wfn.org | MOSIAC Summer 2001: 'What Is Lutheran Worship?'

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 30, 2001

MOSIAC SUMMER 2001: 'WHAT IS LUTHERAN WORSHIP?'
01-136-BW

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- MOSIAC, the video magazine of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), features the theme "What is Lutheran
worship?" in its Summer 2001 issue.  Segments highlight Lutheran
congregations with distinct styles of worship around the world.
     Many congregations throughout the ELCA are struggling with
questions about what is acceptable Lutheran worship and what is not.
MOSIAC's summer issue includes discussions of  "worship wars" which have
evolved in some places.  In those cases parishioners want to try
something new that will attract new members into the congregation, while
others in the congregation prefer traditional forms of worship.
     The Summer 2001 issue, available June 1, includes stories of
Lutheran congregations in the continental United States, Alaska and
Puerto Rico.  MOSIAC also includes worship stories from southern
Madagascar and the West Bank town of Ramallah, just north of Jerusalem.
Their worship styles reflect their cultures and belief systems.
     The three MOSIAC segments examine what congregations are doing in
worship to maintain current membership and to attract new members:
     + "Surviving the Worship Wars" takes a look at how worship can
divide or bring a congregation together.  Many congregations debate over
questions of style, form, music, leadership and even attire.  This
segment features a Chicago-area congregation that has not only survived
"worship wars" but is thriving.
     + "The Many Faces of Lutheran Worship" explores the question, "Is
there a such thing as 'true' Lutheran worship?"  This segment includes
Lutheran worship examples from the United States and around the globe.
     + "Christian Worship: A Talk with the Experts" reports from Summer
of 2000, when the ELCA hosted an event at Chicago's Navy Pier titled
"Worship Jubilee 2000, Lifting up Jesus Christ, Yesterday, Today and
Forever."  MOSIAC includes exclusive interviews with key workshop
presenters from the ELCA and other mainline denominations.
     MOSIAC is produced and distributed by the ELCA Department for
Communication.  It is intended for educational use in a variety of
congregational settings including Sunday School classes, adult forums,
youth groups, women's and men's groups, new member classes, church
council meetings, committee meetings and other organizational meetings.
     Each issue includes a user's guide, with a synopsis of each
segment and discussion questions.  MOSAIC is issued quarterly.  Annual
subscriptions are available through the ELCA Department for
Communication.
-- -- --
     Specific information about MOSAIC subscriptions and the contents
of each issue are available on the World Wide Web at
http://www.elca.org/co/mosaic or by contacting the ELCA Department for
Communication by phone at 800/628-3522 ext. 6009.

Editors:  Digital photographs that accompany each story can be requested
by e-mail to mosaic@elca.org or by phone.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html