New Column From Pastor Brian: Worship FAQ’s

Dear Riversiders:

Many of you have noticed a series of small changes in worship over the past couple of years, and have inquired about them. I thought it might be helpful to explore the rationale for these changes in a special Messenger column about Reformed worship as we practice it at Riverside. In each 2023 issue of the Messenger, I will seek to answer a number of frequently asked questions, such as the following:

• Why does the choir process and recess and the beginning and end of the service? Why do they carry a big gold cross? • Why do we sing the Kyrie after the Prayer of Confession? • How are the hymns chosen each week? • Why do we use a variety of creeds in the affirmation of faith, and not just the Apostles’ Creed? • Why does the liturgist lead the Prayer of Confession from the baptismal font?

Some have wondered if the changes we have made are “Presbyterian.” The short answer is “yes”, although we might rather say that the changes are not not Presbyterian! In other words, worship should be conceived of more broadly, such that while other denominations may follow a liturgy quite comparable to ours, or practice this or that element of our liturgy in the same way, that doesn’t make that moment in worship the domain of any particular denomination.

For instance, consider the question, Why does the choir chant or sing the psalm between the Old and New Testament lessons? Many denominations will chant or sing, rather than read, a psalm during worship. In our Reformed tradition, we place a heavy emphasis on “word and sacrament.” The first part of the liturgy prepares us to hear God’s word, and the last part of the liturgy helps us respond to God’s word. The central part of the service, the heart of it, is the reading of scripture and its proclamation (the sermon). So, as we’ve added a psalm each week (except when communion is served), we are simply strengthening what is already the heart of the service from a Reformed perspective. And, from a practical point of view, signing the psalm rather than reading it is a nice change of pace and sound for all of us listening to scripture. Besides, the psalms would have mostly been sung in the temple, back when they were first coming together in their original liturgical context!

I hope you’ll enjoy these explanations of our worship service, and gain a deeper understanding of why we do what we do as you participate in the liturgy each week. And, if you have other questions you’d like to see addressed in the column, please let me know! Liturgy, after all, means “work of the people,” and is meant to engage all of us not as an audience but as active participants in our worshipful encounter with the Living God!

See you on Sunday! Pastor Brian