All-Age Worship - Softcover

Lucy Moore

Softcover

ISBN 10: 184101432X ISBN 13: 9781841014326

Publisher: Barnabas, 2010

Synopsis

Noooooo! The prospect of all-age worship can easily produce a cry of anguish from...well, from so many people. It's time to be real. It's time to admit that worship with all ages present is easy to do appallingly and difficult to do well. It's time to acknowledge that it takes a huge amount of grace from every participant. But it's also time to admit that a church that unthinkingly packs off any subgroup, old or young, to worship and learn in another space every week could well be completely daft...This book is for those who sense that worshipping God together is probably a good thing, but are nervous of trying to lead their church towards that vision. It doesn't zoom off into glorious impracticalities involving rotating stages, 90 hours of preparation and all-singing, all-dancing, glow-in-the-dark visual aids made from recycled egg boxes. It acknowledges that we don't live in a perfect world - or church - and that no one has all the answers. It also argues that you are the expert for the ways in which your church can best worship God, and helps you start to find those ways and adapt them for your local setting.

About this title

About the Author:

Lucy Moore is the founder of Messy Church, a rapidly-growing ministry that is now in over 20 countries worldwide. She is responsible for developing the work of Messy Church nationally and internationally-writing, speaking, reflecting and developing Messy projects. Before working full-time with Messy Church, Lucy was a member of BRF's Barnabas children's ministry team, offering training for those wanting to bring the Bible to life for children in churches and schools across the UK, and using drama and storytelling to explore the Bible with children herself. Her books include titles in the Messy Church series, as well as AllAge Worship, Colourful Creation, Bethlehem Carols Unpacked, The Lord's Prayer Unplugged and The Gospels Unplugged. She also presents Messy Church: the DVD. A secondary-school teacher by training, she enjoys acting, walking Minnie the dog, marvelling at the alien world of her two teenage children and guiltily watching unimproving television programmes. She is a Lay Canon of Portsmouth Cathedral.

Review:

From Regent's Reviews - October 2010 All-Age Worship is a fantastic introduction to how to plan and prepare all-age services. All-age or family services often get a bad reputation and here Lucy Moore seeks to overcome this view and demonstrate, both the importance of all-age worship and how it can be done well in practice. This is the strength of the book: it's practical. The two most helpful chapters are on some basic rules of thumb (keep it simple, uses senses and emotions, use story, include participation, use invitation) and how to plan. Every chapter includes stories and examples. Creating space for the whole church to gather to worship for this reviewer is not an optional extra, but is integral to being church, and as Moore shows, this does not mean services which only cater for children. Reading this book will hopefully open up the possibility of how all-age worship might enrich a whole congregation and provide encouragement to those who either struggle with all-age or are looking for help. Reviewed by Andy Goodliff, Belle Vue Baptist Church, Southend on Sea From Ministry Matters - July 2010 I know that where all age worship has been successful in our church it has been the times when there has been a sense of us all being in it together making the service truly all age. It's a key question in your planning turning 'how do we include the children' into 'how can we do this together'. This sense of encountering God and learning together I believe is what should be at the heart of our all age times. I've recently read Lucy Moore's new book on all age worship and she makes this point. It's an excellent book that I would heartily recommend. Lucy also gives a useful list of key points that she calls 'touchstones' for all age worship, I found these tremendously helpful especially as none of them were exclusively for the benefit of children. Let me give you a sneak preview of four of them. They reflect some of the key aspects of good all age worship. *Short - Keep your services no longer than 40 minutes. *Symbol - Make use of symbolism especially around the Eucharist. *Space - Give the time and the means to reflect and respond in their own way. *Pattern - Follow a usual structure. All age worship is something I think we all find a challenge so please let me know what you do and how well it works and I'll try and pass it on through the Diocese. Reviewed by Sam Donohue From The Good Bookstall - June 2010 We call ourselves a Church family or the Body of Christ. Yet, in our worship we divide the family up rather than deal with the whole. Or we concentrate on doing things, going places for God, or watching for sin; without considering the monster it would be if it were only hands, or feet or eyes. Where is Jesus' command of open and accepting love? In her book All-Age Worship Lucy Moore sets worship in the context of community using the icon we call Rublev's Trinity - three people, interpreted as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, sitting in a circle, attending to one another, aware of one another, at one in their understanding and action. There is a space inviting us into this community, assuring us of love, understanding and acceptance. This suggests a Church glorying in intimate fellowship, but open and welcoming to outsiders, people who have a lot in common but who remain distinct from each other, a community which draws from the past but looks to the future. An all-age Church, she says, shows the richness and diversity of God, with worship and working together which allows members to develop and use their gifts. She challenges us to look at why we worship and points out that if we exclude any age group or people 'not like us' we are missing out on the richness God wants for us all. Churches should be places of healing on all levels and safe places where everyone can come close to God. Lucy gives us examples of different ways of learning, using word and story, drama, senses and emotions. She urges us to keep it simple and to be real in our love, faith and sharing. All age worship is difficult and challenging and much depends on the attitudes of leaders because it is not just what we do that matters but the way we do it. If all age worship is to be successful there will be change but she offers ways of coping with this, and advice on planning an all age act of worship. All-Age worship is about something much more profound than a form of worship which appeals to all ages. It is about what the Church is, and how we go about being the Church, the people of God. It is not a new and trendy idea but the rediscovery of an ancient skill. The icon shows us three different people at ease together, acting and loving as one, and that is the Church we aim to portray. A united Church knowing where it is going, open to and using the gifts and ideas of a wide range of people. Yes All-Age worship is difficult. Yes, it is scary. Yes, it involves a lot of work. But, if you are really interested and think this is way, then this book of Lucy Moore's is a must. She gives compelling reasons why the Church should worship together, is honest about the problems of achieving this and gives practical advice as to how to overcome these and achieve the vision of the family of God worshiping together in a way that allows everyone to come into God's presence and feel his love. Reviewed by Celia Rees From Christian Marketplace - Feburary 2010 Another new book which deserves a wide readership is All-Age Worship by Lucy Moore. If the title alone puts you off then that's more than enough reason for you to read it. This isn't just about that often dreaded time of the month 'when the children stay in', although there are plenty of ideas and suggestions for improving your 'intergenerational worship' efforts. Lucy Moore explores worship as a whole and gets the reader to think about why we do what we do in the way we do. As she says 'Our God is a God of exciting differences. Our worship can reflect his amazing multifaceted nature or it can be monochrome' (p57). She writes with humour and clarity and a good deal of common-sense. Reviewed by Clem Jackson All-Age Worship by Lucy Moore GoodBookStall Review: We call ourselves a Church family or the Body of Christ. Yet, in our worship we divide the family up rather than deal with the whole. Or we concentrate on doing things, going places for God, or watching for sin; without considering the monster it would be if it were only hands, or feet or eyes. Where is Jesus' command of open and accepting love? In her book All-Age Worship Lucy Moore sets worship in the context of community using the icon we call Rublev's Trinity - three people, interpreted as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, sitting in a circle, attending to one another, aware of one another, at one in their understanding and action. There is a space inviting us into this community, assuring us of love, understanding and acceptance. This suggests a Church glorying in intimate fellowship, but open and welcoming to outsiders, people who have a lot in common but who remain distinct from each other, a community which draws from the past but looks to the future. An all-age Church, she says, shows the richness and diversity of God, with worship and working together which allows members to develop and use their gifts. She challenges us to look at why we worship and points out that if we exclude any age group or people 'not like us' we are missing out on the richness God wants for us all. Churches should be places of healing on all levels and safe places where everyone can come close to God. Lucy gives us examples of different ways of learning, using word and story, drama, senses and emotions. She urges us to keep it simple and to be real in our love, faith and sharing. All age worship is difficult and challenging and much depends on the attitudes of leaders because it is not just what we do that matters but the way we do it. If all age worship is to be successful there will be change but she offers ways of coping with this, and advice on planning an all age act of worship. All-Age worship is about something much more profound than a form of worship which appeals to all ages. It is about what the Church is, and how we go about being the Church, the people of God. It is not a new and trendy idea but the rediscovery of an ancient skill. The icon shows us three different people at ease together, acting and loving as one, and that is the Church we aim to portray. A united Church knowing where it is going, open to and using the gifts and ideas of a wide range of people. Yes All-Age worship is difficult. Yes, it is scary. Yes, it involves a lot of work. But, if you are really interested and think this is way, then this book of Lucy Moore's is a must. She gives compelling reasons why the Church should worship together, is honest about the problems of achieving this and gives practical advice as to how to overcome these and achieve the vision of the family of God worshiping together in a way that allows everyone to come into God's presence and feel his love. Reviewer: Celia Rees (29/06/10) -- Celia Rees The Goodbookstall

About this edition

• Publisher: Barnabas
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 184101432X
• ISBN 13: 9781841014326
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192