The way we worship in the ELCA is built on tradition and ritual. I see worship not as a remnant of an old-fashioned practice, but as a conscious choice to create a commonality and consistency that exists above our human flaws and imperfections. This makes worship “user-proof” – creating something bigger than our individual practices and longer than our individual lives. When we follow the liturgies, sing songs and hymns and receive communion, we sense this permanency.
I believe worship is a form of memory. It’s an acknowledgment of everything that has been done before, and a statement of faith in everything that will come after. But the reverse is also true: Memory is a form of worship.
Remembering at worship is a golden thread running throughout the fabric of our liturgies and lives, a permanent reminder that no matter who we are and where we go, we belong to a God who loves us.
This message is excerpted from “It’s Complicated” by Abigail Accettura in the September 2020 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate John, Apostle and Evangelist.
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