Worship and spirituality at Luther King House
Introduction
Worship is receiving and giving, it is a corporate activity focused in the celebration of God. It symbolises our commitment to God, to one another in the community and to the whole of creation. Through worship God also comes to us, so enlarging our understanding, deepening our compassion and renewing our life. Worship is central to our life together at Luther King House. Within the Partnership we affirm and welcome the plurality of liturgical traditions represented.
Patterns of Prayer
Lunchtime Prayer
This can be arranged on an ad hoc basis by students or staff according to the needs of the community.
Tuesday worship
On Tuesdays we will meet at 11.30 – 12.30 for a longer period of worship, which will sometimes include a celebration of Communion. Arrangements for this have varied and it has not always been easy to produce worship which does not leave some people feeling marginalised. Student and staff participants are invited to respond to opportunities to share in planning this worship, whenever possible, as outlined in the programme.
It is hoped that those who prepare worship will be sensitive to others and that all of us will be able to approach worship in a spirit of openness and willingness to learn from one another's traditions.
Communion
Gluten free bread and grape juice (non-alcoholic) are used for communion.
Spirituality
Personal spirituality is of course an individual matter; but it is likely that the courses and the community here will have their own impact on spirituality. Many of the colleges or staff can offer suggestions about spiritual direction or other resources which you may find helpful.
Encircling Prayer 1 & 2
These are resources produced for use within Luther King House and in the wider Partnership. Each volume has a section of Daily Liturgies which can be used for Lunchtime prayer as well as other resources which can be fitted into that framework. Many of the resources are appropriate for use on other occasions, including a section of prayers and meditations for private use. All of the material has been written by staff and students of the Partnership, and most of it has not been published elsewhere. Copies of both volumes are available for use in the chapel.
Hymns
A variety of hymn books are available. We are a creative community and material produced in house is often used. In addition hymns and songs can be accessed from HymnQuest.
Guidelines for leading worship
There is a variety of theological and liturgical traditions represented within our community. In our worship we seek to express that diversity without causing offence or alienation - not always an easy balancing act! We can do this either by creating a form of worship which offends no-one, or by openness to risk and diversity. We will not always get the balance right, but we would like to think that as a learning community, we can experiment with and develop creative forms of worship. If you are in a group involved in leading worship, we would like to ask you to remember the following points, which we believe can be compatible with a variety of theological positions.
Chapel Steward
A Chapel Steward is appointed by rotation from the colleges of the Partnership.
Resources
There is a wide collection of resources available to us in addition
to Encircling Prayer and other material mentioned above. We have projection equipment available in the Chapel
There are also a number of visual symbols and objects available.
All of us will have involvements in churches and communities outside of this place, and we
seek to draw on and learn from resources from the world church too.
Drawing on resources from other faiths may be difficult for some, but we need at least to remember that we live and witness in a plural society.
Copyright
The Partnership has a Christian Copyright License. Please ensure that the chapel steward has an order of service or a note of hymns or songs used so that any covered by the
License may be recorded.
If you are reproducing other printed resources you should make sure that copyright permission is obtained and any required acknowledgement given.
Arrangement of space.
The chapel is a flexible space, and seating can be
rearranged by the Chapel Steward and those responsible for leading the worship - but please return it to the previous pattern afterwards! Feel free to bring in your own symbols or pictures to help set the scene for the particular theme or focus of the service.
Music.
A variety of music is provided by musicians. Please give good notice of your requirements if you are leading worship.
Inclusivity in language
This refers not only to gender, but to language and imagery relevant to race or disability too. This is not a matter of political correctness, but of fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion for one another.
Could all those responsible for leading/preparing worship note that we need LARGE PRINT material when we use either PowerPoint or printed sheets. Please use at least 14 font and print on peach coloured paper.