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Rescuing the Offertory
By Dan Appel
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| Photo: Alexey Poprugin |
As some of us have worked for more intentionality in our worship services, it has been logical to examine each and every element of the service and to ask if it contributes to what we are attempting to accomplish. It is surprising how many things are in the traditional “worship service” that are there because they are part of our tradition.
One area that is a sacred cow which is extremely difficult to sacrifice is the traditional “Offertory.” It is generally a black hole, with regards to any meaningful contribution to the overall service. Typically it consists of a mini-concert that showcases the skills of church musicians. As a church organist once explained to me, “It is my chance to shine!” For some musicians it is a chance to show off their musical artistry; for others it is a void they have to fill. Rarely is it a place where whatever musicians are scheduled to play have asked themselves, “What is God wanting to accomplish in this service; what is the theme and how can I contribute to it; how can the Holy Spirit use me to to touch people in the audience for eternity; how does the piece I pick, and how it is played, fit with the rest of what is planned for the service; have I consulted those who are planning the service and the pastor who will be speaking on what they would like played during this time; does this piece in some way touch people’s heart with the gospel?
For a number of years, I have prayerfully considered how to make this part of the service meaningful. Because church musicians, especially those with an expensive organ they have persuaded the church to purchase, are loathe to consider alternatives to the traditional Offertory, it has been difficult to find an opportunity to try some creative ideas for this part of the service.
A vacancy where both of our organists in my current church were unable to continue for health reasons has given us the opportunity to try some new ideas. We now ask, what can we place in this slot that will make a significant contribution to the overall flow of the service? Sometimes we will play a video clip purchased from one of several sites now dedicated to creating and distributing worship videos such as those listed below.
Other times we use video which we create in-house, which we call, “Digital Offertories.”
Here's a clip we produced titled: Find A Little Grace
Once you take the time to learn a program such as Vegas Movie Studio for the PC or the MAC movie creation software that comes loaded on the higher end MacIntosh computers, it becomes relatively easy to create quality video for church settings and, if you have made hamburger from that sacred cow, well worth the effort.
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