We Are Not the News

what worship is really for

Yes, the world is on fire. Literally and figuratively.

Yes, major events around the world - especially those with a body count - affect us all.

Yes, some major events affect some of us more than others, depending on a variety of personal and community factors.

And.

It’s impossible for every worship service to be all about the things that are happening every week. Largely because it’s all too much. But also, it’s because we aren’t news organizations. We are faith communities.

Here’s my take on it: my role as a worship leader and a minister is to offer you comfort, solace, and perspective. I am not there to explain the news, or the issue, or the problem. I am there to provide a sacred hour where you can rest, feel held, let go of anxieties, and build spiritual tools to help deal with it all. I am there to offer perspective, and help you think about all the things through the lens of our faith. I am mostly concerned with your spiritual well-being, and rehashing the news or making every service about the crisis of the moment does not help your spiritual well-being, or mine.

To be clear: there are events that require a pause in the weekly worship schedule. Sometimes those are location-related, like when a shooting or major weather crisis occurs. More broadly, we react to other major events when they are so overwhelming we have to pause - 9/11 springs to mind. And we certainly shifted a few worship services to focus on the pandemic as we went into lockdown.

Often, ministers will create vigils and memorials outside the regular service hour, to hold those who require more space for grief and mourning.

More often, however, we’ll include these events in prayers, or as examples in our sermons.

Because we are not here to report the news. We are here to help you find peace and faith-informed thoughts about the news.

Remember: your religious professionals are as shaken by the news as you are. I promise you that in collegial spaces we are reaching out to each other to find ways to make sense of what’s happening so we can help you find some measure of solace as you make sense of what’s happening.

And honestly, there’s a bigger picture here too. If we are reactive to every single thing that happens, we will never have a chance to catch our breath or build up the mental, emotional, and spiritual muscles we need to handle the big stuff.

I’m reminded of something the counselor said in my psychological assessment (a part of our preparation for professional ministry). He noted the times I’d been in therapy related to the times of traumatic events, and he asked “have you ever been in therapy when you weren’t in crisis?” I shook my head no, and I realized that I didn’t take the time to build those muscles when I wasn’t actively trying to heal wounds.

It’s the same thing here. If all we are doing, week after week in worship, is reacting to what’s happened this week, we will always be trying to heal wounds, not build muscle.

We need the services that talk deeply about our faith, our foundations, and our future. We need the services that explore the human condition and our work in the world. We need the services that offer new perspectives and new possibilities. In other words, while we are facing hell on earth, we need hope, or we will never be able to love that hell out of the world.

Trust us with this one sacred hour.

And then you can go to lunch and read the news.