Worship
Is our worship too often about God, but not so much with God?
Do we really believe God is with us?
Are we suspicious when people talk about experiencing God?
Does God actually show up?
Have we lost a sense that God is truly present?
How do we experience God’s Presence?
How do we talk about it?
The Presence Project can be introduced into a congregation within its regular worship experience, and grow from there.
Your worship style doesn't need to change at all. Rather, throughout your worship, look for ways to grow awareness, availability and attentiveness to God's Presence. How can you highlight these? How can you lead your congregation to share and celebrate its experiences?
Look at the prayers you use in your congregation. It doesn't matter if they are written beforehand, printed for unison prayer, or extemporaneous. Are they helping people to talk with God? Or are they talking about God. Sometimes we worship as if God was not “in the room.” How do our prayers change when we know that “surely God is in this place?”
Use music that celebrates God's Presence. Look for songs that have us singing to God (using "You" language) create a realization that our worship is directed to and with God.
Click here for some song suggestions.
Calling and Sending
You can begin and end your worship with the same brief call-and-responses. Here are some ideas. Please feel free to adapt and build on them.
This a pair of basic ones. Using the same ones at the beginning and keeping them simple helps people become familiar with them, and even memorize them.
Call to Worship
Surely God is in this place!
Help me notice.
Sending
Wherever you go, God will be there.
Help me notice.
These add a more communal sense.
Call to Worship
Surely God is in this place!
Help me notice. Help us notice together.
Sending
Wherever you go, God will be there.
Help me notice. Help us notice together.
These make it more apparent that the 2nd line is a prayer, offering our availability to God's Presence.
Call to Worship
Surely God is in this place!
God, help me notice. Help us notice together.
Sending
Wherever you go, God will be there.
God, help me notice. Help us notice together.
As a congregation becomes used to the Presence themes, feel free to add more including selections from Scripture.
Calls to Worship
Worship the Lord with gladness!
Celebrate God’s presence with joy!
For surely God is in this place.
God, help me notice!
Help us notice together!
Come, let’s worship and bow down!
Let’s kneel before the LORD, our maker!
For the LORD is our God,
and we are the people of God’s pasture,
the sheep in God’s hands. (Psalm 95.6-7)
Surely God is in this place!
Help me notice. Help us notice together.
Sendings
God says to God’s People:
You are my servant.
I have chosen you and not cast you off.
Do not fear, for I am with you.
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with
my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41.9b-10)
Wherever you go, God will be there.
Help me notice. Help us notice together.
The most important commandment is
to love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind, and
with all your strength.
The second is
to love your neighbour as yourself.
Go! Go love God.
Go love your neighbour.
Wherever we go, God will be there.
Help me notice. Help us notice together.
You can craft specific Calls and Sendings for different liturgical seasons.
For Advent . . .
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light.
On those living in a pitch-dark land,
light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:2)
Surely God is in this place.
Help me notice. Help us notice together.
The Light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness does not overcome the light. (John 1:5)
Wherever you go, God is already there!
Help me notice. Help us notice together.
For Christmas . . .
Over shepherds’ fields,
angels announce His arrival.
In distant lands,
a star points to His coming
Surely God was in those places.
In a sleepy village,
a mother’s birth pangs fill the night.
In an animal’s manger,
her Baby’s cries sound God’s heart.
Surely God was in that place.
Draw closer.
Behold the Child.
Be held by your Saviour.
Surely God is in this place.
Help me notice. Help us notice together.
The shepherds returned home,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen.
Everything happened
just as they had been told.
Wherever you go, God will already be there.
Help me notice. Help us celebrate!
For Lent . . .
We walk the Lenten road with Jesus.
We come with hope, for Christ is with us.
Surely God is in this place!
Help me notice. Help us notice together.
We walk the Lenten road with Jesus.
We journey with hope, for Christ is with us.
Wherever you go, God will be there.
Help me notice. Help us notice together.
For Easter . . .
The rock is rolled back. The tomb is empty.
Where have they taken him?
Why do you look for the living among the dead?
He has been raised!
Surely God is in this place! Come and see!
Help me notice. Help us notice together.
Hurry! Go and tell:
He’s been raised from the dead.
He’s going on ahead of you.
We are witnesses to these things.
Wherever we go, God will already be there.
Help me notice. Help us notice together.