Formation Opportunities for the Christian Churches
With deep roots in the liturgical renewal championed in the Catholic Church by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and with broad ecumenical experience, JHA Consulting founder Jim Alphen leads our Liturgy Practice, offering a suite of formation opportunities designed for Christian communities.
Liturgy Ministers Formation
A lively gathering for faith sharing, exploration of the foundations of Christian liturgy, and ministry-specific practice in the art of celebrating the holy mysteries. Can have general focus for all liturgy ministries or specific focus on a particular ministry. Flexible format, from half-day to multi-day to weekly or monthly series.
Liturgy Formation for a Whole Community
An evening or weekend gathering or series of gatherings to help “the person in the pew” become more fluent in and more confident about participating in worship. Can be for adults or open to congregation members of all ages.
Crafting a Charter for Collaborative Stewardship of the Community’s Worship
An article in the November-December 2014 issue of Pastoral Liturgy had this to say about the relationship among a community’s liturgy leaders:
There’s always a lot to do in caring for the community’s liturgy. Big issues, such as the experience children have at Sunday Mass and the quality of preaching vie for attention with more routine concerns such as ministry schedules and environment budgets.
The [worship] committee will be much more effective if it takes a strategic approach, focusing on issues and tasks that are at a big-picture level and prioritizing them based on values such as importance and impact on the whole community. Avoiding any micro-managing, the committee needs to respect the distinct roles of staff and other liturgy ministers.
This one-day retreat for all congregation leaders with responsibility for liturgy provides a space to work through any issues impeding effective collaboration among staff and worship committee and to craft a charter to sustain effective stewardship of your community’s worship. Intended for the pastor, rector, or principal community leader, all clergy, liturgy director, music ministries director, worship committee, other staff, and any other congregation leaders you’d like to include.
Your Next Step
If you would like to consider bringing one or more of these liturgy formation opportunities to your community, contact JHA Consulting at jimalphen@comcast.net or 312-636-4267. Jim Alphen will work with you to determine whether one or more of our services are a good fit for your situation and then, if you decide to engage us, to align the experience with your community’s strengths and needs.