Washington, District of Columbia
2020
To create and pilot participatory intergenerational worship resources that facilitate collaborative worship in a variety of contexts.
Provide a brief summary of the purpose and goal of your grant.
Building on interest in our pilot grant project, Common Threads: An Intergenerational Worship Series (2018_59), we endeavored to create a blended delivery worship training product (workshop plus digital resources) to guide implementation of Common Threads in diverse contexts. We sought to develop confidence and competence in attempting Common Threads, which is semi-structured, involves improvisation, and seeks to break down barriers of age and ability.
What are two questions that have generated reflection on worship and helped shape your project?
- What barriers might prevent clergy and lay leaders from attempting Common Threads?
- What resources would best address question #1, and what delivery formats would be most effective, allowing us to reach the broadest audience, and offering the promise of a long shelf life?
What impact has your project had on the worship life and habits of the congregation?
None to date, but the response to our Zoom workshop on March 4, 2021 indicates strong interest in both intergenerational and improvisational worship models. Forty people from 14 states and the District of Columbia --and six denominations--registered for the workshop, during which we demonstrated paperless music and paperless liturgy, showed a couple of the videos we had produced ("Accessible Worship Design," "Stations Worship"), celebrated the Eucharist, and answered questions.
What have been your greatest challenges (or challenging opportunities)?
The pandemic has had an impact on our work. In the one case, it caused us to switch our planned in-person workshop to an online event. Interestingly, this expanded our reach and, potentially, our impact. In another case, however, it has slowed our work. The design of a new web site, seaburyspiritual.org, to feature the Common Threads resources has taken longer than anticipated, particularly given our design partner's location in India, where the coronavirus is raging.
What would you like to share with other Project Directors?
Backward design makes all the difference! To the extent that our project has flowed smoothly despite pandemic hiccups it is due to our beginning with our desired outcome and working carefully backward. This especially meant taking pains with script writing and editing prior to our one-day video shoot where we taped all seven short "how to" videos. Also, building in extra time at each stage of the project is beneficial. Our guidebook, for example, required several drafts of graphic design.