wfn.org | PCUSA - Outgoing Moderator reminds denomination of need to involve younger members

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Outgoing Moderator reminds denomination of need to involve younger members
Opening worship infused with color, song, tradition
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Photo of a group of people gathered around a baptismal font as a baby is 
baptized

During opening worship at the 219th General Assembly Sunday, Alexis Renee 
Sanders of Kwanzaa Community Church, Minneapolis, MN, was baptized ?Photo by 
Danny Bolin

> Posted at
> July 4, 2010 8:57 p.m.

> by Meg Flannagan

?All creatures of our God and King ? lift up your voice and with us sing ? 
?Alleluia! Alleluia!??

And so thousands of Presbyterians were called to worship Sunday morning at the 
219th General Assembly (2010). With bright colors, liturgical dancers and tall 
Lion King-esque puppets ? literally, all creatures worshiped. Kites, streamers 
and banners waved through the air as missionaries and pastors processed into 
the large hall.

Music in worship spanned the gamut of styles and cultures: Hispanic, negro 
spiritual call-and-response, contemporary ?praise? songs, and old favorites 
were all included. Congregants were encouraged to dance as the spirit moved, to 
sing and shout to the Lord. Hand drums, drum sets, violin, ukulele, organ, 
vocal soloists, and a 250-plus person choir participated in the joyful noise of 
the assembly. The diversityin the colorful process was just as vibrant in the 
variety of music selections.

The leadership of commissioned lay pastor Fern Cloud, as well as a local 
musical group gave worship a specific Native American context through sight and 
sound. Flute and drum, colors of the four winds, and traditional dress infused 
the Reformed order of  worship.

Former Moderator, the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, preached from Isaiah 64, and, to 
no one?s surprise, spoke about the absence of young adult members in the 
denomination. He wondered how God might move ?the mountain? of the 
denomination, and whether members are ready to embrace that movement.

?We say to a generation of people every day, by the ways that we engage in church and community, 
?I don?t care [about your needs or yearnings],?? Reyes-Chow said. ??I sort of like this mountain I?m living on.?? He challenged the congregation to celebrate the ways that ?God is going to surprise us.? His candor about the denomination?s future both engaged and worried the congregation.

?Bruce said in the sermon that God is pissed [at us], and that might be true in 
general,? said the Rev. Jill Tolbert, campus minister at Emory University, ?but 
surely God is pleased with our worship this morning ? beautiful, diverse, 
intentional and creative, colorful, faithful. My hope and prayer is that we can 
leave here and live as we have worshipped!?

In response to the Word, the congregation celebrated the Sacrament of 
Communion, as well as the Sacrament of Baptism, which was a first-time event 
for a General Assembly. Jason and Melissa Sanders, a couple from a local 
congregation, Kwanzaa Community Church, presented their daughter, Alexis Renee 
Sanders, for baptism. Just like a smaller congregation, worshippers leaned 
forward to see her dress, watch her clap, and eagerly embraced the young 
toddler into the community. The congregation, many with tear-stained cheeks, 
joyfully stood and sang to mark Alexis?s identity as a child of God.