Congregational Life Passages: Coming to Terms with Change
Many issues face congregational worship, music, and the arts during seasons of change. Two related sessions on change considered what happens to congregational worship, music, and art at critical watershed moments in local or international history. In one congregation, a new liturgy that had been life-giving during a previous period lost much of its appeal as generations shifted, creating divisions among various groups within the congregation. In another congregation, changes in its city and a desire to reach out across lines of race and denomination through renewed forms of worship, music, and art unsettled congregational habits. For a Roman Catholic parish in New York, change accompanied the introduction of a new English translation of the Roman Mass in December 2011. What challenges and opportunities emerge, and what resources are available, at such times? How can tradition, authority, and contemporary authenticity be negotiated? Click below to see the full student reports for each congregation: