The Worship for Life Resource Collection began in 2000 as a series of children’s messages developed by Anna L. Liechty and Phyllis Vos Wezeman in order to address the need in their local congregations to understand the elements of worship. “Worship Words” were presented as a children’s sermon series for First Presbyterian Church of South Bend, Indiana and First United Church of Christ, Plymouth, Indiana. The authors first published the materials for others to use in Church Season, Volume 3 (Mishawaka, IN: Active Learning Associates, 2001).
In 2002, the materials were expanded as the Worship Words for Children Banner Kit, published by Contemporary Drama Service (Wezeman, Phyllis Vos and Anna L. Liechty. Colorado Springs, CO: Meriwether Publishing Company, 2002 (available from Active Learning Associates)).
As worship skills became a greater focus for Christian education, in June of 2002 the authors discussed with LOGOS System Associates, Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - now The LOGOS Ministry - the idea of developing instructional material on the elements of worship beyond the scope of the message series and the banner kit, ultimately producing a resource collection of lessons for the 13 themes.
As the concept began to take shape, the authors applied to the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship in January of 2003, for a Lilly Worship Renewal Grant to fund Phase One and made the initial contacts with the potential members of an ecumenical writing team. In May of 2003 the project was funded and the first grant was received.
Phase One of the Worship Renewal Grant began in June of 2003. During the next 12 months the project development included forming the writing team consisting of 41 people from 12 denominations. Beginning with a retreat led by Dr. H. Thomas Troeger and continuing through an on-line bulletin board on the Rotation.org website, the team developed guidelines and outlined the project. The writing team worked together to study and discuss worship, both the Old Testament and New Testament scriptural base as well as information and insight from historical time periods. The group created the Historical Overview of Worship and the Theological Background/Reflection on Worship as well as the first draft of Unit 1: Worship during this year.
After approval of a second grant to continue the project in May of 2004, the writing team spent the year developing the first drafts of Unit 2 through Unit 13: Call to Worship, Invocation, Music, Confession/Assurance, Creeds, Prayer, Scripture, Proclamation, Sacrament of Baptism, Sacrament of Communion, Offering, and Benediction. They also studied and discussed the biblical and early church background for the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Communion under the leadership of Dr. L. Edward Phillips. Phase Two concluded in May of 2005.
In Phase Three, the team continued to collaborate from June of 2005 to the end of May 2006. The goal of this third grant was to hold Colleague Groups in 12 regional gatherings across the United States. The materials were previewed with 241 congregations or organizations, providing feedback from 315 people from 15 denominations. The gatherings were held in Albuquerque, New Mexico – November; Columbus, Ohio – December; Dayton, Ohio – December; Atlanta, Georgia – January; New Brighton (Minneapolis), Minnesota – February; Albuquerque, New Mexico – February; Knoxville, Tennessee – March; Arlington Heights (Chicago), Illinois – March; Birmingham (Detroit), Michigan – March; Des Plaines (Chicago), Illinois – March; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – April; and Rochester (South Bend), Indiana – April. This grant sequence also provided for writing team meetings held in five locations: Albuquerque, New Mexico; Dayton, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Chicago, Illinois. In addition, weekly sessions were held in the South Bend area to review and edit Units 1–13.
From June of 2006 to May 2007, the writing team worked on the fourth and final grant to develop the applications for using the Worship for Life Resource Collection in a variety of settings. The group also considered future supplements, the structure of an interactive website, and possibilities for training to support congregations’ use of the materials.
