Another day the rabbit trail of clicks leads to something good!

This morning I was working on a resource list for youth ministry (books/podcasts,etc) and remembered this gem of a book from 2008 – Sacred Space: a hands-on guide to creating multisensory worship experiences for youth ministry by Lilly Lewin. Lilly led an interactive prayer station at a Youth Specialties conference (probably about the same time, 2008ish) and it was my favorite part of the conference. Interactive prayer stations in an intimate setting; inviting our minds and bodies to participate in worship beyond singing…

i LOVED it so much I created a Wednesday evening intergenerational worship experience called EPIC Worship (Experiential/Participatory/Image Based/Communal). Participants would gather for a centering prayer and instructions, then be invited to explore the stations for a time. We would then come back together in a circle and share our experiences of the stations in prayerful reverence. There would always be an Image station, with rotating images on a screen that were related to our theme; and a Rest station, where people could simply “be still and know” that God IS.

So, remembering all of this, I was wondering what Lilly was up to today – and found her website – free range worship

freerange worship is a place to swing open the gate and expand your definition of worship, moving beyond preaching and singing to participatory and experiential learning. it’s a place to find resources for creative worship and a place to share ideas too! it’s a place to find resources for creative worship and prayer for family ministries, youth groups, churches, [etc.]

I found joy and freedom in youth & children’s ministry in part because I was able to explore scripture and faith beyond preaching/listening, in creative activities and movement. I was never that much into listening to one person talk for too long, and way too fidgety to sit still for too long. The art of interactive/participatory worship excited me and opened my mind and body to experiencing God (and helping others experience God) in new and creative ways.

Lilly is still doing amazing work in this area, and I highly recommend you check her out. She writes on Fridays at godspacelight.com…which led me to other resources:
–prayer and worship resources
–Advent & Christmas resources
–this prayer book for families
–this book of creative practices on Wonder & delighting in God

So – I guess the point of this post is twofold

1) be curious, click links/topics/subjects that are interesting – you never know what cool resources you’ll find!
2) be creative & experiential in your approach to worship planning – involve movement & activities; not sure where to start? check the links above.