not to look up at some,
And down at others,
But to look kindly eye-eye.
Free, not to close your senses,
But to feel clearly the pain of others,
And to take it to yourself.
So clothe yourself in Christ-
The fashion of the heirs
Of promise.
And praise God.

(Duncan, Courage to Love 73)

Prayer of Confession:

Out of my pain
I confess my hate-filled days.
Out of my anger
I confess my wish for death.
Out of my fear
I confess my distortion of truth.

O god who knows us in our weakness
And befriends us in our chaos,
Free me from hate and fear;
Turn pain and anger
Into tools for healing;
Open the door to reconciliation
And restitution of right relationships
Between friends and neighbors,
Between lovers,
Between
Nations and peoples,
That your truth may reign
In our hearts, and your peace
Welcome us home.

(Duncan, Courage to Love 227)

Chapter 6: Denominations and Centers Committed to forms of Gender Inclusion >